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Facing Ethical and
Legal Challenges
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Presentation Overview
• What is Ethics?
• What’s Involved in Making an Ethical
Decision?
• How Do You Make an Ethical Decision?
• What Are the Principles of Ethical
Communication?
What Is Ethics?
First, values are what you believe is right and
wrong.
Ethics is the study of values, often called
principles of conduct, that apply to a person or
group. Aristotle defined ethics as the study of
what is involved in doing good.
Ethics “guide us when the law or political rules
are silent” (Dombrowski).
What’s Involved in Making an Ethical
Decision?
• Considering moral standards
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The morality of the action
The consequences of the action
The rights of people involved
The care for relationships
• Considering laws
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Copyright law
Trademark law
Liability law
Contract law
Considering Moral Standards
• The morality of the action: Of all possible
actions, which are wrong for what they are,
regardless of consequences?
Considering Moral Standards
• The consequences of the action: Which
action would produce the greatest amount of
good for the greatest number of people, or,
conversely, the least amount of harm for the
fewest number of people?
Considering Moral Standards
• The rights of people involved: How will each
action impact others? Which actions violate
the rights of others?
Considering Moral Standards
• The care for relationships: How will each
action affect the relationships of those
involved?
Considering Moral Standards
Scenario: You have a very
irresponsible friend who wants
to work at your place of
employment. If your employer
asks for your opinion of this
friend before hiring him or her,
what should you do?
 Would this action be
regarded as moral?
 Of all possible actions,
would it produce the
greatest amount of good
for the greatest number of
people or the least amount
of harm for the fewest
number of people?
 Would it be considerate of
the rights of all people
involved?
 Would it positively affect
relationships of those
involved?
Considering Laws
• Copyright law
– Applies to intellectual property
– Gives the owner* the sole right to copy the work
that he or she has created and to profit from or
prohibit the sale or distribution of that work
* An owner can be an individual or a company
when the work was created by an employee while
on the job.
Considering Laws
A Copyright Violation
Not a Copyright Violation
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Borrowing the wording
another company used for
its dress code in your
company’s policy manual
Using a graphic found
online on the cover of a
brochure advertising the
services of your company,
with a byline inside giving
the artist credit
•
Including, word-for-word,
your company’s policy on
sick leave in its training
manual for new employees
Adding a graphic and its
citation to a slide
presentation for a class,
without asking the artist’s
permission
Considering Laws
• Trademark law
– Applies to words, names, symbols, sounds, or
colors that distinguish a company’s goods and
services from those manufactured or sold by
others and to indicate the source of the goods
– Gives the company the sole right to use that
word, name, symbol, sound, or color
– Indicated after the name of the product by a ™
or a ® if registered with the U.S. Patent and
Trademark Office
Considering Laws
• Liability law
– Applies to inaccurate information
– Gives the public the right to hold authors,
editors, and publishers responsible for damages
incurred
Considering Laws
• Contract law
– Applies to warranties (and much more)
– Gives consumers the right to expect
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that any oral or written statements expressed by a
company about one of its products are true and
accurate
that the product will fulfill its implied purpose
How Do You Make an Ethical
Decision?
• Use a decision-making model
• Ask the right questions
Use a Decision-Making Model
Start
Yes
Is it moral?
Is this action
legal?
No
Find another
way to
approach the
situation.
Ask the Right Questions
• Is it legal?
• Is it consistent with company policy and my
professional code of conduct?
• Am I doing the right thing?
• Am I acting in the best interests of all involved?
• How will it appear to others? Am I willing to take
responsibility publicly and privately?
• Will it violate anyone’s rights?
What Are the Principles for Ethical
Communication?
• Follow all relevant laws.
• Follow company policies and/or your
professional code of conduct.
• Be honest.
• Do not mislead your readers.
• Use clear, precise language.
• Include all the information that readers need
or have a right to know.
What Are the Principles for Ethical
Communication?
• Take ownership of your writing.
• Acknowledge the work of others.
• Avoid discriminatory language.
What Are the Principles for Ethical
Communication?
Scenario: You work as a manager at a popular ice cream
franchise called Sprinkles On Top. You train employees to deal
with customers based on a model you were taught while
working at another well-known business. It has been so
successful that you were asked to share this model at the last
franchise conference. When you presented the model, you did
not admit that you learned it from somewhere else. One of the
people who attended your session works as the company trainer.
She wants to include the model in the upcoming new employee
training handbook. What do you do?
Questions?