Communication

Processes,
Principles, and Ethics
COMMUNICATION

 the act or process of communicating; fact of being

communicated.
 the imparting or interchange of thoughts, opinions,
or information by speech, writing, or signs.

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The Communication Process

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COMMUNICATION
ETHICS
ETHICS

 a system of moral principles

 deals with values relating to human conduct, with

respect to the rightness and wrongness of certain actions
and to the goodness and badness of the motives and ends
of such actions.

COMMUNICATION ETHICS

 The principle governing communication, the right and

wrong aspects of it, the moral-immoral dimensions relevant
to Interpersonal communication are called the ethics of
Interpersonal communication.

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 COMMUNICATION ETHICS

 Maintaining the correct balance between

the speaking and listening

 the legitimacy of fear and emotional appeal

 degree of criticism and praise

 The principle of honesty on both sides should be

completely applied because any amount of
insincerity from either the listener or the speaker
would not be prudent.

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FUNDAMENTALS OF ETHICAL COMMUNICATION
 responsible thinking
 decision making
 development of relationships and communities
- Contexts
- Cultures
- Channels
- Media

 UNETHICAL COMMUNICATION
 threatens the quality of all communication and
consequently the well-being of individuals and the society.

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 PRINCIPLES OF ETHICAL COMMUNICATION

• Advocate truthfulness, accuracy, honesty, and reason as

essential to the integrity of communication.

• Endorse freedom of expression, diversity of perspective, and

tolerance of dissent to achieve the informed and responsible
decision making fundamental to a civil society.
• Strive to understand and respect other communicators before
evaluating and responding to their messages.
• Promote access to communication resources and opportunities
as necessary to fulfill human potential and contribute to the well-
being of families, communities, and society.

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 PRINCIPLES OF ETHICAL COMMUNICATION
• Promote communication climates of caring and mutual
understanding that respect the unique needs and characteristics of
individual communicators.
• Condemn communication that degrades individuals and
humanity through distortion, intimidation, coercion, and violence,
and through the expression of intolerance and hatred.
• Being committed to the courageous expression of personal
convictions in pursuit of fairness and justice.
• Advocate sharing information, opinions, and feelings when facing
significant choices while also respecting privacy and confidentiality.
• Accept responsibility for the short and long-term consequences
for our own communication and expect the same of others.
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INTERPERSONAL
COMMUNICATION
ETHICS
 INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION

Interpersonal communication refers to communication with

another person.

This kind of communication is subdivided into:

• dyadic communication
• small-group communication
• public communication

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 FOUR PRINCIPLES OF
INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION

 Inescapable
 Irreversible
 Complicated
 Contextual:
-Psychological context
-Relational context
-Situational context
-Environmental context
-Cultural context

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FUNCTIONS OF
INTERPERSONAL Distance
COMMUNICATION • Provides necessary space for each
communicative partner to contribute to the
 Gaining Information relationship.
 Building a Context of • Is interpersonal space that nourishes the
Understanding very thing that keeps persons together
 Establishing Identity interpersonally—relationship.
 Interpersonal Needs: • Is an ethical responsibility, not a flaw or a
-Inclusion limitation.
-Control • The importance of distance keeps us from
-Affection equating interpersonal communication with
ever more closeness.

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INTERPERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY
 Begins with each person’s commitment to active care
for the interpersonal relationship, owned by neither and
nurtured with or without the support of the Other.
 Involves:
Caring for an interpersonal relationship. As one
seeks a path in life, interpersonal relationship
responsibility invites a balance between distance and
closeness in each relationship, which defines the quality
of our interpersonal lives (Stewart, 2006).
- Sympathy
- Empathy

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 ETHICAL
FRAMEWORKS
 DEONTOLOGICAL ETHICS

•The most frequented basis of our decision making process,

expressing a commitment to the most basic principles.

•It is regarded as universal, always applicable whatever the

circumstance is.

•We follow these rules since we think of them as duties.

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UTILITARIAN ETHICS
•focuses on the results and whether or not it would
benefit the majority.

•Utilitarianism focuses on the consequences of each

action or decision.

VIRTUE ETHICS
•concerned with moral character and places more weight or
value on the dignity of an individual and a humanity’s task of
caring for one another.

•It emphasizes character as opposed to duty or consequence.

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 UNETHICAL
COMMUNICATION
IN
THE WORKPLACE
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 FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
• Freedom of Expression is a basic human right, It refers to
right to freedom of expression, including the freedom to
seek, receive, and impart information and opinions of any
kind in any form.

• Internationally, freedom of expression is protected under

the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the
International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights.

• Used to seek answers and express opinions

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 ETHICAL FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

• Freedom of Expression must be balanced against society’s

need to maintain order, protect general welfare and public
morality

• There should be limits to free expression, but only when it

involves harm to others

• People should refrain from hate speech, the public use of

derogatory and offensive language denigrating others,
particularly on the basis of race, ethnicity, gender and/or sexual
orientation.

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 MASS COMMUNICATION
• Mass communication is used to describe the various
means by which individuals and entities relay information
through mass media to large segments of the population at
the same time.

• It is the mass production of messages (message) or

information that is intended to reach a large amount of
people

• Uses mass media; such as newspapers, TV, radio, books

etc.

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MASS COMMUNICATION ETHICS
• Truth
• Censorship
• Laws
• Privacy
• Appropriateness
• Sensitivity to other cultures
• Respect dignity, privacy, and well being of a person

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 ETHIC CODES

 Ethic Codes (or Ethical Codes) are moral guidelines that

are used to help assist people in making decisions, to tell
the difference between ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ and to utilize
this understanding to make ethical choices

 There are 3 levels:

• Code of ethics (social issues)
• Code of conduct (influence to behavior of employees)
• Code of practice (professional responsibility)

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 CORPORATE CODES OF ETHICS
• Honesty - Professional communicators are honest, accurate and candid in
all communications. This practice encourages the free flow of important
information in the interest of the public.

• Confidentiality - Protecting the confidences and privacy rights of

employees and customers is the duty of professional communicators.
Additionally, they must abide by legal requirements for disclosing
information that affect the welfare of others .

• Credit - Give due credit to those who you get ideas from.

• Free Speech - Principles of free speech and free ideas should be

encouraged.

• Courtesy - Sensitivity to cultural values and beliefs are crucial.

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