Ethics and Technical Communication Be nice.
Dec 15, 2015
“The Unexamined Life is Not Worth Living” Socrates
• Clear understanding of our actions allows us to communicate our motivations to others
• Without that understanding, we may be unable to convince others to support our decisions or render similar judgments in similar situations
From Dombrowski, P. (2000). Ethics in technical communication. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Ethics…• Justifies reasoning
• Considers “Right” action
• Considers the implications of action
• Thinks through multiple scenarios
• Shows awareness of real-world constraints
Basic Principals of Ethics
• Abide by relevant laws• Abide by the appropriate
corporate or professional code of conduct
• Tell the truth• Don’t mislead your readers• Be clear• Avoid discriminatory language• Acknowledge assistance from
others
Markel, M. (2004). Technical communication (7th Ed.). Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin’s
But there are different types…• Aristotelian
– Virtue-driven, Rule-based decision-making
• Kantian– Situational, rule-based, motive-
driven decision making • Utilitarian
– Cost-benefit analysis • Feminist
– awareness of decision-making repercussion and social hierarchy
• Ethics of Care– Decision making in order to show
caring concern for all involved parties
• Many, many, more.
From Johnson-Sheehan, R. (2006). Technical Communication Today, 2nd ed. New York: Pearson.Longman, p. 99.
Intertwined Ethical Systems
Personal Ethics
Social Ethics Conservation Ethics
•Family•Culture•Faith
•Rights•Justice•Care
•Sustainability•Ecology•Resources
To reiterate: working through ethical dilemmas is not…• Easy
• Simple
• Clear-cut
• A way to find the “right” answer
The Heinz dilemma• In Europe, a woman was near death
from cancer. One drug might save her, a form of radium that a druggist in the same town had recently discovered. The druggist was charging $2000, ten times what the drug had cost him to make. The sick woman's husband, Heinz, went to everyone he knew to borrow the money, but he could get together only about half of what it should cost. He told the druggist that his wife was dying and asked him to sell it cheaper or to let him pay later. But the druggist said no. The husband got desperate and broke into the man's store to steal the drug for his wife. Should the husband have done that? Why?
Computer Crush• 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.
Harris, C. E. Jr., Pritchard, M. S., & Rabins, M. J. (2004). Engineering ethics: Concepts and cases. Wadsworth.