Ethical Responsibility: What is a Technical Writer’s Ethical Responsibility?
Pernell Joseph
Missouri State University
October, 2017
Introduction
The objective of any profession, is to do what is ethically correct to achieve what is rightfully good. There’s this saying, “what you don’t know, can’t hurt you.” However, I do believe that as a technical writer, what you don’t know can hurt you and all other parties involved. The notion of technical communication being taken out of context by many, should not dictate a technical communicator’s ethical responsibility towards their audience. Ethical responsibility is the obligation to follow a morally truthful path. It’s also our aim as technical writers, to elucidate those responsibilities …show more content…
This research paper will present ethics in technical communication and what is the ethical responsibility of a technical communicator as it relates to their target audience. This paper explains, how a technical communicator with other things considered, manage all organizational needs and the desire to be socially and ethically responsible. I will also scrutinize ethic of responsibility within the organization. I will review the challenger tragedy, and how ethics in academics can shape a technical writer’s ethical responsibility in the …show more content…
In organizational structures, no one wants to point fingers, or be the bearer of bad news. Society today is more concerned with the perception of others, and therefore individuals do not seek to jeopardize their individual position within an organization. Technology has become more complex and widespread, and the need for effective communication concerning technology has developed. Technical communicators have the ethical responsibility, to identify and recall a deficient product and carefully detail its defects. They ought to recognize that they also have a responsibility to act ethically in their writing, or interaction with other people, whether it be within an organization or with the persons who may be affected by their writing. Paul Dombrowski (2000), a secondary researcher in the field of ethics in technical communication, stated that, technical writers not only communicate technical information but also values, ethics and inferred assumptions represented in goals. Socrates’ ideas made him question, “What is good?” To Socrates, knowledge was the highest good; he believed that if man knew what was right, man would act accordingly and do what is right. (Frost 1989, p.
Pernell Joseph
Missouri State University
October, 2017
Introduction
The objective of any profession, is to do what is ethically correct to achieve what is rightfully good. There’s this saying, “what you don’t know, can’t hurt you.” However, I do believe that as a technical writer, what you don’t know can hurt you and all other parties involved. The notion of technical communication being taken out of context by many, should not dictate a technical communicator’s ethical responsibility towards their audience. Ethical responsibility is the obligation to follow a morally truthful path. It’s also our aim as technical writers, to elucidate those responsibilities …show more content…
This research paper will present ethics in technical communication and what is the ethical responsibility of a technical communicator as it relates to their target audience. This paper explains, how a technical communicator with other things considered, manage all organizational needs and the desire to be socially and ethically responsible. I will also scrutinize ethic of responsibility within the organization. I will review the challenger tragedy, and how ethics in academics can shape a technical writer’s ethical responsibility in the …show more content…
In organizational structures, no one wants to point fingers, or be the bearer of bad news. Society today is more concerned with the perception of others, and therefore individuals do not seek to jeopardize their individual position within an organization. Technology has become more complex and widespread, and the need for effective communication concerning technology has developed. Technical communicators have the ethical responsibility, to identify and recall a deficient product and carefully detail its defects. They ought to recognize that they also have a responsibility to act ethically in their writing, or interaction with other people, whether it be within an organization or with the persons who may be affected by their writing. Paul Dombrowski (2000), a secondary researcher in the field of ethics in technical communication, stated that, technical writers not only communicate technical information but also values, ethics and inferred assumptions represented in goals. Socrates’ ideas made him question, “What is good?” To Socrates, knowledge was the highest good; he believed that if man knew what was right, man would act accordingly and do what is right. (Frost 1989, p.