...Ethics and diversity play a huge part in in the development of polices in the work place because, you want to make sure that your employees are not taking advantage of your equipment. You do not want an employee to use the equipment to send vulgar emails and texts. The reasons are clear why you would want polices in place. I believe it is not only to protect the employee’s rights but also the boss’s rights as well. I believe that organizations need guidelines. Here is an example of why companies need such guidelines. One day last year a co-worker of mine was doing something on his work computer that should have not been doing. He downloaded a game and tweaked all the components so that the game would perform better. When he did that and was playing the game during his lunch break, he had accidently logged out of all of his work programs without saving and lost almost a whole days work. Now when my co worker went in to talk to the boss about it there was nothing in the rule book stating that he could not download and play games during lunch. So my co-worker friend got off with making up the day on Saturday and we got a new rulebook on Monday. I believe that it is ethical to a point to monitor what an employee is doing on your equipment. At the same time I believe that if it is something of a personal nature like an email or such, it should not peered on by your boss. If you are using company equipment to do all of your ordering and so on I believe that is wrong...
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...Ethics and Credibility in Business Communications In 2009, Toyota was accused of ignoring safety concerns in regards to faulty brakes and acceleration pedals which sent the car manufacturer into a public relations crisis. Toyota continued to blame the sticking pedals on faulty floor mats, not electrical error and was found to delay the recall process in order to save money. In order to avoid a massive recall, Toyota ignored Consumer complaints and recalled limited amounts of vehicles during different times in the year while “producing new vehicles with known safety flaws and advertising their vehicles to be the safest and highest quality vehicles on the road” (“Associated Press”, 2010). Building Back Credibility As one of the largest and best selling automotive manufacturer, Toyota lost its credibility by not being forthcoming with all the Consumer complaints received. Toyota was found to have put saving money before Consumer safety. Being a large company with many Consumer’s relying on their automobiles, Toyota is obligated to give back to its Consumer’s by being honest and putting the Consumer’s at ease by letting the Consumer’s know that their concerns are being addressed. In 2010, Toyota was ordered to appear in Congress to face questions about their conduct in recalling of vehicles. During the hearing, Toyota “finally admitted to engaging in unethical behavior when it comes to investigating the safety of its vehicles” (Mack, 2010). This was the first admission from Toyota...
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...Ethics in Business Communications: The McDonald’s Scandal Ethics in Business Communications: The McDonald’s Scandal Ethics in business are forms of professional personalities that compel all morals to be in line. It separates the right from the wrong, and justice and crime. In business, this goes without saying that one must be as professional as he or she can be when dealing with all sorts of races, cultures, age, and religions. Racism is not something in the past; it still takes place every single day, even more so in the work place. The article titled, “Get the ghetto out of the store”, was very hard to read without feeling shame on the society that we live in. In the state of Virginia, McDonalds restaurants have been subject to racial and sexual harassment. All 10 plaintiffs have come forward and admitted that supervisors would use racial slur at word. The supervisors were using words like, “ghetto”, “ratchet”, and “dirty Mexican”. Furthermore, according to the article, “A large number of white employees were hired in March 2014, and in May about 15 African American employed were terminated, according to the complaint” (Daily Tel, 2015). It goes to show how important Ethics are in business communications. Employers have to maintain a standard in which there is no unethical treatment towards their employees. Employers have to leave race, religion, sex, age, and any other related moral out of the work place. Our team discussion was very interesting to read. Every...
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...Ethics in Business Communication Ethical dilemmas happen regularly within a business. These ethical situations range from the common to the rare, and include “half-truths, outright lies, unethical practices, harmful actions, and unsavory company allegations” (Bell & Smith, 2010). It is how a company handles these ethical situations, however, that defines their character. General Motors is a company that has been around for over one hundred years. They have been an industry leader in the manufacturing of automobiles in the United States for decades, but they have recently come under fire for the mishandling of a harmful action. General Motors vehicles manufactured between 2003 and 2007 had a faulty ignition switch installed in them which can cause the car to suddenly turn off, leading to the power steering, power brakes, and airbags becoming inoperable. This factory defect has caused General Motors to recently recall approximately 1.37 million vehicles. However, General Motors has known of this issue for ten years and “elected not to replace a part that would have cost 57 cents a car because of cost and the lack of 'an acceptable business case' for doing so" (Isidore, 2014). From the apathetic handling of the recall to the greed-infused decision to save a few dollars, General Motors has been acting like a company with little ethical compass. CEO Mary Barra has issued a statement of apology, giving her “apologies to everyone who has been affected by this recall…especially to...
