This document discusses ethics in organizational communication. It defines organizational ethics as the moral code of an organization, including how decisions are made and people act. Strong organizational ethics are important for an organization's public image and ability to accomplish its mission. Key areas of ethical communication include message purpose, research methods, language use, and cultural context of messages. Some examples of unethical practices are also provided, such as plagiarism. Ethical guidelines for communication include considering the common good and respecting people's rights. The document presents two ethical dilemmas involving proper credit for work and handling private information discovered unintentionally.

1. ETHICS IN
ORGANIZATION
AL
COMMUNICATIO
N
P A T R I C K R . N A H I A L -

2. • What is organizational ethics?
• Why is it important?
• Strong organizational ethics
• What are the Key Areas for Ethical
Communication
• Samples of unethical communication
practices
• Ethical Communication Guidelines
ETHICS IN ORGANIZATIONAL
COMMUNICATION
Main Ideas

3.  It is a system of moral principles.
It affects how people make decisions and
lead their lives.
It is concerned with what is good for
individuals and society.
 Distinguishing between..
..good and evil in the world,
..right and wrong of human actions,
..virtuous and non-virtuous characteristics of
WHAT IS ETHICS?

4. WHAT IS COMMUNICATION
ETHICS?
 deals with the moral good present in any form
of human communication. This includes
interpersonal communication, mass
mediated communication, and digital
communication.
 Communication ethics concerns not only the
individual, but is of great concern to
businesses, corporations, and professional
entities.

5. WHAT IS ORGANIZATIONAL
ETHICS?
“Organizational
ethics refers to
the moral code
of an
organization,
including how

6. IMPORTANCE OF ETHICAL
COMMUNICATION
• Public Image can affect organization’s ability to
accomplish
mission/ make a profit.
 A business must practice ethics in
organizational
communication to establish and
maintain a positive
image.
Why does it matter?

7. STRONG ORGANIZATIONAL
ETHICSAction-oriented
model

8. • Message Purpose
• Research Methods
• Selection of Material
• Development of Ideas
• Use of Language
• Ethical Context
• Self Analysis
KEY AREAS FOR ETHICAL
COMMUNICATION
PERSONAL WRITTEN & SPOKEN MESSAGES

9. • Cultural Context
• Misunderstanding
• Language
• Accountability
KEY AREAS FOR ETHICAL
COMMUNICATION
CROSS – CULTURAL MESSAGES

10. • Language
• Graphic/Print
• Omission
• Truth
• Accountability
KEY AREAS FOR ETHICAL
COMMUNICATION
ADVERTISING MESSAGES

11. SOME EXAMPLES OF UNETHICAL
COMMUNICATION
Plagiarism Stealing someone else’s work and
claiming it as your own.
Selective misquoting Deliberately omitting damaging or
unflattering comments to paint a better
(but untruthful picture ) of you or your
company
Misrepresenting numbers Increasing or decreasing numbers ,
altering statistics or omitting numerical
data.
Distorting visuals Making a product look bigger or
changing the scale of graphs and charts
to exaggerate or conceal the differences.

12. WHAT IS ETHICAL DILEMMA?
It is also known as moral dilemmas.
These are situations in which there is a
choice to be made between two options,
neither of which resolves the situation in
an ethically acceptable fashion.

13. ETHICAL COMMUNICATION
GUIDELINESWays to approach ethical communication and
decision-making Utilitarian Approach (Bentham/Mill)
o Doesthisactionprovidethegreatestgoodforgreatestnumber?
Rights Approach (Kant)
o Doesthisactionrespectthemoralrightsofeveryone?
Fairness or Justice Approach (Aristotle, John
Rawls)
o Isthisactionfairandfree ofdiscriminationoffavouritism?
Common Good Approach
o Doesthisactionsustainwelfareofthecommunity?
Virtue Approach

14. ETHICAL DILEMMA IN
ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION
Employees often work in teams to create marketing
campaigns, develop new products or fine-tune
services, yet rarely does everyone in a group contribute
equally to the final product.
If three members of a five-person team did all the
work, do those three members demand to receive
proper credit while pointing out that two members of
the team did not pull their weight?

15. ETHICAL DILEMMA IN
ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION
Tony, a data analyst for a major casino, is working after normal
business hours to finish an important project. He realizes that he is
missing data that had been sent to his co-worker Robert. Tony had
unintentionally observed Robert typing his password several days ago
and decides to log into Robert’s computer and resend the data to
himself. Upon doing so, Tony sees an open email regarding gambling
bets Robert placed over the last several days with a local sports book.
All employees of the casino are forbidden to engage in gambling
activities to avoid any hint of conflict of interest. Tony knows he should
report this but would have to admit to violating the company’s
information technology regulations by logging into Robert’s computer. If
he warns Robert to stop his betting, he would also have to reveal the
source of his information. What does Tony do in this situation?