Colegio De Sta. Lourdes of Leyte Foundation Inc.

Barangay 1 Quezon Tabontabon, Leyte

ENGLISH 11: COMMUNICATION FOR SOCIETY (Purposive Communication)

Module No. 2: Communication Ethics

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

By the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

 know how to communicate in an ethical manner; and
 apply these ethical principles to their communication process.
ACTIVITYLOG

Input Starter
Covid-19 Reminders
Focused Discussion
Assessment
Self-Evaluation
Enrichment
Point of Clarification

INPUT

Starter

Safety Pre-Cautions
Sanitize hands on the way in and on the way out
Don’t touch your face
Wear a face mask at minimum when in the home doing any work
Limit interactions with the home
Don’t touch anything that you don’t need to
Maintain separation distance from others
Carry disinfectants such as sanitizers, alcohols and etc.
Your safety is top priority during this COVID-19. Observe the following safety pre-cautions
below.

Focused Discussions

Lesson 2 : Communication Ethics

It is important to understand that whatever we communicate should be guided by certain

ethical principles. The Us National Communication Association (NCA, 1999) discusses this in
their Credo for Ethical Communication, stating that, “Ethical communication is fundamental to
responsible thinking, decision-making, and the development of relationships and communities

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within and across contexts, cultures, channels, and media. Moreover, ethical communication
enhances human worth and dignity by fostering truthfulness, fairness, responsibility, personal
integrity, and respect for self and others. We believe that unethical communication threatens the
quality of all communication and consequently the well-being of individuals and the society in
which we live.

In their Credo, there are four ethical principles of communication that are especially
relevant for students today.

Firstly, they “advocate truthfulness, accuracy, honesty, and reason as essential to the
integrity of communication” (NCA, 1999). Nowadays, social media and speeches in public have
been so filled with black propaganda and whitewashing that there is a call to reiterate the need
for truth and honesty. It is important to be accurate when we communicate, and to have facts
and figures to prove our assertions. It is important to be reasonable, rather than to be too
emotional or threatening when we communicate.

Secondly, the NCA also 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). In certain political climates, people may feel threatened to the point
that they no longer feel that it is safe to express what they feel or think. This is not a good
environment to live in. We fully agree with the NCA that to have a vibrant democracy, we must
be able to hear different perspectives and have a high tolerance for views that are different from
ours. It is important to foster an environment where people feel safe enough to express what
they think and feel, and for these expressions to be met with reasonable dialogue and debate,
rather than outright censure or violence.

Thirdly, the NCA (1999) states that they “condemn communication that degrades
individuals and humanity through distortion, intimidation, coercion, and violence, and through
the expression of intolerance and hatred” (1999). This comdemnation is important because it
safeguards society from racism, sexism, and violence against oppressed peoples. History has
shown us that a tolerance for hate speech, as well as speeches that incite violence and the act
of killing, have often instituted such violence in society, whether this is in the context of slavery,
colonialism, or misogyny.

Lastly, the NCA (1999) states that communicators should “accept responsibility for the
short and long-term consequences or our own communication and expect the same of others.”
All too often, there have been people who do not feel accountable for their actions. Therefore, if
one risks to communicate maliciously, spread false news, or incite hatred or violence, he or she
should be ready to face the consuquences of such actions. States are beginning to realize this,
especially in the porous medium of social media.

Everytime we communicate, we should consider the consequences of our actions. If

people were more responsible in their use of communication, there would be less conflict in this
world. Even though the four principles above are short and concise, they are important, because
they help us discern the difference between ethical and unethical communicators.

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ASSESSMENT

Learning Activity:
Instruction: Respond to the following questions. Use another sheet of paper for the
answers. (10 points each)

1. Why is it important to be ethical in communicating today?

2. Why do people communicate in an unethical manner?
3. In your own words differentiate ethical and unethical communicators?

RUBRIC
Indicators Points Score
Content 4
Clarity of Thoughts 3
Organization of Ideas 3
Total 10

SELF-EVALUATION

Rate yourself from 1 to 5 (1 being the lowest while 5 being the highest) on the level of
understanding that you are able to attain for this module:
1 2 3 4 5

ENRICHMENT
▪ For further learning kindly visit the link given below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQS6jKianYQ

POINTOFCLARIFICATION

Please write any questions or points of clarification about the content of this module:
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________

REFERENCES

LEARNING RESOURCES:
*Watch this Youtube video about communication barriers: Communication Coach Alex Lyon.
(2018, January 15). Communication Barriers [Video file]. In YouTube. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsl468Hwr4o
*Axelrod,R.B. & cooper, C.R. (2011). Axelrod and Cooper‘s Concise Guide to Writing, 5th Ed.
Boston: Bedford/St. Martin‘s
*Gepila, Jr.,E.C. (2014) . Examining the Composition Writing Competency of PUP Laboratory
High School Grade Seven Students for Improving Teaching Writing Methodologies.
Unpublished Master‘s
*Thesis. Philippine Normal University,Taft , Manila.

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*Mercado, Ma. Cristina et.al.(2018). Purposive Communication: Connecting to the World Mutya
Publishing House Inc.
*Solomon, B.A. & Felder, R.M. (2009). Index of Learning Style Questionnaire.
www.engr.ncsu.edu
*Reich, Brian. (n.d.). Academic Presentations.
https://www4.stat.ncsu.edu/~reich/st810A/oral.pdf
*Edwards, Paul. (2014, October). How to Give an Academic Talk,
https://pne.people.si.umich.edu/PDF/howtotalk.pdf

MA. JHYSAVIL E. ARCENA, LPT 09166013040 majhysavila@gmail.com

Instructor

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