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...Ethics in Business Communications Crystal Poindexter COM/295 September 15, 2014 John Quesnel Ethics in Business Communications This week we learned about various and effect way to communicate in business, we also learned about communications that are ethical and unethical. Ethical communications are a set of principles we live by and expect others to do the same. In a business it is slightly different, there are several dilemmas facing business communicator, some are cosmetic half-truths, which is “buying time until a more favorable action is possible (Management Communication Chapter 7). Another communication dilemma in this next case is the Harmful or potentially harmful actions by a company. This breaks down to the company wanting to save money and increase their profits knowingly cuts corner and produce a defective or subpar product. (Management Communication Chapter7) In 1990’s and 2000’s a serious of internal memos for employees about the quality of the product being subpar, and potential life threatening fell on deaf ears. From 1990’s to 2000’s a series of problems ranging form gas tank explosions to an ignition switch, failure has plague the automotive company. General Motors had full knowledge of its faulty products and...
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...Ethics in Business Communications D’Angelo Costello COM/295 Business Communications December 8, 2014 JOSHUA SINSKI Ethics in Business Communications Many businesses have gained a bad reputation just by being in business. To some people, businesses are interested in making money, and that is the bottom line. This could be called capitalism in its purest form, making money is not wrong in itself. It is the manner in which some businesses conduct themselves that brings up the question of ethical behavior. It is incumbent upon managers in business, education, and industry today, to be very sensitive and forthright in their communications in response to privacy requests regarding communications from their employees. To be less than totally forthright can result in some very unsavory results from disenfranchised employees. As any investigation of these matters will result in multiple persons being made aware of the situation, the Federal Trade Commission announced a formal complaint against AT&T alleging the carrier “misled” customers by charging for unlimited data and then throttling their data speeds up to 90 percent ("FTC Sues AT&T Over Throttling Unlimited Data Customers", 2014). Businesses have a responsibility to not just force ethical practices on their employees, but rather they have a responsibility to the general public to abide by a high ethical standard while serving the public. By applying and abiding by basic ethical principles, companies such as AT&T...
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...Ethics in Business Communications Joseph Mallory COM/295 January, 19, 2015 Jamey Pippert Ethics in Business Communications In a business world driven by profitability, sometimes decisions are made despite the ethical consequences. Business owners are under constant pressure from their company’s share- holders and/or investors to do whatever it takes to cut costs and increase profits. It’s the “what- ever it takes” mindset that often backfires on a company in light of their decisions leading to un- ethical behavior. Many companies in the United States are outsourcing workers from other countries to do their work because the lack of laws in these other countries allow work to be done at a much lower cost. In America, the cost of labor is higher than a lot of other countries because of laws pertaining to the forty hour work week, overtime pay, the minimum wage law, and so on. Some business owners take advantage of the lack of these types of laws and by doing so, their company increases their profitability. According to Blodget (2012) “Your iPhone was built, in part, by 13 year-olds working 16 hours a day for 70 cents an hour….And that's why it's disconcerting to remember that the low prices of our iPhones and iPads — and the super-high profit margins of Apple — are only possible because our iPhones and iPads are made with labor practices that would be illegal in the United States” (p.1). Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-child-labor-2012-1#ixzz3PJSvC6xS ...
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...Ethics In Business Communication COM/295 May 5th, 2014 In business ethics play a very big role in human resources. When we step into our company and our roles in our company we face ethical decisions that may differ from our personal ethics. This is because the ethics found in business, or our company, are for the better of our company and not ourselves. Ethical dilemmas can range from unsavory company allegiances, outright lies, half-truths, unethical practices, and harmful actions. In business the responses to ethical dilemmas can include tolerance, resignations, and attempts to work towards change in the system. In an ethical situation we may be forced to decide between the better of our company or ourselves. In our readings the situation was presented that there would be layoffs in a company after a contract for a waste disposal system was finished. As a manager, or human resource representative you were given this knowledge before the rest of the employees with strict instructions to not tell anyone of the future layoffs. The ethical dilemma was telling the employees of the future layoffs to help them or keep silent knowing you are benefiting your company and society. The typical moral dilemmas that we may face are: cosmetic half-truths, outright lies, unethical company practices, harmful or potentially harmful actions by the company, and company allegiances. Cosmetic half-truths are when we make a situation seem more promising than it is, when in actuality, part...
