KOM4361 COMMUNICATION ETHICS

EXERCISE 10: FUTURE & INTERNATIONAL LAWS AND ETHICS

a.) Enlisted below are among the essential future aspects of ethics that must be
considered. Briefly define, elaborate, and provide example for each of them:
i.) Negotiation and Adaptation
ii.) Accountability and Responsibility
iii.) High innitiative and Sensitivity
1.0 INTRODUCTION
The English word ethics is derived from the Ancient Greek word ēthikós,
meaning "relating to one's character". This word was transferred
into Latin as ethica and then into French as éthique, from which it was
transferred into English as ethics. Ethics seeks to resolve questions of
human morality by defining concepts such as good and evil, right
and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime.

A code of ethics and professional conduct outlines the ethical principles

that govern decisions and behaviour in a company / organization or community.
They give general outlines of how employees or members should behave, as well
as specific guidance for handling issues like harassment, safety, and conflicts of
interest.

Among aspects of ethics include integrity, objectivity, professional

competence, confidentiality and professional behaviour. Let us look and
understand at three essential future aspects of ethics such as negotiation and
adaptation; accountability and responsibility; and high innitiative and sensitivity.

2.0 NEGOTIATION AND ADAPTATION

Negotiation is a discussion to settle disputes and reach agreements

between two or more sides. Negotiation is a “give and take” process resulting in
a compromise where each side makes a concession for the benefit of everyone
involved. There are many situations where you may need to be a negotiator.
You might be involved in negotiating a job offer, asking for a raise, rallying for
a budget increase, buying or selling property or closing a sale with a customer.
They all call for negotiating skills if you want to be successful.

We may realize it or not, we make a series of decisions during our time

negotiating. Such decisions often revolve around ethics in negotiation, including
choosing whether to disclose, conceal, or misrepresent information that would
weight outcomes in our own favour. While that may seem like negotiators aren’t
 always direct, most negotiators try to tell the truth. However, studies suggest
the flexibility of ethics in negotiation. Many of us may unknowingly adjust
our ethical standards based on the negotiation context.

One example would be when we find ourselves in uncertain situations.

Uncertainty increases the likelihood that we will be unethical, Roy J. Lewicki of
Ohio State University and other researchers have noted. Uncertainty about the
material facts in a negotiation can inspire unethical behavior.

Adaptability on the other hand, is vital for successful negotiation. Each

negotiation is unique, and the situation may change from one day to the next.
For example, an involved party may change their demands abruptly. While it’s
challenging to plan for every possible situation, a good negotiator can adapt
quickly and determine a new plan if needed.

3.0 ACCOUNTABILITY AND RESPONSIBILITY

Responsibility and accountability are two terms that are often considered

synonymous and are used interchangeably. Accountability means the state of
being responsible or answerable for a system, its behaviour, and its potential
impacts. Accountability is an acknowledgement of responsibility for actions and
decisions. Responsibility can be legal or moral (ethical). Accountability is a

tactful art. Let us look at some examples of being accountable and its benefits.

Bringing Solutions To Problems. At the workplace, when you see

problems, try finding solutions instead of complaining. For instance, if the
copier is not working, call the mechanic to repair it instead of complaining that
it’s not working. This demonstrates leadership and shows that you hold yourself
accountable.

Ensure pro-activeness rather than reactiveness. While working, you

might stumble across several errors and changes that probably don’t make
sense. Generally, you might merely complain and react. However, you can
demonstrate accountability by taking charge and being proactive.
 Suppose you and your team feel the lunch hours are too short to ensure
productivity. Instead of grumbling and complaining about it, you could take
charge and communicate with your boss. You’ll help increase productivity at
the workplace as your colleagues will be happier.
Admit Your Errors. You must be able to admit your errors. Accountability
is taking ownership of your actions and your team’s actions. So, if you’ve made
a mistake, don’t be hesitant to admit it and accept the consequences.
Moreover, when you admit mistakes, you have the opportunity to find solutions
for them. What shows accountability more than solution finding?
Accepting Criticism. You must also demonstrate grace when you get
criticized. As a manager, if your team member tells you that your goals don’t
make sense, listen. Instead of dismissing your team member and being callous,
demonstrate accountability by gracefully listening and accepting the criticism.
You can work together and set better goals for your team.
Show Focus. A great example of accountability is when you are focused
on achieving your goals and tasks. If you’re able to limit distractions and
pressures, you’re successful in achieving your goals efficiently. Moreover,
when your team sees this, you’re setting a good example for them. You build a
strong work ethic for your team.
Communicate Better. Communication is the key to accountability in the
workplace. It’s what helps you set goals and accomplish them efficiently.
Moreover, you’ll show accountability when you’re able to communicate, even if
you’ve had a disagreement. Each of us has different views and perceptions.
Accountability increases collaboration, promotes high performance and
helps in creating better returns for the company. Accountability in the workplace
fosters trustworthiness, cooperation, responsibility and ensures effective
communication. Accountability makes achieving goals easier and it enables
your team to take up more responsibility when there’s accountability in the
workplace.
This is an example of the difference between responsibility and
accountability. Suppose your company has an online help portal where
 customers can ask questions, and get responses in real time from customer
service representatives (CSRs). It is the responsibility of the CSRs to respond
to these questions – that is their task, working toward a goal of, for example,
a response time of three minutes or less per question. 

