M E M O
Date: October 31, 2001
To: Dr. Beverly Reed
From: Jeni Patton
Subject: Professional Code of Conduct Report
In response to your request of October 29, 2001, I am forwarding my Professional Code of Conduct. In this memo, I present the tenets of my code with a justification for the inclusion of each one.
Overview/Background
A code of conduct serves a number of purposes. It “increases ethical sensitivity and judgment, strengthens support for individuals' moral courage,” and contributes to an organization's sense of identity (Olson).
Additionally, as Kidder states, “sound ethics can have practical impact on the bottom line.” Some of the reasons he lists include:
- Shared values build trust.
- Consistency leads to predictability in planning.
- Predictability is essential for crisis management.
- Companies are as good as their people.
- Consumers care about values.
- Ethical leadership forestalls oppressive regulation.
- Effective partnerships depend on common values.
- Ethics is a form of insurance.
“Ethics has a powerful, practical, and immediate impact on profitability” (Kidder).
I will apply this code of conduct in my everyday dealings. It will help prevent personal biases from influencing my judgment, help me avoid yielding to social pressure, and contribute to my willingness to express my opinions and ensure they are heard (Lannon 65-67). As a technical communicator, this code will allow me to meet my obligations to myself, promote fair competition, honor the trust placed in me by my employer, promote respect and care for others, recognize my obligations to society, and enhance the reputation of the profession of technical communication.
Professional Code of Conduct
Preamble:
As a technical communicator, I have obligations to myself, clients and customers, my employer, co-workers, the community, and society (Lannon 70).
I value honesty, legality, privacy, quality, teamwork, my employer's interests, cultural sensitivity, social responsibility, professional growth, and advancing the profession of technical communication (Allen and Voss qtd. in Reed Week 2).
I therefore recognize “the binding nature of these . . . standards of conduct” (Olson):
I have a preamble as an introduction to my code of conduct; many of the codes I surveyed include such a statement of intent. I took the obligations from Lannon and the values from “Ten Values in Technical Communication” by Allen and Voss (qtd. in Reed Week 2). My code continues with each major point amplified by a number of specific statements.
To meet my obligations to myself, I act in good conscience (Lannon 70).
- I retain the right to decline any assignment for which I am unqualified, unprepared, or unable to devote appropriate time, effort, or other resources, due to previous commitments.
- I strive to improve my professional competence to be qualified, prepared, and well organized to complete assignments to which I have committed.
I included the right to say, “No,” because I want to do a good job, yet easily become over committed. Lannon includes acting in my own self-interest and in good conscience as obligations to my self. The first bulleted point reminds me that it is all right to decline and contributes to the values of honesty, and quality from Allen and Voss. The second statement covers the values of quality and professional growth from Allen and Voss.
To promote fair competition, I respect intellectual property rights.
- I obtain permission to use the works of others (“Ethical Principles”).
- I cite my sources to give credit where credit is due.
- I abide by the fair use guidelines of brevity, spontaneity, and cumulative effect (Alred, Brusaw, and Oliu 129).
- I observe trademarks by using them properly in writing.
- I protect confidential information, including patents and trade secrets, to preserve the privacy of clients, customers, and my employer.
- I do not offer, pay or accept bribes (“Global Sullivan”).
Lannon discusses confidentiality under obligations to clients, customers, and my employer. I included property rights because they are central to the profession of technical communication. I desire the right to protect my product; therefore, I also need to respect that right for others. This section contributes to the legality and privacy values from Allen and Voss.
To honor the trust placed in me by my employer, I work to further the organization's goals and respect its policies.
- I promote a positive work environment.
- I do not condone misconduct or allow it to occur through my inaction.
- I work with co-workers, clients, customers and my employer to define requirements, develop, and produce communication that best serves the user's needs.
- I am responsible for the representation of information as well as its content (Reed Week 2).
- I accept and provide appropriate professional review (“Code of Ethics”).
- I avoid even the appearance of impropriety.
Most of these principles I had not previously considered as ethical values; however, Kidder's article certainly puts them into perspective for their value to the company's bottom line. Lannon cites advancing goals, respecting policies, and exposing misconduct that would harm the organization as elements of my obligation to my employer. This section contributes to valuing teamwork, employer interests, social responsibility and advancing the profession from Allen and Voss.
To promote respect and care for others, I act for their safety and well-being.
