Ethics and Technical

Communication
Be nice.
 “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
What is Ethics NOT?
• Easy

• Simple

• Clear-cut

• A way to find the “right”

answer
 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.
 Intertwined Ethical Systems

Personal Ethics

•Family
•Culture
•Faith

Social Ethics Conservation Ethics

•Rights •Sustainability
•Justice •Ecology
•Care •Resources

From Johnson-Sheehan, R. (2006). Technical Communication Today, 2 nd ed. New York: Pearson.Longman, p. 99.
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?
Would it matter if:

• Heinz had been cheating

on his wife?
Would it matter if:

• Heinz’ wife had been

cheating on him?
Would it matter if:

• The druggist was also the

pastor of a local church?
Would it matter if:

• The druggist was

independently wealthy?
Would it matter if:

• The druggist was destitute?

Would it matter if:

• Heinz’ wife was 25 years

old?
Would it matter if:

• Heinz’ wife was 88 years

old?
Would it matter if:

• Heinz was an ex-convict?

Would it matter if:

• Heinz was a policeman?

 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.
To consider:
• How do we stop this from
happening again?

• Who is to blame?
 Would it matter if:

• The patient was lame?

 Would it matter if:

• The patient was deaf?

 Would it matter if:

• The technician was new?

 Would it matter if:

• No training on the
machine had been given?
 Would it matter if:

• The only training was the

required reading of a users
manual?
 Would it matter if:

• The programmer is from a

different country?
 Would it matter if:

• The programmer was not

told where the machine
was to be used?
Ethics in document design
• How you place information
on the page affects the
way your audience
interprets that information

• Graphs, charts, etc. can

hide information, or render
vital statistics apparently
meaningless