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CM 415: Effective and Appropriate
Communication in the Workplace
Unit 6 seminar
Communication Ethics
SUSAN HARRELL
KAPLAN UNIVERSITY
Project: Unit 6
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Scenario: Reread Case 12-1: Excel Industries (A), then consider your answers to the questions
after the case (the case involves on-site child care and whether or not Excel should keep the center
open despite declining employee enrollment and increasing costs). Decide what Mr. Lohman
should do and then write a business letter from Mr. Lohman to the parents of the Learning Center
explaining his decision. Keep in mind, this is an ethical decision that should take into
consideration all of the factors of the case, which should be reflected (and referred to) in his
letter.
Many of the parents are not company employees; therefore, his general audience is an external
audience.
If you decide that Mr. Lohman should close the center, consider how you will tell your audience
this bad news. You may have to refer back to the reading in Unit 3 to refresh your memory about
how to convey bad news in writing.
If you decide that Mr. Lohman should keep the center open, his solution should be reasonable and
feasible given the background of this case. Keep in mind board members are going to have to buy
off on this decision. A complete description and the feasibility of that decision should be reflected
in his letter.
Follow the format for a business letter as discussed and shown in previous readings.
“Current event” exercise unit 6
 Find articles from 2001-present on issues related to ethical situations in the
workplace)
 Possible search terms for this week’s discussion: conflict of interest, professional
ethics, business ethics, work ethics, sexual harassment, whistleblowing, corporate
mission statements
 Use credible sites (like The New York Times or Washington Post, professional society
sites), or use the Newspaper Source or Business Source Premier databases in the
Kaplan library
 Post the article’s bibliographic information in correct APA format, and in four distinct
paragraphs discuss:
 1) the article’s relevance to the week’s unit material
 2) the main ideas of the article
 3) your reflection on the content
 4) why is this information important to professionals in communication? Would you
recommend others read this article? Why or why not?
 Respond to the posts of two classmates
Unit 6 Issues to consider
• How do we define “ethical”? How does “ethics”
differ from “morality”?
• What kinds of ethical dilemmas might we face in
the workplace?
• How do we make ethical decisions?
• How does the culture and leadership of a
company determine the behavior of its
employees?
• How can companies use mission statements to
convey core values?
Three levels of inquiry
• Individual
• Organizational
• Business system
• See pp. 152-153
Three views of decision-making
• Moral point of view
• Economic point of view
• Legal point of view
• Integrating these perspectives
• See pp. 153-154
Nature of moral judgments
• Normative judgments express values , make
claims about “right and wrong,” and prescribe
behaviors.
• Nonnormative judgments are “value-neutral”
and descriptive.
• Moral judgments are a subset of normative
judgments.
• See p. 154
Moral principles
• Have serious consequences for humanity’s wellbeing
• Must be rooted in strong reasons
• Should override self-interest
• Should be based upon impartial considerations
• See p. 155
Resources for making decisions and
moral judgments
Decisions are made based
upon. . .
Moral judgments are rooted
in. . .
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Observations
Assumptions
Value judgments
Proposals
See pp. 155-156
Ethical sensibility
Ethical reasoning
Ethical conduct
Ethical leadership
See pp. 156-157
Question 1
• “Can people learn to be honest in the
workplace?” (Asacker, 2004). The keyword here
is “learn.” Explain your answer to this question.
Plagiarism and cheating in the
classroom
• Almost 80% of college students admit to cheating
at least once-- The Center for Academic Integrity
studies.
• 36% of undergraduates have admitted to
plagiarizing written material-- Psychological
Record survey.
• 90% of students believe that cheaters are either
never caught or have never been appropriately
disciplined-- US News and World Report poll.
• 58.3% of high school students let someone else
copy their work in 1969, and 97.5% did so in
1989-- The State of Americans: This Generation and the
Next.
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See plagiarism.org website for more details. . .
Question 2
• What are the benefits and drawbacks to
legislating ethics in the workplace? What kinds
of ethical behaviors might be enforced or at least
encouraged by a company?
Question 3
• How can a company make a code of conduct
personal as well as organizational?
What makes a company’s ethical
statement work?
• Write it down!
• Tailor it to the company culture; what issues are relevant to that
company?
• Communicate it to the employees and the public.
• Promote it—make sure others know what your position is.
• Revise it as needed to make sure it reflects the current situation.
• Walk the walk—the company has to live by its mission statement.
• Enforce/reinforce it. If employees or management violate the code,
punishment must be given fairly.
• See pp. 159-160
Case study 12-3
• “The Soul of Dell”: are corporate philosophy
statements valuable? What are some companies
whose philosophies are well-known? How does
this impact the behavior of employees?
Kaplan’s Mission Statement
• “Kaplan helps individuals achieve their
educational and career goals. We build futures
one success story at a time.”
Kaplan’s five core values
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Integrity
Knowledge
Support
Opportunity
Results
Kaplan’s decision standards
• How will the decision impact students? Will it
improve learning and educational environment?
• Will the decision create a better work
environment and opportunities for employees?
• What kind of financial impact will the decision
have on the corporation?
• Does the decision support Kaplan’s five core
values?
Google’s philosophy: “Never settle for
the best”
• 1. Focus on the user and
all else will follow.
• 2. It's best to do one thing
really, really well.
• 3. Fast is better than slow.
• 4. Democracy on the web
works.
• 5. You don't need to be at
your desk to need an
answer.
• 6. You can make money
without doing evil.
• 7. There's always more
information out there.
• 8. The need for
information crosses all
borders.
• 9. You can be serious
without a suit.
• 10. Great just isn't good
enough.
Trader Joe’s Mission Statement
• “The TJ mantra is to offer value and a dedication to
quality service through warm, friendly, committed
employees along with a pledge to offer quality
products. This mission requires a culture that
supports loyalty and customer service through
personal contact with the consumer. The
commitment to the customer is captured on the TJ
website, “Our Product Guarantee: We tried it! We
liked it! If you don’t, bring it back for a full refund,
no questions asked.” The underlying message is that
TJ desires to establish an personal relationship with
the customer” (Mallinger & Rossy, 2007, para. 5).
References
• Asacker, T. (2004). Ethics in the workplace start with honesty. T + D, 58(8), 42-44.
Retrieved June 15, 2009, from Academic Search Premier.
• Barnett, R. (2003). Ethics in the workplace: It begins with character. Women in Business,
55(2), 34-35. Retrieved June 15, 2009, from Academic Search Premier.
• O’Rourke, J.S., Chaney, L.H., Martin, J.S., Reynolds, S., Valentine, D., Munter, M. &
Paradi, D. (2007). Workplace Communication. Kaplan University: Pearson Custom
Publishing.
• Google. (2009). Ten things Google has found to be true. Retrieved June 15, 2009, from
http://www.google.com/corporate/tenthings.html
• The Trader Joe’s Experience
• The impact of corporate culture on business strategy.
• Mallinger, M. & and Rossy, G. (2007). The impact of corporate culture on business
strategy. Graziadio Business Report, 10 (2). Retrieved June 15, 2009, from
http://www.themanager.org/Strategy/Trader_Joe_Corporate_Culture_Strategy.htm
• Facts about plagiarism. (2009). Retrieved June 15, 2009, from
http://www.plagiarism.org/plag_facts.html.