The Role Of Ethical Communication In Business: Three Ethical Issues Discussed

What is Ethical Communication and Why is it Important?

“Ethical Communication is an essential part of business”

Discuss this statement using three (3) ethical communication issues as examples.

Ethical communication is considered as an essential part to conduct the activities of the company. The Thesis statement of the paper is “Ethical communication is an essential part of the business”. It has been seen that if there is no proper communication in the organization then it is difficult to operate the activities in a right manner. Ethics is considered as a system related to the moral principles. This simply states that the activities conducted should be correct and ethical in the eyes of law. It has been seen that the ethical communication consists of the data which is accurate and true (Blaschke and Schoeneborn, 2016). It avoids the overall language that discriminates and manipulates. This paper will focus on the ethical communication and three ethical issues. The three issues are related to policy, discrimination in the workplace and unsafe working environment.

Ethical communication focuses on being honest in the overall process of communication and also in this the information is kept confidential. In this, the personal and business situations are not discussed in front or the third person or in public. The leaders of the company should focus on the ethical conduct which is expected of the employees. It has been seen that the person is governed by the morals and also it affect communication. It is important for an individual to behave in such a manner that it does not give effect to the other individual.

In the business, if the ethical communication does not take place then there are many issues that can take place. Business ethics is related to a subject that can vary from business to business. It is essential to communicate with the employees in a proper manner. It has been seen that employees should not be expected to conduct the activities in an unethical manner (Pearson, 2017). It is important to have a proper understanding of the ethical stance of the company. To have a proper understanding of the business it is important for the employees to consider the ethical practices and the ethical practices should be communicated effectively. Ethical behavior should be communicated on a daily basis so that the actions can be recognized in an effective manner.  This can praise the employees to conduct the activities in a proper manner but also help to set the standards which are ethical for the employee in the routine business (Barak, 2016).

Three Ethical Issues and How Ethical Communication Can Help

There are many issues that take place in context to the ethical communication. One of the issues is related to ethics policy.  When there are no ethical policies implemented in the workplace then it can create difficult to maintain the flow of ethical communication. Policies help the employees to behave in an ethical manner. It is important for every business to have a set of ethical policies so that the employees behave in a proper manner. Yes, it is seen that ethical policies should be there in the workplace so that employees cannot conduct any activity unethically (Raziq and Maulabakhsh, 2015). The policies should communicate the expectation level of the business towards the employees, like being honest at the time of communicating and dealing with the customers. There are many companies who do not have a policy so because of not having the set of policies many conflicts take place in the workplace. Like for example: if there is no set of policies related to the ethical issues, then people will be indulged in the act of stealing the work of someone and claiming that they have done it. So, in this, the ethical policies should be there in the workplace so that the issues related to stealing the information can be minimized. Benefits can be achieved by the businesses if they focus on the concept of maintaining ethical communication in the workplace and it can be done with the help of implementing the policies. The flow of communication will take place between the employees and customer in an ethical way (Mishra, Boynton, and Mishra, 2014).

The next issue is related to the unsafe working environment. The way in which the employees behave or communicate states the working environment. It has been seen that unsafe working environment in the company reduces the overall capability and productivity level of the employees. But if there is ethical communication in the workplace then it can create a safe working environment (Kabir, Watson and Somaratna, 2018). Ethical communication does not focus on creating unsafe environment but it creates a good working environment for the employees at each and every action is conducted in an ethical manner. Communication is the major factor that decides the environment of the workplace (Carroll, 2015). If the employees are not communicating in a proper manner then it can result in conflicts and also dissatisfaction towards the activities enhances. There are many businesses who offered training to the employees in context to communication so that the environment of the workplace can be maintained and also it will motivate the employees to give their best towards the activities of the company. The argument which is “ethical communication can lead to an unsafe environment” is not correct. If there is ethical communication between the employees and the top management or between employees and customers is there then the positive outcome can be achieved in an effective manner (Clarke, 2017). Working in a safe environment can help the employees to conduct the activities in an efficient manner and can also lead to success by achieving goals and objectives in the workplace (Certo, 2018). So, the argument which is given is not correct but it has been seen that ethical communication enhances the goodwill and also the safe working environment.

