ETHICS IN COMMUNICATION

“Education without values, as useful as it is, seems

rather to make man more clever evil.”

The term ethics come from the Greek word ethos, which
means custom, habit, character or outlook . Albeit peoples from
different cultures vary in their moral philosophers, people in
general expect to be treated with dignity, fairness, respect or
with basic courtesy in their communication encounters.
Regardless of an individual’s moral principle (relativistic),
ethics in communication can take a universal approach, which
can be displayed in several ways including but not limited in the
following:
1. ADHERING TO THE GOLDEN RULE OR THE PLATINUM RULE

The golden rule asserts to always treat others in the same

way you want to be treated while the platinum rule according to
Bennet(1980) stresses on treating others the way they wish to
be treated.
Ethical communicators address people of other cultures
with the same respect that they would like to receive
themselves (Jandt,2013:37)
2. CONSIDERING THE FEELING OF THE RECEIVER

Humans are not only cognitive but also emotional beings.

If we are less careful with our words, tone, and non-verbal
gestures, people could be negatively affected. To be ethical in
communicating with others, it will be best to maintain tact and
diplomacy in our communications.
3. ACKNOWLEDGING THE SOURCE OF IDEA AND INFORMATION

Sources of ideas and information should be acknowledged

appropriately at all times. It is unethical and unlawful for
someone to convey other people’s intellectual property without
recognizing the author’s names or organizations.
4. SPEAKING THE TRUTH

This is a universal rule. Unfortunately , there are also those

who (for whatever reason) seem to enjoy propagating
falsehood. Take for instance the abundance of fake news or
what others call alternative facts on the internet. Obviously, this
is a violation of communication ethics and should be stopped by
all means.
TASK :

1. Form groups of three members.

2. Research on issue/s in ethics in the context of cyber
communication. How do you think these issues can
be resolved?
3. Discuss within the group members the chosen topic. (I
issue only).
4. Write on 1 power point slide the title of the issue
chosen
5. Only one member will discuss the group’s discussion in
resolving the issues.