Ethical_Issues_in_Communication_

COMM 5350/6350, Spring 2005: ETHICAL ISSUES IN COMMUNICATION: FOCUS ON DIMENSIONS OF PROFESSIONAL ETHICS Meets T & Th, 9:10-10:30 a.m., in MLi 1715 Professor George Cheney tel.: 801-585-5918; main office: 581-6888; fax: 585-6255; george.cheney@utah.edu Office Hours: W, 1:00-4:00 p.m.; also by appointment Rationale and Objectives for the Course: • The course will treat the intersection of communication and ethics within the contexts of the professions. We will emphasize professions which are most obviously engaged in the production of messages—e.g., public relations, advertising, marketing, journalism, politics, law, education, and management—but we will also examine codes and practices in arenas such as health care, psychology/psychiatry, and technology. The course is especially timely given corporate and governmental scandals, forms of personal alienation, and persistent questions about the roles of ethics in the global market. • • The course will assist students in analyzing how ethical issues are “framed” or discussed (e.g., the aphorisms “It’s just business,” “Act like a professional,” and “The market demands that we do this”) as well as consideration of particular ethical issues and cases (e.g., responsibility, privacy, informed consent, etc.). We will discuss in depth the interrelations of persuasion, manipulation, propaganda, etc. Scope of Course: • The course will be multi-disciplinary, yet it will emphasize the analysis of the production and consumption of messages. (Our examinations of symbols, relationships, and persuasive campaigns will be conducted from multiple standpoints: considering the “sources,” the messages themselves, and multiple audiences.) The course will treat historical as well as contemporary cases, but it will stress the latter. The course will apply and reexamine a variety of ethical perspectives on professional cultures, networks, market pressures, roles, activities, and judgments. At the broadest level, we will consider what it means to “be a professional,” including the implications of class, gender, and race/ethnicity for how that term is commonly used—especially in the contemporary United States. • • • Especially, the course will encourage students to observe patterns in the “framing” of, execution of, and response to ethical decisions and to understand deeply the ethical climate of public life in the contemporary United States. Structure and Requirements of Course: • • • Extensive reading, lecture, discussion, videos, guest speakers, and debates. Active student participation in discussions is essential to the success of this seminar-style course. Graded assignments: 1) a 500-750-word editorial/commentary on contemporary issue : 20% of grade; 2) an individual case- or issue-analysis paper: 50%; and 3) a small-group presentation (with multiple perspectives on a single issue, case, or professional context): 30%; 4) with an extra assignment of a book review for grad. students (per credit for 6350). Detailed guidelines and examples of past projects will be provided. 1 Course Grading: A=90%, B=80%, C=70%, with +’s and -’s to be determined at end of course Course and University Policies: • • Each student is permitted one excused and one unexcused absence; after that, five points will be deducted for each day missed. Late assignments will be accepted only in • • emergency situations. There will be no incompletes for the course. Plagiarism or any other form of academic dishonesty will result in an automatic zero for the relevant assignment as well as the notification of relevant UofU administrators. For the relevant portion of the Student Conduct Code, please visit http://www.admin.utah.edu/ppmanual/8/8-10.html#SECTIONV . No special accommodations will be made in this course for content. The University of Utah seeks to provide equal access to its programs, services and activities for people with disabilities. If you will need accommodations in the class, reasonable prior notice needs to be given to the Center for Disability Services, 162 Olpin Union Building, 581-5020 (V/TDD). CDS will work with you and the instructor to make arrangements for accommodations. All written information in this course can be made available in alternative format with prior notification to the Center for Disability Services. Please visit: http://www.sa.utah.edu/ds/ . Required Readings and Videos: • • • Excerpts of several classic scholarly works such as Emile Durkheim’s Professional Ethics and Civic Morals (1900) and Max Weber’s Economy and Society (1946/1978). Willa Cather’s novel Alexander’s Bridge (1912), with a possible contemporary counterpart (TBD). Recent popular and scholarly books: Robert Jackall’s Moral Mazes (1988); Peter Schwartz’s Why Good Corporations Do Bad Things (1999); John Rowan and Samuel Zinaich’s Ethics for the Professions (2003); Richard Johanessen’s Ethics in Human Communication, 5th ed. (2002); Jeff Schmidt’s Disciplined Minds (2000); and William Greider’s The Soul of Capitalism (2003). All of these books are available in the University Bookstore. Segments of popular films including “Quiz Show,” “A Civil Action,” “The Insider,” “Wall Street,” “The Firm,” “Erin Brocovich,” “Office Space,” “Human Resources,” and “StartUp.com.” Scenes from popular television programs such as “Survivor,” “The Apprentice,” and “My Big Fat Obnoxious Boss.” Documentaries on advertising and marketing such as “The Persuaders,” “The ad and the Ego,” and “Affluenza.” Educational videos on business ethics such as “Business Ethics in the 21st Century.” • Recommended Student Background: Some knowledge of concepts in communication and rhetorical studies is strongly recommended. • Some knowledge of organizations, business, and work-related issues is strongly recommended. • Some knowledge of secular and/or religious perspectives on ethics and morality is essential. Note: If you have little or no familiarity with ethical theories, please read William Frankena’s book Ethics (on four-hour reserve) or another book that provides an overview of western and/or non-western perspectives on ethics. • 2 Tentative Schedule for the Semester: Week 1 2 Days/Dates Jan. 11 + 13 Jan. 18 + 20 Jan. 25 + 27 Feb. 1 + 3 Feb. 8 + 10 Feb. 15 + 17 Feb. 22 Feb. 24 Mar. 1 + 3 Topics Assignments Ethical Visions Write your own. Ethical Issues at Work Read Jackall (all). Today Western Ethical Traditions The Personal and the Professional Discuss Assignments; see “Insider” See Frankena (all). Read Cather (all); see “The Office” Guest Speaker on Sustainability 3 4 5 6 Corporate Accountability Read Schwartz & Gibb and Responsibility Discussion of Editorials Editorials are due (on 22nd). Meet in Groups Ethics, Rhetoric, Persuasion & Propaganda Read Johanessen (parts). 