1. Issues Related to Policy

 The last issue is related to the discrimination that takes place in the workplace. It is important for every company or the organization to focus on discrimination issue which takes place in the workplace. When discrimination takes place in the company than it gives an adverse effect on the employees. It has been seen that discrimination in the workplace reduces the overall confidence of the employees but if there is ethical communication in the workplace then discrimination can be reduced effectively (Triana, Jayasinghe and Pieper, 2015). It is important for the companies or the organizations to focus on the creating the environment where equality is given to each and every employee. When the companies consider equality in the workplace then positive and good environment can be created. Ethical communication can lead to a reduction in the discrimination that takes place between the employees (Jones et al., 2016).  If there is effective communication in an ethical manner between the employees then it can lead to enhancement of the overall profitability and success. To work in a discrimination-free environment can enhance the overall profitability and growth of the employees. If employees are communicating in an ethical manner then positive results can be seen in the activities. So, if ethical communication is there between the employees and top management then it can be possible to reduce the discrimination in the workplace. As employees and top management follow a set of rules and policies which make the process smooth. It is important for the company to focus on creating ethical communication in the workplace so that the discrimination cannot take place and also it will lead to enhancement in the satisfaction level of the employees (Dwyer, 2012).

In my opinion, it can be seen that ethical communication plays a great role in enhancing the overall productivity level of the employees. Communication has a great role in conducting the activities of the company. If proper communication is not there in the workplace then it can lead to a negative effect on the overall success of the company. With proper communication, it can be easy for the employees to conduct the activities. Also, the ethical issues like discrimination, unsafe working environment, and the issues related to policies can be reduced if there is ethical communication in the workplace. Proper communication can lead to growth and success but it is important for the employees to communicate in an ethical manner so that it cannot give an adverse effect on the other employees. When the employees focus on considering the set of policies in accordance o the ethical behavior then success can be easily attained. It has been seen that communication is a major part of the company. The flow of communication should take place in a proper manner so that employees can get the direction to conduct the activities in an ethical manner. Through communication, only the employees get the direction to complete the task or the activity by focusing on the concept of ethics. The proper process of communication should be followed so that in the right direction the activities can take place.

Conclusion

 By focusing on the paper, it has been concluded that effective communication is an important aspect of every company. Without communication, it is not possible for the organization to conduct the activities in an effective manner.  If there is ethical communication in the workplace then issues related to policies, discrimination, and unsafe environment can be reduced in a proper manner and it can give a positive impact on the overall activities of the company. It is important for the company to focus on considering the ethical communication so that activities can be conducted in a right direction and can give a positive outcome. This will help to bring enhancement to the overall activities and can lead to the success of the company.

References

Barak, M.E.M., 2016. Managing diversity: Toward a globally inclusive workplace. Sage Publications.

Blaschke, S. and Schoeneborn, D. eds., 2016. Organization as communication: Perspectives in dialogue. Taylor & Francis.

Carroll, C.E. ed., 2015. The handbook of communication and corporate reputation (Vol. 49). John Wiley & Sons.

Certo, S.C., 2018. Supervision: Concepts and skill-building. McGraw-Hill Education.

Clarke, S., 2017. 16. A safe workplace environment. Research Handbook on Work and Well-Being, p.351.

Dwyer, J., 2012. Communication for Business and the Professions: Strategies and Skills. Pearson Higher Education AU.

Jones, K.P., Peddie, C.I., Gilrane, V.L., King, E.B. and Gray, A.L., 2016. Not so subtle: A meta-analytic investigation of the correlates of subtle and overt discrimination. Journal of Management, 42(6), pp.1588-1613.

Kabir, Q.S., Watson, K. and Somaratna, T., 2018. Workplace safety events and firm performance. Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, 29(1), pp.104-120.

Mishra, K., Boynton, L. and Mishra, A., 2014. Driving employee engagement: The expanded role of internal communications. International Journal of Business Communication, 51(2), pp.183-202.

Pearson, R., 2017. Business ethics as communication ethics: Public relations practice and the idea of dialogue. In Public relations theory (pp. 111-131). Routledge.

Raziq, A. and Maulabakhsh, R., 2015. Impact of working environment on job satisfaction. Procedia Economics and Finance, 23, pp.717-725.

Triana, M.D.C., Jayasinghe, M. and Pieper, J.R., 2015. Perceived workplace racial discrimination and its correlates: A meta?analysis. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 36(4), pp.491-513.