Transcript Chapter 4 Ethics and the Workplace Writer

Chapter 4
Ethics and the
Workplace Writer
Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century.
© 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Ethics Are
‣ The principles of right and wrong one lives by
in a community
‣ Local and contingent
‣ Dependent on available tools and context
Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century.
© 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Study of Ethics
‣ Metaethics: where ethics come from
‣ Normative ethics: how we arrive at ethical
standards
‣ Applied ethics: examine the two above and
how they relate to particular issues
Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century.
© 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Recognize ethics as more
than simple choices requires
the ability to analyze
contexts and make informed
ethical/rhetorical decisions
Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century.
© 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Legal vs. Ethical
‣ What is ethical may not be legal
‣ What is legal is certainly not always ethical
‣ A good rule to live by is “just because I can,
doesn’t mean I should”
Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century.
© 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Ethics and the Workplace Writer
‣ Ethics is now a central concern of workplace
writing
‣ Many recent disasters — like the charred Orings in the Challenger — are linked to poor
documentation
‣ Attention to ethics should reduce the number
of human disasters
Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century.
© 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Ideas about ethics
that help you think
carefully about issues
you may face when
writing
Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century.
© 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
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Ethical
Guidelines
Guideline 1: The Law
‣ Sometimes acting ethically may require that you do more than
the law requires
‣ Writers must ethically represent the legal conditions within
documents
‣ Writers must be exact in the legal facets of their documents
‣ Writers cannot assume that something legal is also ethical
‣ Writers must understand that laws also differ from place to place
‣ Writers are held accountable for their writing by the same laws
that protect them
Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century.
© 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
‣ Liability refers to the
condition of being found
responsible or
answerable by law or
equity
‣ Protect users from
defective products,
accidents and
inappropriate actions
Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century.
© 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
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Liability Laws
Environmental Laws
‣ Environmental laws often
address issues such as:
‣ Energy Use
‣ Waste Disposal
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‣ Land Use
‣ Natural Resource Use
‣ Water Rights
Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century.
© 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
‣ Give “owners” of textual
and visual works the right
to display, publish,
reproduce, license, and
distribute them
‣ Protect audio recording,
films, software, graphic
arts, and even
architectural designs
Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century.
© 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
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Copyright Laws
Patent Laws
‣ Protect the rights of inventors and creators
‣ Ensure them the sole right to produce, use, or
sell their products
‣ Applies to new technologies, products,
services, and processes
Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century.
© 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Trademark & Servicemark Laws
‣ Trademarks (™) are names, symbols, devices,
or words that accompany and distinguish
goods
‣ Servicemarks (®) are essentially the same as
trademarks, but identify a service
Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century.
© 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Contract Laws
‣ Make written agreements between parties
that are legally binding
‣ Provide solutions to disputes when those
agreements have been breached
‣ Must be understood in order to write legally
binding contracts
Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century.
© 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Guideline 2: Honesty
‣ Disseminating false information is illegal and
unethical
‣ Obscuring the truth or vaguely representing
information is illegal and unethical
‣ Writers must present information in a clear,
concise, and coherent manner
Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century.
© 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Guideline 3: Confidentiality
‣ Inappropriate transmission of sensitive
information could cost a company contracts,
money, jobs or reputation
‣ Be clear about what information can be (or
should be) made public
‣ Protects the privacy of professional
relationships
Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century.
© 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Address issues such
as harassment,
grievances, employee
relations, and basic
business practices
Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century.
© 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
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Codes of
Ethics
Ethics and Technology
‣ Applies to developing networked
technologies
‣ Influenced by laws, social norms, the market,
and network architecture
‣ Involves issues of privacy, ownership, and
accuracy
Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century.
© 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Visuals
Anyone can fake an image with digital technology
Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century.
© 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Visuals Should Not Be Used
‣ To discredit others
‣ To alter images for one’s benefit
‣ To emphasize or de-emphasize particular aspects
of the image
‣ To create an information reality that did not exist
Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century.
© 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Guidelines for Writing Ethically
‣ Avoid deceptive or evasive language
‣ Clarify the issue or subject
‣ Avoid abstract language and jargon
‣ Suppress or emphasize information in ethical ways
‣ Use accurate and appropriate visuals
‣ Avoid plagiarism
‣ Insure the accuracy of information
Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century.
© 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Ethical Writer’s Checklist
‣ Is the information presented in my document
honest?
‣ Is the information presented in my document
legal?
‣ Does the information I present in my document
impact local or global environments?
‣ How does the use of technology affect my
document?
Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century.
© 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Ethical Writer’s Checklist
‣ Does my use of visuals accurately represent the truth?
‣ Does my language obscure the truth in any way?
‣ Have I used vague, ambiguous, misleading, abstract
language in my document, and if so does its use alter
the meaning of the document?
‣ Can my document be interpreted in inaccurate ways?
Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century.
© 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Ethical Writer’s Checklist
‣ Is my document jargon filled?
‣ Have I confirmed all information I’ve presented?
‣ Have I cited all information I have gathered and
used in the document?
‣ If there are inaccuracies in the information, have
I reported them before the document has been
published/made public?
Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century.
© 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.