Business

Communication
Ethics

Includes material from Guffey text Ch 1

 Examples of Dishonest
Business Communication
 Abflex
 claim that 3 minutes per day on the machine will
produce a “washboard stomach”
 Publisher’s Clearing House
 use of large/small font sizes and tricky wording to
encourage recipients to believe they had won a prize
and/or buying magazines increased chance of prize.
 Beach Nut
 Sold baby apple juice with picture of apple on label,
but no apples actually used in the vitamin-enhanced
sugar water
 Discussion:
Communication Matters
 “The Truth, The Whole Truth,
and Nothing But The Truth…”
 Why do people lie?
 What did you find helpful
about this article?
Ethical Issue Exists When:
 Violation of a behavioral norm
 Intent/motive
 Causing harm
 Physical, financial, psychological
 Individual, group, society
 Higher standard for defenseless
 Five Common
Ethical Traps (from Guffey)
1. The false-necessity trap
(convincing yourself that no other choice exists)
2. The doctrine-of-relative-filth trap
(comparing your unethical behavior with someone else’s
even more unethical behavior)
3. The rationalization trap
(justifying unethical actions with excuses)
4. The self-deception trap
(euphemistic labeling, minimizing perception of harm)

5. The ends-justify-the-means trap

(using unethical methods to accomplish a desirable goal)
 Additional Ethical Traps
(from Bandura, 1990)

6. Displacement of responsibility or
attribution of blame
• just following orders, “he made me”
7. Diffusion of responsibility
• if everyone is responsible, no one is
8. Dehumanization
• objectification, stereotyping
(Arabs = terrorists)
 Organizational Ethical Trap:
Darley’s Law
Performance measurement systems can
incentivise unethical behavior
Cheating/lying – to protect or advance self
Cheating/lying – to protect or advance
organization (“cooking the books”)
Sub-optimization - Optimize metrics
to detriment of overall organization
 Goals of Ethical
Communication

 Telling the truth

 Half truths
 Exaggerations
 Deceptions

 Video: Real
Estate example
 Goals of Ethical
Communication
 Labeling Opinions
 differentiating between facts
(quantifiable and/or verifiable)
and opinions (beliefs that are
not verified)
 stating opinions as if they
were facts is unethical
 Goals of Ethical
Communication
 Being Objective
 recognize your own biases and keep
them from distorting your message
 honest reporting means presenting the
whole picture and relating all facts fairly

 Video:
Advertising example
 Goals of Ethical
Communication
 Communicating Clearly
 use language comprehensible
to average reader
 short sentences, simple
words, clear organization

 Example:
performance goals
 Goals of Ethical
Communication

 Giving Credit
 Referring to originators’
names within the text
 Using quotation marks
 Documenting sources
 Verbal credit for ideas
from peers/subordinates
Tools for Doing the Right Thing
Rotary 4-Way Test

Of the things we think, say or do:

 Is it the TRUTH?

 Is it FAIR to all concerned?

 Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER

FRIENDSHIPS?
 Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?"
 Framework for Identifying and
Resolving Ethical Issues (source: Dunn & Bradstreet)
1. Why is this bothering
me?
 Am I genuinely perplexed?
 Am I afraid to do what I know
is right?
2. Who else matters?
 Implications for customers,
peers shareholders?
 How does the problem
appear from the other side?
3. Is it my responsibility?
 What will happen if I do/ don’t
act?
4. What is the ethical
concern?
 Legal obligation?
 Honesty, fairness, promise-
keeping, avoiding harm?
5. Whom can give me advice?
 Supervisor, peers, HR, legal,
ethics hot line?
6. Am I being true to myself?
 Consistency with my values
and personal commitments?
With company values?
 Can I share my decision with
family, colleagues, customers?
 Can I see my decision on the
front page of the newspaper?
 Markkula Center for Applied
Ethics (Santa Clara College)
1. What benefits and harms are
produced  which action
best overall?
2. What moral rights to the parties
have  which action respects
those rights?
3. Which action treats all equally?
4. Which action advances the
common good?
5. Which action develops
moral virtue?
 Ethical Communication =
Honesty/Integrity
“Being honest means more than not deceiving.
For leaders within organizations, being honest
means do not promise what you can’t deliver,
do not misrepresent, do not hide behind spin-
doctored evasions, do not suppress obligations,
do not evade accountability, do not accept that
the ‘survival of the fittest’ pressures of business
release any of us from the responsibility to
respect another’s dignity and humanity.”
Dalla Costa The Ethical Imperative 1998
VIDEO