It’s particularly important today that a company’s communication efforts be ethical. Ethical communication “includes all relevant information, is true in every sense, and is not deceptive in any way.”69 On the other hand, unethical communication often distorts the truth or manipulates audiences. What are some ways that companies communicate unethically? It could be by omitting essential information. For instance, not telling employees that an impending merger is going to mean some of them will lose their jobs is unethical. It’s also unethical to plagiarize, which is “presenting someone else’s words or other creative product as your own.”70 It would also be unethical communication to selectively misquote, misrepresent numbers, distort visuals, and fail to respect privacy or information security needs. For instance, although British Petroleum attempted to communicate openly and truthfully about the Gulf Coast oil spill, the public felt that much of the company’s communication had some unethical elements to it.

So how can managers encourage ethical communications? One thing is to “establish clear guidelines for ethical behavior, including ethical business communication.”71 In a global survey by the International Association of Business Communicators, 70 percent of communication professionals said their companies clearly define what is considered ethical and unethical behavior.72 If no clear guidelines exist, it’s important to answer the following questions:

• Has the situation been defined fairly and accurately?

• Why is the message being communicated?

• How will the people who may be affected by the message or who receive the message be impacted?

• Does the message help achieve the greatest possible good while minimizing possible harm?

• Will this decision that appears to be ethical now seem so in the future?

• How comfortable are you with your communication effort? What would a person you admire think of it?73

Remember that as a manager, you have a responsibility to think through your communication choices and the consequences of those choices. If you always remember that, you’re likely to have ethical communication.