1. Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved. Chapter 4 Ethics and the Workplace Writer

2. Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved. Ethics Are ‣ The principles of right and wrong one lives by in a community ‣ Local and contingent ‣ Dependent on available tools and context

3. Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved. Study of Ethics ‣ Metaethics: where ethics come from ‣ Normative ethics: how we arrive at ethical standards ‣ Applied ethics: examine the two above and how they relate to particular issues

4. Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved. Recognize ethics as more than simple choices requires the ability to analyze contexts and make informed ethical/rhetorical decisions

5. Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved. Legal vs. Ethical ‣ What is ethical may not be legal ‣ What is legal is certainly not always ethical ‣ A good rule to live by is “just because I can, doesn’t mean I should”

6. Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved. Ethics and the Workplace Writer ‣ Ethics is now a central concern of workplace writing ‣ Many recent disasters — like the charred O- rings in the Challenger — are linked to poor documentation ‣ Attention to ethics should reduce the number of human disasters

7. Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved. Ethical Guidelines Ideas about ethics that help you think carefully about issues you may face when writing bigfoto.com

8. Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved. Guideline 1: The Law ‣ Sometimes acting ethically may require that you do more than the law requires ‣ Writers must ethically represent the legal conditions within documents ‣ Writers must be exact in the legal facets of their documents ‣ Writers cannot assume that something legal is also ethical ‣ Writers must understand that laws also differ from place to place ‣ Writers are held accountable for their writing by the same laws that protect them

9. Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved. Liability Laws ‣ Liability refers to the condition of being found responsible or answerable by law or equity ‣ Protect users from defective products, accidents and inappropriate actions bigfoto.com

10. Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved. Environmental Laws ‣ Environmental laws often address issues such as: ‣ Energy Use ‣ Waste Disposal ‣ Land Use ‣ Natural Resource Use ‣ Water Rights bigfoto.com

11. Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved. Copyright Laws ‣ Give “owners” of textual and visual works the right to display, publish, reproduce, license, and distribute them ‣ Protect audio recording, films, software, graphic arts, and even architectural designs bigfoto.com

12. Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved. Patent Laws ‣ Protect the rights of inventors and creators ‣ Ensure them the sole right to produce, use, or sell their products ‣ Applies to new technologies, products, services, and processes

13. Trademark & Servicemark Laws ‣ Trademarks (™) are names, symbols, devices, or words that accompany and distinguish goods ‣ Servicemarks (®) are essentially the same as trademarks, but identify a service Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.

14. Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved. Contract Laws ‣ Make written agreements between parties that are legally binding ‣ Provide solutions to disputes when those agreements have been breached ‣ Must be understood in order to write legally binding contracts

15. Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved. Guideline 2: Honesty ‣ Disseminating false information is illegal and unethical ‣ Obscuring the truth or vaguely representing information is illegal and unethical ‣ Writers must present information in a clear, concise, and coherent manner

16. Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved. Guideline 3: Confidentiality ‣ Inappropriate transmission of sensitive information could cost a company contracts, money, jobs or reputation ‣ Be clear about what information can be (or should be) made public ‣ Protects the privacy of professional relationships

17. Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved. Codes of Ethics Address issues such as harassment, grievances, employee relations, and basic business practices bigfoto.com

18. Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved. Ethics and Technology ‣ Applies to developing networked technologies ‣ Influenced by laws, social norms, the market, and network architecture ‣ Involves issues of privacy, ownership, and accuracy

19. Visuals Anyone can fake an image with digital technology Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.

20. Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved. Visuals Should Not Be Used ‣ To discredit others ‣ To alter images for one’s benefit ‣ To emphasize or de-emphasize particular aspects of the image ‣ To create an information reality that did not exist

21. Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved. Guidelines for Writing Ethically ‣ Avoid deceptive or evasive language ‣ Clarify the issue or subject ‣ Avoid abstract language and jargon ‣ Suppress or emphasize information in ethical ways ‣ Use accurate and appropriate visuals ‣ Avoid plagiarism ‣ Insure the accuracy of information

22. Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved. Ethical Writer’s Checklist ‣ Is the information presented in my document honest? ‣ Is the information presented in my document legal? ‣ Does the information I present in my document impact local or global environments? ‣ How does the use of technology affect my document?

23. Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved. Ethical Writer’s Checklist ‣ Does my use of visuals accurately represent the truth? ‣ Does my language obscure the truth in any way? ‣ Have I used vague, ambiguous, misleading, abstract language in my document, and if so does its use alter the meaning of the document? ‣ Can my document be interpreted in inaccurate ways?

24. Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved. Ethical Writer’s Checklist ‣ Is my document jargon filled? ‣ Have I confirmed all information I’ve presented? ‣ Have I cited all information I have gathered and used in the document? ‣ If there are inaccuracies in the information, have I reported them before the document has been published/made public?