Journal I: Ethical and Unethical Communication

There are various types of communication that can either be grouped as being ethical
communication or unethical communication (Roebuck 3). Ethical communication is the
communication that follows the rules of communication and in so doing, this type of
communication does not pose a threat to any other party. Unethical communication will
entail all those forms of communication that can pose a threat to another party.
Examples of unethical communication behaviour will include plagiarism (Roebuck
24). Plagiarism is the aspect of taking somebody’s work and passing it off as you did it.
Failure to acknowledge the work done by another person will amount to a form unethical
communication. Another form of unethical communication will have to do with cheating or
lying. When one lies or cheats, he loses credibility before other people (Roebuck 34). The
people who had been holding him in high esteem will no longer hold such a person in such
esteem.
Ethical communication practices entail respecting the privacy of information held by
other people. When somebody requests for an individual’s personal information, it is always
good not to give it without the express authority of the concerned party. Such a type of
communication will be seen to be ethical as there are boundaries within which it is operating
and it knows its limits. Telling the truth always no matter the circumstances also amounts to
communication ethical behaviour. A person who is truthful always is likely to receive more
credibility from other people than one who is ever lying to them.

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Journal 2: Ethical Relativism

Ethical relativism is the acceptance of the fact that what can be held as morally
upright in one society or culture may be culturally unacceptable in another culture or society
(Jhingran 45). It sort of tells us that morals are relative: they depend on a given people and
their history (Jhingran 50). On this basis, an example that can be used to show cultural
relativism is the issue of female genital mutilation (FGM). It should be seen this is a hot topic
with different cultures of the world taking opposing stands.
In my American culture, it is almost a taboo for one to be seen in support of FGM.
The reason is that Americans believe that it is something that is used to demean women and
make them have no say over their sexuality. That is why it is frowned upon and anybody in
support of it will be seen to be outdated. On the hand, in many African cultures, FGM is
practised and it is seen as a rite of passage. Women are forced to undergo this act under
threats that failure to do so would be catastrophic to their families.
Being a competent intercultural communicator does not mean that one has to agree
with all the customs of another culture. The reason for this is that even the intercultural
communicator has his own culture. It, therefore, means that he has to agree with those aspects
of culture that are seen to agree with his. Any cultural aspect that does not rhyme with his
should be done away with. One should, therefore, be seen to be supportive of his culture than
the culture of other people.
           
 
 
 

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Works Cited

Jhingran, Saral Ethical Relativism and Universalism London. Mortilal Barnasidaas
 Roebuck, D. Bernard. Improving Business Communications Skills (4th Ed.). Upper Saddle
River, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall. 2006