Arellano University

Jose Abad Santos Campus

Taft Avenue, Pasay City

GEC 105 PURPOSIVE COMMUNICATION

LESSON 3

TOPIC: 1. Communication Principles and Ethics in Communication

Lesson Learning Outcomes: At the end of the learning engagement you should
be able to:

1. explain how to bring positive change to poor communication that

damages important relationship,
2. discuss the value and principles of communication,
3. explain the key concepts of ethical communication,
4. participate in activities to enhance communicative competence, and
5. appreciate the value of understanding the principles of ethics in
communication.

The Value of Communication

By: Jesus Perry L. Caudilla

Without doubt, communication is an essential tool to help you succeed in life.

Whether in matters of academics or business, excellent communication is imperative in
gaining advantage. Appropriate and respectable communication can lead you finding
solutions to issues and concerns confronting you or your organization. Thus, you should
be able to convey your message well. The concomitant requirement to communicating
well is evaluating your own communication competence and developing your skill in
using a language, interacting with people and sharing experiences. Your speech and
language instructor or any reputable speaker you talk to or watch on television can help
you considerably in this regard.
Developing communication skills should start early in life. The spoken and written
language is learned even before you attend formal school. Consequently, you improve
your communication skills as you constantly interact with people who possess language
proficiency. However, once you have gained communication competence, you never get
satisfied, thus you continue engaging with the people around you and make a
compelling impact on them.
If your communication is ineffective now, you may encounter a lot of problems in
your future career or professional life. You should have realized by now that effective
communication is essential in life and it is increasingly becoming an inevitable requisite
for successful personal, academic and professional undertakings. Therefore, you need
to recognize the importance of communication and its benefits to your life.
What makes communication necessary?

The importance of communication cannot be disregarded. Good communication can be

stairway to success.

1. Communication serves as vehicle in building relationships.

2. Communication works in improving working environment.
3. Communication assists in fostering strong team.
4. Communication helps find appropriate solutions to problems.
5. Communication builds greater respect.

Principles that Guide Understanding of Communication

1. Communication is transactional: it consists of interrelated components

that influence one another, thus communication becomes a dynamic process.
2. Communication has content and relational dimensions: the content
dimensions involves the ideas being openly talked about, while the relational
dimension expresses your behavior towards the other person.
3. Communication can be intentional or unintentional: because all words
and actions have meanings and communicative use.
4. Communication is irreversible: to “unreceive” a message is unlikely, as
words and actions, once said or done, cannot be unsaid or undone.
5. Communication is unrepeatable: because the same words and actions
have different meanings when used or expressed at different times and on
diverse occasions.

Ethical Communication

Etymologically, the word ethics comes from the Greek term ethos which can
pertain to customs and habits. As branch of knowledge, ethics deals with a structure of
moral principles. Ethics guides an individual’s behavior- his words and actions- and the
way he or she communicates with others.
Ethics is defined as a code of moral standards of conduct for what is “good” and
“right” as opposed to what is “bad” and “wrong”. It deals with values with human
conduct, with respect to the rightness and wrongness of certain actions and to the
goodness and badness of the motives and ends of such actions.
Communication is ethical when it is utilized to enhance the way people interact
with one another to improve society’s moral life. On the other hand, communication is
unethical, when it is used to damage human relations or encourage societal
decadence. Some common examples of unethical communication are inappropriate
jokes, coercive, threatening and intimidating statements, misleading words, lying,
meddling with something overheard, telephone tapping, betraying or backstabbing
somebody, and spreading fake news.
 Communication ethics varies by culture and context and involves the negotiation
of and reflection on our actions regarding what we think is right and wrong or good and
bad.
Ethical Standards of Communication

1. Truthfulness and honesty

2. Integrity
3. Fairness
4. Respect
5. Responsibility

Principles of Ethical Communication

According to Ruth Mayhew (2018), ethical communication has several guiding

elements.

1. Fact-based messages should be communicated with honesty and accuracy.

2. Resources and facts from which the message is generated should be accessible.
3. Message should be made accessible.
4. Basic human needs should be given careful consideration

Reference:

Caudilla & Cansancio, Purposive Communication, 2019

Books Atbp. Publishing Corporation
ISBN 978-621-409-141-6