Alternatively: Teaching Ethics in a Void

 

I’ve been teaching Bizcom for two semesters now and one thing is clear; the business field is not a very ethical one. Well, duh, you might say, there’s a reason the evil corporate overlord archetype exists. And yes, I would answer, I enjoy an “underdog vs. big business” story as much as the next leftist. But as infomercials often say; there’s got to be a better way. 

Certainly, systemic issues can’t be solved in one course; however, to teach ethical models alongside rhetoric in our courses is to potentially form new ‘frames’ in students’ metaphorical schemata in relation to “business.” Students may then evaluate business/corporate activities with this more ‘ethical’ metaphorical schemata. 

Ethics + Rhetoric = ?

How do we do this? How do we “teach” ethics in a class about business rhetoric? I don’t have answers, but Derek G. Ross in his piece, “(Teaching) Ethics and Technical Communication,” may. According to Ross, morals and ethics are distinct from one another; while morality is linked to ethics, morality is socially situated whereas ethics are individual. This complicates things. How are we to decide what is or isn’t universally ethical? 

You can’t. But, like Bitzer’s rhetorical situation, you can identify the “ethical situation” and evaluate this situation according to a certain ethical model. An ethical situation involves a moral agent, an action or series of actions, a recipient, and consequences; “the agent takes action, the recipient receives consequences.” You may then choose which ethical model to teach your class, and subsequently ask your class to utilize this model to evaluate case studies and similar assignments. There are many ethical models, but the models which Ross identifies as significant are Aristotelian ethics, Kantian ethics, Utilitarian ethics (which I consider to be particularly important when teaching business subjects), and Feminist ethics. 

Looking Ahead

Assignments that can be formulated with these ethical models in mind may include case studies, public relations, and class discussions about corporate rhetorical activities. Ross further emphasizes that creating ‘guidelines’ for these ethical discussions is necessary for meaningful, respectful discourse. 

While redundant, it should be repeated; systemic issues in corporate spaces most likely won’t be nullified by simply teaching ethics in business writing. But if one or two students leave these courses with a new model of ethics that they actively use, I believe it’s worth including in the lesson plan.