- I treat others as I would wish to be treated (Sullivan qtd. in Reed Week 1).
- I am accountable for the efficient and effective use of resources.
- I will not knowingly harm others or the environment through my actions or inaction (Asimov qtd. in Clarke).
- I recognize that fair is not always equal.
- I seek and accept diverse opinions.
Lannon discusses promoting safety and well being as part of obligations to clients, customers and co-workers, as well as preserving quality of life as an obligation to the community. My interest in science fiction and my background in technology prompted me to include a variation of one of Asimov's “Laws of Robotics.” My awareness of the Americans with Disabilities Act was the source of the fair is not necessarily equal statement. This section covers the value of social responsibility from Allen and Voss.
To recognize my obligations to society, I consider the local, national, and global impact of my actions.
I strive to be knowledgeable about and respect diversity as it applies to my daily interactions and assignments.
I work to preserve the local economy through ethical and responsible use and dissemination of information.
I will observe the laws of the countries where I am living and working and the laws of the country of any sponsoring agency or employer.
I “recognize that some behavior, although legal, may still have adverse consequences” (“Principles”).
I strive to become knowledgeable about the cultures with which I am working to produce relevant and appropriate communication.
Lannon includes considerations of impact of my actions as an obligation to society and preservation of the local economy as an obligation to the community. I thought it important to include the Caux Round Table, “Principles for Business” statement, because it caused me to pause. The idea that “legal” is a minimum standard for behavior was new to me. This section covers the values of legality and cultural sensitivity from Allen and Voss.
To enhance the reputation of the profession of technical communication, I respect the utility of a code of conduct to guide ethical decision-making.
- I will adhere to the code of conduct for my profession and that of my employer and I will encourage the observance by others.
- I will hold partners, suppliers, or subcontractors to the observance of minimum standards of legal and ethical conduct.
- I will adhere to this code of conduct and use it to guide my decisions and behaviors.
I included this section based on my survey of existing codes of conduct; many codes include an adherence statement as a conclusion. This section covers the values of social responsibility and advancing the profession from Allen and Voss.
Conclusion
This memo puts forth my Professional Code of Conduct with justification for each tenet's inclusion. The main tenets are:
- Meet my obligations to myself.
- Promote fair competition.
- Honor the trust placed in me by my employer.
- Promote respect and care for others.
- Recognize my obligations to society.
- Enhance the reputation of the profession of technical communication.
I look forward to being able to make ethical decisions, as a technical communicator, based on this code.
Works Cited
Allen, Lori and Dan Voss. Ethics in Technical Communication: Shades of Gray. Wiley Computer Pub., 1997.
Alred, Gerald, Charles T. Brusaw, and Walter Oliu. Handbook of Technical Writing. 6th ed. New York: St. Martin's, 1996.
Clarke, Roger. “Asimov's Laws of Robotics: Implications for Information Technology.” Online. 30 Oct. 2001.
http://www.anu.edu.au/people/Roger.Clarke/SOS/Asimov.html
“Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct.” Association for Computing Machinery Online. 1 Oct. 2001.
http://ww.acm.org/constitution/code.html
“Ethical Principles for Technical Communicators.” Society for Technical Communication Online. 1 Oct 2001.
http://www.stc.org/ethical.html
“Global Sullivan Principles.” Online. 16 Oct. 2001.
http://globalsullivanprinciples.org/principles.htm
Kidder, Rushworth M., “Ethics and the Bottom Line: Ten Reasons for Businesses to Do Right.” Institute for Global Ethics Online. 8 Oct. 2001.
http://www.globalethics.org/newsline/members/issue.tmpl?articleid=12209915160012
Lannon, John M. Technical Communication. 8th ed. New York: Longman, 2000.
Olson, Andrew. "Authoring a Code: Observations on Process and Organization." Center for the Study of Ethics in the Professions Online. 8 Oct. 2001
http://csep.iit.edu/codes/coe/Writing_A_Code.html
“Principles for Business.” Caux Round Table Online. 16 Oct. 2001.
http://cauxroundtable.org/ENGLISH.HTM
Reed, Beverly. English 7731: Localization, Globalization, Ethics, and Professional Communication. California State U, Hayward Online. Fall 2001.
Sullivan, Patricia, et al. Professional Writing Online. New York: Longman, 2000.