Proposes general semantics as the ideal means of teaching a process-oriented analysis of ethical standards. Discusses general semantics principles and their applicability in teaching business ethics. (PD)

Argues that history provides the necessary framework in which both to discuss and to seek answers to the three necessary and sequential questions about business ethics: (1) What is ethics and what does it mean to be ethical? (2) Why be ethical?; and (3) How can one be ethical? (SG)

Reviews the progress of business communication ethics research in recent years. Argues that further improvement will require that scholars identify central issues, use a variety of research methods, address normative issues, make full use of relevant literatures, and support colleagues who choose business communication ethics as a major research…

Surveys treatments of business communication ethics in Association for Business Communication (ABC) publications for the last 30 years. Notes that pedagogical papers reveal an almost unanimous opinion that business communication is a moral subject and that ethics has a place in the classroom. Recommends further research. (SG)

Argues that standard approaches to ethics in business writing do not adequately stress the inescapable power of language to perpetrate certain values. Claims that, as prospective writers within professions and organizations, students need to learn about this power in order to use and respond to it responsibly. (JD)

Outlines a theoretical framework of ethics, power, and communication in the workplace, which provides a backdrop for viewing ethical decisions. Explains that business managers are often caught in a dilemma between job pressures and personal ethical codes. Proposes communication as a means of fostering more ethical organizational behavior. (SG)

Addresses the ethics of visual information by reviewing general principles of ethics. Applies these principles to a critique of standard visual techniques, including issues of construction and data representation. Offers standards for the creation and assessment of ethical visuals. (SR)

Uses the example of public relations to describe important distinctions between monologic and dialogic campaigns. Explains why the dominant monological approach to public relations has long been recognized as "ethically paralyzed." Suggests an ethically more viable dialogic approach. Discusses reasons the business community has been slow to adopt…

Examines the concept of strategic ambiguity in communication, and addresses the ethics of strategic ambiguity from an intrapersonal perspective that considers the congruity of communicators' espoused-ethics, ethics-in-use, and behavior, where ethical judgements are based on the congruity between espoused-ethics and actual behavior. Poses questions…

Includes theory and principles, basic guidelines, suggested teaching unit, classroom activities, annotated list of films, and a bibliography. (PD)

Proposes consideration of professional writing instruction as a course in rhetoric which necessarily involves ethics. Argues that use of the classical enthymeme (a syllogism which builds upon assumptions rather than empirical truths) helps students learn how writing's ethical implications can be managed in the interest of effective, socially…

Explores ethical issues heightened by use of technology, and examines a means for managing these ethical concerns. Argues that ethical problems are not inherent in technological advances, but rather it is how human beings choose to use these new tools that may lead to ethical dilemmas in business contexts. (SR)

Notes that companies emphasize ethical behavior, and schools and professional groups devote many resources to applied ethics training. Describes initial construct validation of a structured ethical integrity pre-employment interview. Reviews evidence relating to cognitive and impression management strategies used when college students encounter an…

Explores the metaphor of managing diversity and its related discourses that dominate current business communication about the changing workforce. Examines the language employed in practitioner-oriented texts and consultant websites on diversity. Contends that language that constitutes individuals as resources emphasizes managerial and economic…

Surveys registered nurses to examine whether relational closeness and issue seriousness affected the likelihood of reporting a wrong doing. Finds that relational closeness influenced the decision to report a wrong doing; severity of the wrong doing influenced whether an incident is reported; and respondents would follow the proper chain of command…