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...Finished and Stapled: The Power of Words Teri Madia COM/295 September 1, 2014 Todd Breton Finished and Stapled: The Power of Words Was it something I said? Employees are signing petitions, customer satisfaction is low, stock prices are sliding quickly, and profits are down. Ethical business decisions can have a great impact on employees, customers, investors, and the profitability of a company. This is precisely what one of the most successful global office supply stores is facing since it recently issued a policy memorandum to its managers that resulted in accusations that the company was reducing employee hours as a result of the Affordable Health Care Act (BuzzFeedNews, 2014). Old or New Policy; That is the Question On December 6, 2013, Staples distributed a policy memorandum that restricted the number of hours that part-time employees could work to 25 hours each week. The memorandum indicated that the company was issuing the policy with an effective date of January 4, 2014 and would allow managers to hire additional staff to ensure adequate coverage. While employees feel it is a mechanism for avoiding the mandates of the Affordable Health Care Act, a Staples spokesman stated that the policy is not new and that the policy has been in affect for more than a decade. Moreover, the spokesman indicates, the policy is a reiteration of an old policy in attempt to offer scheduling flexibilities and ensure efficiencies. (BuzzFeedNews, 2014)...
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...Ethics and Credibility in Business Communications Kristen Barnes COM/295 March 27, 2016 Randi Barnes-Plante Ethics and Credibility in Business Communications Social Media can be an effective form of communication for business to consumer relationships. Not only does it allow the business to keep everyone up to date on the latest developments within the company, but it also allows the consumer to reach out to the business without having to make a phone call. We all lead busy lives, and being placed on hold for thirty minutes, just to have a simple question answered, can be somewhat of an inconvenience. With social media, that inconvenience is replaced with a few clicks of a button. After visiting Toyota’s Facebook page, the overall presence was mixed, for me. The company made multiple posts throughout the day; some were just for fun, and some were factual. After reading some of the replies, from consumers, those were mixed, as well. Some posts showed pictures of old Toyota’s, and how they’ve always been loyal customers. Others, were full of complaints. I believe that with any company, this is going to happen; but it’s up to the company to communicate and try to make it right. I noticed that Toyota was fairly prompt in replying to the negative comments, and would refer them to the customer service number. While I’m not certain what happened from there, they at least made the effort to let the customer know that their complaint was not something to take lightly. I...
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...Communication Basics, Anxiety, and Ethics Worksheet INSTRUCTIONS ANSWER EACH OF THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS USING THE INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THE WEEK ONE READINGS. RESPOND TO EACH QUESTION IN 100 TO 200 WORDS USING THE SPACE PROVIDED. QUESTIONS BRIEFLY EXPLAIN THE SEVEN ELEMENTS OF THE SPEECH COMMUNICATION PROCESS. HOW DO THESE ELEMENTS INTERACT TO DETERMINE THE SUCCESS OR FAILURE OF A SPEECH? The seven elements of the speech communication process are speaker, message, channel, listener, frame of reference, feedback, interference, and situation. The speaker is the person who is presenting the message to the listener(s). The message is what the speaker is communicating to the listener. The channel is the means of how the speaker is communicating the message to the listener. The frame of reference is the totality of the knowledge on the subject being presented, whether it is goals, experience, knowledge, attitudes, etc. No two speakers will ever have the same frame of reference. Feedback is message getting sent back to the speaker from the listener. This feedback is usually nonverbal. Interference is anything that comes between the speaker and the listener and interrupts the communication of the message. The situation is the surroundings in and at which the speech occurs. Why is it normal and even desirable to be nervous at the start of a speech? It is perfectly normal and even desirable to be nervous. Nervousness is a healthy sign that the speaker...
