Communication Ethics

4. Controlling information use

1. Why won’t we talk about it?
 What information should be gathered?
 Fear of imposing morality on others
 How is the information gathered?
 Not related to the bottom line
 How is the information disseminated?
 The “it depends” philosophy
2. Basic Principles
5. Imparting the spirit
 Ethics cannot be avoided
 Corporate Culture
 Ethics involves both motives and results
 Organizational Policies
 Ethics is a matter of:
 Individual Responsibility
 who
 Discretion
 what
 Relevancy
 when
 Accuracy
 where
 Fairness
 why
 Timing
3. Ethical Dilemmas
 Secrecy
 Whistleblowing
 Leaks
 Apology
 Rumors & Gossip
 Lying
 Euphemisms
 Ambiguity

The US National Communication Association (NCA) has four ethical principles of communication:

1. It “advocates truthfulness, accuracy, honesty, and reason as essential to the integrity of communication” (National
Communication Association, 1999).

2. It endorses “freedom of expression, diversity of perspective, and tolerance of dissent to achieve the informed and
responsible decision-making fundamental to a civil society” (NCA, 1999).

3. It “condemns communication that degrades individuals and humanity through distortion, intimidation, coercion, and violence,
and through the expression of intolerance and hatred” (1999).

4. It believes that communicators should “accept responsibility for the short- and long-term consequences of our own
communication and expect the same of others” (1999).

Culturally sensitive and bias-free language

1. Race and ethnicity

2. Social class

3. Age

4. Disabilities

5. Gender

Use of gender fair language

Sexism in language
= The use of language which devalues members of one sex, almost invariably women, thus fosters gender
inequality (The University Center for Women Studies-University of the Philippines )
= It discriminates against women by rendering them invisible or trivializing them at the same time that it
perpetuates notions of male supremacy.
Reasons for concern in the use of sexist language

1. LANGUAGE ARTICULATE CONCIOUSNESS

- It not only orders our thoughts but from infancy, we learn to use language to give utterance to our basic needs
and feelings.
2. LANGUAGE REFLECTS CULTURE
- It encodes and transmits cultural meanings and values in our society
3. LANGUAGE AFFECTS SOCIALIZATION
- Children learning a language absorb the cultural assumptions and biases underlying language use and see these as
an index to their society’s values and attitudes

How to avoid sexist language

1. AVOID ATTACHMENT OF SEXIST TERM WHEN THE GENDER IS UNKNOWN

- When the gender is unknown, there is no reason to attach a supposed gender.
2. AVOID SEXISM
- Sexism is introduced to base words using suffix. Adding -ess or –ette unto unknown neutral noun indicates a
feminine adjustment to a masculine word.
3. AVOID DEMEANING WORD
- Some words demean like “chick” to refer to a woman and “cat” to refer to a man.
4. AVOID STEREOTYPING
- Stereotyping means “ an unvarying form of patterns; a fixed or conventional notion or conception, as of a group,
idea etc., held by a number of people allowing for no individuality”
5. AVOID VERBAL ABUSE
-

Ways to avoid sexist language

a. MAN DOES NOT INVOLVE WOMEN

- Avoid using man to refer to human beings.

b. AVOID DESRIBING WOMEN’S APPEARANCES IN TERMS OF THEIR SEXUALITY AND FEMININITY

UNLESS THE SAME CAN BE APPLIED FOR MEN IN THE SAME SITUATION

c. USE “MAN” CORRECTLY

1. Man as a verb : In place of man instead use work, serve, operate staff and run.

2. Man as prefix

3. Man as suffix

4. Man as people

5. “man” as public servant

d. USE PRONOUNS CORRECTLY

1. Use plural pronouns

2. Omit the pronoun

3. Change the subject

4. Use a passive voice

e. AVOID SEXISM BY ENDINGS AND IMPLICATIONS

f. DEFINE WOMEN WHO THEY ARE, NOT BY WHO THEIR FATHER ARE