A Word on Ethics

Before coming to Clemson, I never would have coupled technical writing/editing with ethics. To me, technical writing was completely objective and did not need to be contested because it was writing that would help others to achieve a task. I was utterly misguided and wrong.

On the contrary, words are collected, assembled, and expressed with particular purposes in mind. The effects of these words and how they are presented is where ethics is important. As the texts from this section of Harty's book shows, sometimes editors and writers unintentionally misinform their audience because of carelessness or lack of attention to the document purpose. However, being careless and unintentionally misleading are not mistakes that should be blindly forgiven. Winsor's article about the O-ring echoes this very point.

Many companies try to establish and enforce their codes of ethics through the use of mission statements, company "hero" stories, and employee handbooks. However, professionals must be able to discern what is ethical from what is not and then act accordingly. As Dan Jones' article discusses, the internet is an excellent opportunity for many people to use it in unethical ways. Hence, it is vital that professionals, particularly professional communicators, understand the ramifications of doing their jobs properly and ethically. Ethics is about distinguishing right from wrong and making appropriate choices that will not be harmful to oneself or others.