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...I’ve prided myself on the thought that I don’t judge people on the merit of their works, but of their person. I do have to admit that actually do discriminate a person based on their works. I’ve often judged those with what I may have seen as menial occupations as people of less intelligence and drive. This is not true, as I have learned in the past, but was brought more to light with the example from our text book, page 77. Just considering how those of widely varied jobs in Denmark view each other as equals. I’ve never considered this perspective and feel a bit enlightened because of it. Ethically speaking, I do not condone speaking down to people because of their sex, orientation, race, color, creed, or religion. I do however practice treating people as they treat others. While I have befriended some people initially because of their similarities to myself, I have found that sometimes this is not good practice. Although I do falter on this issue, I do try to learn about a person by listening and observing their behavior. This is not quite as quick as picking someone that looks like or acts like you, but it is much more gratifying in the long run. Many times this has resulted in someone I’ve called a friend. Categorizing people is a two-sided blade. I try not to categorize, but I recognize the fact that we often categorize ourselves by gravitating to those we feel are most similar to ourselves. I have no problems speaking with someone that is...
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...TIA084, Intercultural Communication Anonymous id: 41842 Intercultural communication. Cultural differences, power and ethics What are ethical norms and how do they differ from other norms? We can for an example talk about ethical norms in communication, than from reading Allwood, we would find that agent hood (give freedom), motivation (do not hurt) and rationality (give correct information) are the main universal ethical norms, or these are the basis of universal needs that we can create ethical norms from. Agent hood; when communicating with others we should give them the freedom to act according to their own will and intention by including this "brainwashing” and many kinds of propaganda are unethical. They are unethical whereas they remove the recipient´s possibilities to exercise his or her own critical judgement. Motivation; We should not hurt others, we should seek to give others joy instead of pain the golden rule would be “do unto others what you would have them do unto you”. Rationality, i.e., we should not lie or mislead. If we do that, the other person´s possibilities of obtaining the desired outcomes through the exercise of his/her rationality is radically diminished. Ethical norms differ from other norms whereas they involve the well being of others. The more serious the issue is for the well being of others, the more ethics is involved and usually the more universal the issues become. By other norms (not ethical norms, not involving the well being of others)...
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...Verbal and Nonverbal Communication Ethics Statement People have the uncanny knack of communicating something even if they didn’t intend to do it. It’s the way that the way our body moves is able to tell the real story, sometimes though what we physically say is not re enforced by our body language. Most people who take the time to study your disposition enough are able to gather more information about you than if they just listened to you. I know I have to be careful that I’m not meaning one thing but say another. What people hear and what is actually said is sometimes very different. If we’re not careful we can all have unethical behavior that demeans others. For example, if you speak in a patronizing vocal tone, if you scream at the less powerful, or if you touch people inappropriately, you are engaging in unethical nonverbal communication. Similarly, if you respond to others' communication in a way that misrepresents how you actually feel, you are being unethical. Thus if you laugh at a racist joke even though you dislike it, your behavior is unethical both because it degrades others, and because it misrepresents your true reaction to the joke. Nonverbal behaviors reflect your real attitudes, beliefs, and feelings. Without being aware of it we could be using our nonverbal behavior to intimidate, coerce, or even silence someone. Always try to remember that you are just as responsible for your nonverbal communication as you are for your verbal communication. If you can be mindful...
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...Ethics of Facebook Study Questioned COM/295 July 16, 2015 Ethics of Facebook Study Questioned I have chosen a recent newsworthy that talks about a study being questioned on ethics of Facebook in San Francisco. The company conducted an experiment using users’ posts in a manipulated way. They gathered news feed posts from users and reposted them as a positive post to one group and a negative post to another group. The purpose of doing that was to see how it affect others responses. The company posted a blog stating how sorry they were on how the paper was described and may have caused any anxiety to others. According to Abc7 News (2015), "I don't think there's any way to overstate this -- you just simply do not play with people's emotions without asking their permission first," said consumer psychologist Kit Yarrow (6). I believe there should have been a better way of doing this research for the sake of all people and their feelings. Facebook’s ethical obligation in their communications to the general public is to be truthful, respect privacy, deception and the right to be informed. Facebook gives individuals the power to share as part of their mission to make connections with others. However, Facebook has not yet responded to the general public nor the researchers due to allegations being made. There is a policy that states how information is collected and how it is used and shared. Due to the way ethics of Facebook...
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