Practical models for technical communication - Shannon Kelley 2021

Ethics defined
Technical communication ethics

Ethics can be described as a system of principles or morals that determine the actions of an individual or a group. Ethical questions are not easily answered. They are rarely yes-no questions. Most of the time, ethical questions ask about what should be done and need to account for complex factors. For example, should you report a potential safety issue in the car your team is engineering or wait for road tests so the project comes in on time and within budget? What do you do when your good friend purposefully leaves information out of a progress report to make sure your team looks good to the boss? What might be the consequences for each choice?

Ethical questions provoke conversation, reflection, and debate. Your answers to these questions reveal what you value and how you want to act in the world. Entire courses are devoted to the study of ethics and can usually be found in philosophy departments. This chapter considers the overlap between ethics and professional conduct as it relates to technical communication.

Readers and users of technical documents need to trust that the information provided to them is true and reliable. You are responsible for creating accurate documents. The words you choose matter. The information you include or leave out matters. Personal ethics are just that, personal. But they form the foundation for most conversations about professional ethics. This chapter provides some ways to think and talk about this complex topic.

Your Ethical Stance

Another way to define ethics is to consider your own ethical orientation. Ultimately, ethics relate to the choices you make and how they affect others.

At some point in your life, you have probably explored your morals and principles in depth. Take this opportunity to consider who you are at this point in your life, how you want to contribute to your chosen field, and how you want to show up in the professional world. Figure 2.1 offers some questions that can help you figure out where you stand.

Figure 2.1. Ethical Stance Diagram. This Venn diagram shows how the categories of self, situation, others, and world create overlapping areas of influence that inform responsible decision-making.

Self

Chances are you were taught a certain world view. Sometimes this aligns with what your parents or guardians had in mind for you, but sometimes it doesn’t. At a certain point, it’s natural to question those ideologies to see if they are true for you. This is the point where you start to frame your own code of ethics and find the lines you don’t want to cross.

Situation

Professional ethics depend on the culture of your workplace, which is where the particulars of the situation come into play. For example, what’s permissible in the private sector (nongovernment jobs) may be frowned upon, or even grounds for dismissal, in a government workplace. Looking at the larger context, which includes both the short-term and long-term possibilities, is an important part of ethical decision-making.

Others

Think clearly about the potential impact of your decision on your professional relationships. Behind every technical document is a human being. You have an obligation to the users of documents you create. You are accountable to your employer and client. And you have a responsibility to yourself. How you balance these needs defines your approach to communication. Many of you may create content for global audiences, which requires an even greater awareness of how your choices affect other people.

World

Ethical decisions involve considering not just the impact on people but also the world at large. Technical communicators, specifically those who work in the fields of science and technology, must consider both human and nonhuman factors in making ethical decisions. For example, it would be irresponsible and unethical to ignore scholarly research about environmental issues affecting humans, such as overpopulation, waste disposal, and climate change, to name a few.