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Lesson4Slides-Ethics.pptxEthical Technical & Professional Communication
ENGL 2311
Ethics
WHY DISCUSS ETHICS?
If we clearly understand our actions, we can clearly communicate our motives to others
If we don’t clearly understand our actions, we may not be able to clearly communicate to others or persuade them to support our decisions or consider our reasoning
Dombrowski, P. (2000). Ethics in Technical Communication. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
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Focus Point
Ethics are rarely clear cut, and decisions are not always simple.
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Understanding Ethics Helps Us To
Justify reasoning
Consider right action
Consider implications
Consider different options
Demonstrate awareness of real-world constraints
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To Make Ethical Choices, Consider
Professional Code of Ethics
National Nurse’s Association
Association of Teachers of Technical Writing
National Society of Professional Engineers
Company Code of Ethics
Texas Health Resources
Tarrant County College
Lockheed Martin
Personal Ethics
Anderson, P. (2017). Technical Communication: A Reader-Centered Approach. Boston, MA: Cengage.
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To Make Ethical Choices, Consider (cont.)
Who is directly impacted by the choice?
Who is indirectly impacted by the choice?
Who may eventually be impacted by the choice?
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HOW CAN I ENSURE I’M ETHICAL IN MY WRITING?
Include only accurate, credible, and complete information
Do not claim ownership of someone else’s work
Recognize your own (conscious and subconscious) perspectives as well as those of others
Consider how those perspectives are informed
Refrain from stereotyping
Ensure accessibility
Remember the human
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Focus Point 2
“Clear is Kind”
-Brene Brown
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Ensure Integrity
Make sure that all information you include is true and complete
Claim ownership only for what is yours. Be aware of:
Patents - Items whose credit for creation is protected
Trademarks - Company names (WalMart), logos (the Target bulls-eye), or slogans (I'm lovin' it)
Copyright law - Items whose distribution is protected by law (books, movies, or software)
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Ensure Accessibility
Be intentional.
Use elements that assist all audiences in accessing, finding, and using information
Visual and typographic cues
Alt-text, captions, preset styles
Use words with only one meaning (including connotation)
“awesome” generally has a positive connotation
“amazing” may have a positive or negative connotation
Use standard nomenclature/naming
“essay” for essays rather than “essay” in some areas and “paper” in others
Use shared metaphors
Use idioms only if you are sure all audiences understand them
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Ensure Cultural Competence
First, be aware of your own perspective, what informs it, and how that impacts how you interact with others.
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Ensure Cultural Competence (cont.)
Understanding Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions can help you to understand both your own perspective as well as what your audiences may think, feel, and believe.
Power Distance (how power is shared/relationships between individuals in a power structure)
Individualism (whether focus is on the individual or the collective/community)
Masculinity (what values are considered masculine or feminine and how much either matters)
Uncertainty Avoidance (comfort level with ambiguity)
Long-term Orientation (balance of traditions and progress)
Indulgence (what delay in reward may be acceptable/comfortable)
While these dimensions can be helpful, make sure not to stereotype.
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Remember the Human
Your audience are humans who think, feel, and believe
All of your writing and design impacts other humans and should be HUMANIZED.
Ways to humanize visual displays:
Use pictographs
Use photographs or drawings of humans in conjunction with bar or line graphs
Dragga, Sam & Voss, Dan. (2001). Cruel Pies: The Inhumanity of Technical Illustrations. Technical Communication. 48. 265-274.
MWMR, 2020 April 14;69(early release): 1-5
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Remember the Human (cont.)
DEHUMANIZING language or language that FACILITATES DEHUMANIZATION should not be used
This excerpt from a Geheime Reichssache (Secret Reich Business) memo written by a Nazi beauracrat for his boss describes lighting recommendations for vehicles used to transport people to concentration camps like Auschwitz:
“The lighting must be better protected than now. The lamps must be enclosed in a steel grid to prevent their being damaged. Lights could be eliminated, since they apparently are never used. However, it has been observed that when the doors are shut, the load always presses hard against them as soon as darkness sets in.”
The “load” referred to is the humans who were being transported to the concentration camps. The memo uses objective language that makes dehumanizing decisions possible.
Excerpt from: Katz, S. B. (1992). The ethic of expediency: Classical rhetoric, technology, and the Holocaust. College English , 54(3), 255-275
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Use Accessible Language
Be intentional.
Use words with only one meaning (including connotation)
“awesome” generally has a positive connotation
“amazing” may have a positive or negative connotation
Use standard nomenclature/naming
“essay” for essays rather than “essay” in some areas and “paper” in others
Use shared metaphors
Use idioms only if you are sure all audiences understand them
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Place warnings appropriately
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WHAT DO I DO IF I THINK SOMETHING IS UNETHICAL?
Ask questions
Be helpful in revealing ethical practices (facts and reason)
Remain open to others’ ideas
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Case Example – Computer Crush
Harris, C. E. Jr., Pritchard, M. S., & Rabins, M. J. (2004). Engineering ethics: Concepts and cases. Wadsworth.
A programmer is asked to write a program that will raise and lower a large X-ray device. He writes and tests his program. It successfully and accurately moves the device from the top of the support pole to the top of the table. The program is installed. Later, an X-ray technician tells a patient to get off the table after an X-ray is taken. The technician then sets the height of the device to “table-top height.” The patient, however, does not hear the technician and is crushed under the weight of the machine.
What would you do if you were the technician? The technician’s employer? The programmer? The person who designed the documentation?
If you were in any of those roles attempting to prevent this from happening, what could you do to ensure that the human on the table was considered? How would you do that?
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Case Example – WHO Graphic
Say you are in charge of posting this graphic from the World Health Organization to its Twitter. You know that the information is important to share quickly, but you are not sure that the graphic will reach its target audience because of the language level used.
WHO. (2020, March 18). [Tweet]. Retrieved from This twitter feed
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Ethics Decision Checklist
Consider:
What is the ethical dilemma?
What specifically is making you uncomfortable?
What are your competing obligations in this dilemma?
What advice does a trusted supervisor or mentor offer?
Does your company's code of conduct address this issue?
Does your professional association's code of conduct address this issue?
What are you unwilling to do? What are you willing to do?
How will you explain or justify your decision?
Ethics and Technical Communication From WikiBooks. Located at: this link..
License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
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TAKEAWAYS
Rely on ethical guidelines from your profession and organization as well as your own ethics
Consider stakeholders
Ensure integrity, accessibility, and cultural competence
Consider your own and other’s perspectives and biases
Use resources thoughtfully
Design intentionally
HUMANIZE
Ask questions, use facts/reason, and remain open
Others?
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Questions?
Contact your instructor.
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