Ethics in Communication

Ethics in Communication

The Topic

The topic for the final paper will be the role of culture in communication. People’s cultural values and attitudes determine how they interact with each other, thereby influencing how they communicate.

The Role of Culture in Interpersonal Communication

            Culture refers to a set of shared attitudes and values which a group of individuals hold. These values affect how individuals think and behave in different situations, and the criteria they use to judge those they come across. Accordingly, the cultural meanings render certain acts right and other wrong, depending on the motives behind them and their impact on others. Therefore, individuals are required to communicate with each other in a manner that conforms to the society’s norms (Gudykunst & Mody, 2002). For this reason, interpersonal communications should aim at maintaining individuals’ relationship. Thus, persons should use friendly tones to communicate with others. The approach creates an understanding that, in turn, enables persons to create strong relations with each other. At the same time, individuals have interpersonal responsibilities in interpersonal communications. Under this view, persons are required to provide others with the right information. The outlook is based on the view that cultural norms encourage individuals to be honest in their undertakings. Consequently, they should not lie to other by providing them with false facts.

The Theoretical Ethical Approach to Integrate into the Final Paper

            The role of culture in communication can be analyzed from the dynamics of various theoretical ethical approaches, such as utilitarianism. Under this approach, an action is viewed to be ethical if it maximizes utility and unethical if it compromises people’s well-being. Thus, cultural norms regulate how individuals communicate with each other to ensure they derive utility from the communications. For instance, the cultural values intend to enable individuals to have access to the right information and also strengthen their relations through regular and appropriate interactions.

 

References

Gudykunst, W. B., & Mody, B. (2002). Handbook of international and intercultural          communication. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage.