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Question; using practical examples, critically discuss characteristics and importance of

communication ethics to a 21st century organisation.

On this essay we are going to define key terms which are ethics, communication and
communication ethics and then explain brief about the 21st century organizations., the
characteristics and the importance’s of ethical communication to a 21st century organizations
with the practical examples.

Key terms. Ethics, communication, ethical communication and 21st century organization

According to Harvey (2001) defines ethics as the state of ethical considerations in


communication practices. He also goes on to say ethics is a system of principle that guides
action while some relates ethics with distinguishing between good and evil in the world
between right and wrong human actions and between virtuous and non-virtuous
Characteristic of people. Communication is the exchange of thought, messages or
,information as by speech ,signals or writing or behaviour while some define communication
as and the processor increased commonality or sharing between participants. Ethical
communication is fundamental to responsible thinking, decision making, and the
development of relationships and communities within and across contexts, cultures, channels
and media. Ethical communication enhances human worth and respect for self and others

The 21th century organizations are the businesses that operate in the present days. These
organizations are characterized by advanced technology as well as the stiff competition hence
ethical communication has become an organizational organization priority, they are neither a
luxury nor an option. For example through the practices of ethical communication an
organization will tend to survive stiff competition and gain advantages like increased in sales
and consumer loyalty. Below are the characteristics and importances of ethical
communication to an organization that practices ethical communication.

Communication ethics is characterized by loyalty, loyal relations are mutually beneficial and
both parties reap benefits. Employees working for a loyal employer want to maintain the
relationship and will work harder. Customers will remain loyal to a business that is reliable
and dependable in all situations. Ethical businesses stay loyal to its partnerships even in
challenging times .The result is a stronger relationship when emerging from the challenge.

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Organizations should be loyal to their customers ,advertising should be fair and honest .The
business environment is characterized by stiff competition and all organizations want to be
more competitive .For example a firm producing cleaning detergents may present its product
as effective .The advert might show that the detergent instantly removes tough stains without
making any effort whilst it takes a long time to remove the stain, the cleaner has to vigorously
scrub or the stain might not come out at all.

Ethical businesses have concern for everyone and anything impacted by the business it
includes customers, employees and the public .Every decision made by the business is based
on the effect it may have on any of these groups of people and the environment surrounding
it. An organization might show concern to its customers by making online reviews. The 21st
century is characterized by sophisticated technology and many organizations have an online
presence or profiles. So they might create a platform for customers to give reviews on their
products, make complaints or give suggestions.

In addition, one of the major crucial points that govern Ethical communication in 21stcentury
organisations is respect. Ethics and respect go hand in hand. An ethical organisation
demonstrates respect for its employees by valuing opinions and treating each employee as an
equal. The business shows respect for its customers by listening to feedback and assessing
needs. And an ethical business respects its community by being environmentally responsible,
showing concern and giving back as it sees fit. For instance, if an organisation delivers all
this kind of respect to its stakeholders being guided by communication ethics it is likely to
achieve creation of a good public image that will lead to the development of a good
reputation of that particular organisation.

When employees act unethically and without integrity customers loose trust and confidence
in the organisation products and services. Also when people act unethically employees loose
trust and confidence in organisation process, system and products. Therefore communication
ethics installs confidence in both consumers and members within the organisation. This
simply means that communication ethics are a cornerstone of confidence.

Going up own role oriented behaviour is a key component in an organisation example, rather
than simply focusing on your own objections during presentations and discussions, show
your willingness to explore joint interest and their benefits for others. In this process give
others time to express their interests and to get confidence that they are being taken seriously.

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Integrity is of the fundamentals values that employees. It is the hallmark of a person who
demonstrates sound moral and ethical principles at work. It is also the foundation on which
co-workers build relationships, trust and effective interpersonal relationships. For example, a
CEO of a company who has kept his employees up to date on the struggles the business has
been experiencing. The employees are not blindsided by CEO’s request of a 10% pay cut so
that the company could avoid layoffs for the time being since they trusted their CEO.

Responsibility is central to ethical behaviour. The moment we begin to blame others or


circumstance unfairly, we are ignoring our responsibility. Instead, we should explore ways of
bearing some responsibility for what happens. When problems arise we may need to escalate
them to someone higher in the organisation, but then we must be careful since some may
perceive it as a way to blame others.

Communication is one of the basic needs. Similarly ethics are thought to be basics of life. In
Maslow’s (1943) hierarchy of needs security and social needs also includes ethics.
Communication without ethics not only leads to disaster a society but also an organisation. It
can be observed that a person with extra ordinary abilities can be of no worth if he or she
does not care about ethics and respect. So ethics are the best parts of communication.

Communication Ethics facilitates the development of human worth and dignities by fostering
truthfulness, fairness, and responsibility and above all the most crucial fact that is respect for
self and others. With morals there is development of relationships, to be specific
interpersonal relationships that is these principles that guide or influence human behaviour
tend to classify and distinguish people. So when communicating with the first impressions
you will tell that is being guided by certain ethics and this allows development of relations
across diverse cultures in any particular organisations.

Reduced financial liabilities, organizations that don't develop policies on ethical standards
risk financial liabilities. The first liability is a reduction in sales. For example, a real estate
development company can lose customer interest and sales if its development reduces the
size of an animal sanctuary. This doesn't mean a company must abandon growth. Finding an
ethically responsible middle ground is imperative to sway public opinion away from
corporate greed and toward environmental responsibility.

The second area of financial liability exists with potential lawsuits. No organization is exempt
from a disgruntled employee or customer who claims discrimination. Sexual discrimination
in the workplace is costing CEOs, politicians and celebrities their livelihood because they are

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not appropriately dealing with accusations and harassment claims. Organizations must
maintain policies and procedures addressing various types of harassment and discrimination.
Moreover, organizations must remain consistent in the execution of policies dealing with
accusations. This helps reduce frivolous lawsuits that could bankrupt smaller organizations.

In addition improvement in decision making is also an importance of ethical communication.


Decision should be driven by values as values are the principles and ideas that people or
organisations strongly believe in and consider important. This is because ethics provide moral
guidance enabling quality decision making so in every situation when a decision is about to
be made moral guidance should be a first consideration. For instance regarding the 21st
century organisations characterised by stiff competition, an organisation that does not value
competition will be fierce in its operation aiming to wipe out its competitors and establish a
monopoly

More so, empowerment of staff to work with each other is also another importance of
communication ethics .An organisation driven by values is revered by its employees also .As
the ethics are the common thread that brings the employees and the decision makers on a
common platform as they will be aiming to achieve a certain objective. This goes a long way
in aligning behaviours within the organisation towards achievement of a common goal or
mission.

Positive cooperate culture, an organization devoting resources to developing policies and


procedures that encourage ethical actions builds a positive corporate culture. Team member
morale improves when employees feel protected against retaliation for personal beliefs.
These policies include anti-discriminatory rules, open door policies and equal opportunities
for growth. When employees feel good about being at work, the overall feeling in the
organization is more positive. This breeds organizational loyalty and productivity, because
employees feel good about showing up for work.

To summarize Ethical communication is the study of values and morals of what is right and
wrong (Sage 2009). To be an ethical communicator means to practice being truthful and
accurate honest in communications. Hence ethical communication is very relevant to 21st
century organisations in such a way that it leads to reduced financial liabilities, increase
consumer confidence good reputation just to mention the few. However communication
ethics reduce a company's freedom to maximize its profit. For example, a multinational
company may move its manufacturing facility to a developing country to reduce costs.

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Practices acceptable in that country, such as child labour, poor health and safety, poverty-
level wages and coerced employment, will not be tolerated by an ethical company.
Improvements in working conditions, such as a living wage and minimum health and safety
standards reduce the level of cost-savings that the company generates. However, it could be
argued that the restrictions on company freedom benefit wider society.

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Bibliography

Maslow, A. (1943) A theory of human Motivation. Psychological review, 50, 370-395.

Jondle, D. J. (2011) Kenexa, Assessing the Ethical culture.

American Psychological Association. (2001). Publication manual of the American

Schifrin, S. H. (1999). Dissent, injustice and the meanings of America. Princeton,


NJ:Princeton University Press.
Sundrud ,B.Nolan ,S.( 2014). Ethics lecture from COMM 4020, University of Denver.

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