7 8 Account Analysis Consult handouts. of Ethical Decisions: Excuses & Justifications ****************SPRING BREAK************************************************** 10 Mar. 22 Ethics in Professions: Read Rowan & Zinaich (parts) Practices, Codes, & Community 9 Mar. 24 11 Mar. 29 + 31 Apr. 5 + 7 Mar. 8 + 10 There will be no regular class meeting. Ethics in Professions: Continued Ethics, Ideology & Behavior, including Whistle-blowing Ethics, Capitalism, Consumerism & Happiness Assorted Assorted Read Rowan & Zinaich (parts); Guest speaker on government Read Schmidt (all) 12 13 Apr. 12 + 14 Read Greider (all) 14 15 Apr. 19 + 21 Apr. 26 + 28 Two Group Presentations. Two More Presentations. All term papers are due Tuesday, May 3rd. Finals week meeting and activity: TBD. 3 COMM 5350/6350: Guidelines for Course Assignments 1) Everyone should write an extended editorial on an issue of importance to them and in connection with the class. It is NOT a research paper as such, although books/articles can inform your argument and analysis (and up to five footnotes would be okay). You do NOT have to have your editorial published, or even try to; however, I would encourage anyone to do so if that seems like a useful goal for you. For example, you might analyze recent scandals in any sector for their wider implications for society—such as their effects on trust. You may choose to examine a familiar issue or news event from a fresh perspective. Regardless of your choice of topic and your strategy, your editorial should be timely and contain these elements: a) a catchy introduction, b) a thesis or central argument, c) a consistent elaboration of that argument through sub-points and forms of data that support them, and d) a strong conclusion. References should be listed at the end. For models, please see several different newspapers on several different days of the week, and pay special attention to the “op-ed” (opposite the editorial) page, where many lengthy syndicated (national) or local columns are published. Your editorial should be 500-750 words in length. This assignment is due February 22 and is worth 20% of your grade. 2) Everyone will participate in a group project/presentation. In a class that is relatively small, we have the luxury of creating groups of varying size. There may be up to six groups in all. The logic of this project is that together you will analyze an issue, such as electronic monitoring of employees at work or marketing strategies directed at toddlers, using multiple theoretical perspectives (these do not all have to be western ethical perspectives/theories). Thus, your presentation will illuminate an issue from multiple standpoints, while drawing explicitly upon ethical theory. You can be as creative as you like with the format as long as supplementary materials (like videos) do not take more than ¼ of your total time in front of the class. Class exercises may be incorporated into your presentation. Each group member will be “on stage” for at least ten minutes. You should provide a five-six page detailed handout to the class, including an outline, favorite quotations, relevant diagrams, perhaps a cartoon, and complete references. If participation in the presentation itself is unequally distributed, you should provide a written justification for this and have it signed by all group members. This assignment is worth 30% of your grade. Presentations will be offered during the last two or three class sessions: April 19, 21, and 26, and 28. 3) The remaining 50% of the grade (for both undergraduates and graduate students) will be determined by a term paper. Everyone should analyze a case (situation, event), issue (topic), or specific organization (association, industry, etc.). There is a lot of room to maneuver here, and you can certainly link this assignment to the editorial or the group project. However, the paper itself should stand alone as an original contribution by you. So, if you would like to construct your assignments around an issue, like conflict of interest in the non-profit sector or corporate free speech or secrecy in government (or whatever), I would encourage you to do that. The case analysis should include at least these basic elements: a) an introduction, including a clear rationale and expression of your motivation; b) a preview and justification of your main points; c) the heart of the analysis, according to several ethical concepts and principles; d) an ethical evaluation and substantiation of that judgment (or judgments); and e) a conclusion which includes both practical implications for this case and any broader societal implications. Last year’s group topics included the construction of images of pop stars, tensions within the CIA during the build up to the Iraq War, and the changing pressures on resource management professionals. These are just three examples. Again, I’m happy to entertain topics, theses, outlines, or rough drafts—at any point in the semester. You should approve your topic in advance. Outlines can be reviewed until April 19. This assignment is due May 4 3. The paper should be at least 15 double-spaced pages (TNR, 12-point font) for undergraduates; 20 for graduate students. 5