In this situation, accountability shouldn’t lay with the CSRs all doing the
same task with the same goal in mind – instead, it should be assigned to one
person; a supervisor or manager, who would be accountable for the response
time. In this case, they wouldn’t necessarily face consequences if the goal
wasn’t met – accountability for this situation could be to inform a higher
authority that the goal wasn’t being achieved.  

3.0 HIGH INNITIATIVE AND SENSITIVITY

Taking initiative means going the extra mile or going above and beyond
your normal job responsibilities to make things happen. It means the ability to
see something that needs to be done and deciding to do it out of your own free
will without someone else telling you to do it. Doing something that needs to be
done out of your own personal drive with a desire to make things better than
they were before or improve processes and ways of doing things. Doing more
than your normal work duties and adding a little unexpected surprise for others
at work. You act, instead of reacting, at work.

It helps to build and strengthen your decision making skills and analytical
skills where you get to analyze pros and cons of different courses of action.
Highly initiative also helps to identify opportunities and capitalize on them. The
habit of taking initiative strengthens your personal brand.

Examples of highly initiative include: when you see others struggling,

you reach out and offer help. When you see areas where your life is not going
as well as you would like to and you decide to do something about it. When you
see bad decisions being made that could be disastrous and have courage to
speak up and point the flaws rather than waiting for the bad thing to happen
and then make statements such “I thought that wouldn’t work out well”.

Taking initiative also means taking risks. Assess your risk tolerance.
Know that there is a potential to make mistakes and fail. Don’t overpromise and
under deliver – it affects your credibility. There could be situations where you
need to own up and admit your mistakes when you fail. Have resilience and a
good attitude. Additionally your sincere initiative efforts and ideas could be
ignored or unwelcome. Rein in your ego when you encounter rejection of your
ideas, don’t take it personally.

Have the ability to bounce back and keep on going with enthusiasm.
Don’t try to solve all the company’s problems at once. Likewise don’t try to do
everything alone. Feel free to ask for help when you need it. When you stick
your neck out you can attract haters; people who won’t be happy by your
progress. You can be taken advantage of by others and have extra work
dumped on you.

You can encounter people who want to put you down for no reason. Be
cautious of idea killers especially when idea is at early stages. Don’t appear as
a know it all – be a sponge, absorb, learn and soak up knowledge. Practice
being patient, change takes time.

Sometimes you will underestimate the effort involved in executing a task;

this is part of the learning process. You will become better at estimating effort
required over time and through practice. At all times, take care of yourself, be
well rested, take time to do a job well rather than hurrying up to finish the work,
be open to other people’s viewpoints, be humble, and respect yourself and
others.
 In being highly initiative you need to also be sensitive especially in
decision making. Decision-making is a key factor in management, by which all
the tasks and responsibilities of a manager take place. The nature of an
organization is based on its ethical values, which can highly affect the success
of the organization if they are taken into account when members make
decisions. Managers have to deal with various members and answer to other
managers, providers, and customers; therefore, they should follow ethical
principles and make effective reliable decisions. Ethical decision-making is
sometimes challenging for managers because although they often have
enough knowledge to make ethical decisions in different situations, they
sometimes fail to make the right decisions.

The reason is that several factors are at work between the decision-
making process and the actual decision made at the end that can affect it all.
Many of these factors are considered organizational constraints or
requirements which are related to the environment and conditions under which
a decision has to be made. Accordingly, merely being aware of ethics does not
guarantee that managers will make ethical decisions, and so it is required that
managers develop sufficient sensitivity toward moral decision-making.

In 2007, Weaver explained that it is difficult to propose a comprehensive

and fixed definition for sensitivity because the concept is complex and it refers
to a combination of different areas of human nature such as cognitive,
emotional, and functional, as well as a person’s sense of responsibility. Also,
Lutzenet al. believe that sensitivity is a kind of strength that increases the
capabilities of individuals in certain fields. Accordingly, moral sensitivity would
increase one’s ability in following ethics and performing ethical tasks. Lutzen et
al. also state that moral sensitivity improves one’s ability to recognize ethical
issues and challenges in many situations. Therefore, those individuals who are
capable of recognizing ethical issues will be better at making ethical decisions
and finding suitable and effective solution.
 It should also be noted that religious values may affect the sensitivity
and commitment of managers. In other words, moral decision-making is
considered as a religious responsibility on some occasions
REFERENCE
https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/process-of-negotiation
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accountability
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Responsibility
https://business.adobe.com/blog/basics/accountability-vs-responsibility-in-project-
management
https://sprigghr.com/blog/hr-professionals/responsibility-vs-accountability-whats-the-
difference/
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/335469670_Sensitivity_in_ethical_decision-
making_The_experiences_of_nurse_managers
Weaver K. (2007). Ethical sensitivity: state of knowledge and needs for further
research. NursEthics 2007; 14(2): 141–155.

Lutzen K, Dahlqvist V, Eriksson S, et al.

Developing the concept of moral
sensitivity in health care practice. Nurs
Ethics 2006; 13(2): 187–196
Lutzen K, Dahlqvist V, Eriksson S, et al. (2006) Developing the concept of moral
sensitivity in health care practice. NursEthics 2006; 13(2): 187–196