Notes from 46th International STC Conference
Cincinnati, Ohio, May 16-19, 1999

Ethics in Action: A "No Talk" Workshop

"Damage Control in the Delta," "Some Disassembly Required," "Big Brother is Watching," and Seven Other Opportunities to Translate Values into Communication Products

Lori Allen, Metropolitan State College of Denver
Dan Voss, Lockheed Martin Corporation, Electronics & Missiles, Orlando, FL

With a special thank-you to Karen Bachmann of the Suncoast Chapter, who pinch-hit for Lori Allen at the last minute when she was unable to attend due to circumstances beyond her control.

Session Description: This workshop focuses on translating ethical values into action. Teams of technical communicators choose a real-world scenario that calls for them to convert one of ten basic ethical values into a treatment for real communication products.

Handouts: For copies of the workshop materials, including the detailed scenarios, or for an electronic file or hard copy of the accompanying paper that was published in the Proceedings, "Use Your Fog Lights: Ten Values for Technical Communicators," by Allen and Voss, contact Dan Voss.

Ten Values

• True to its name, this "No Talk" workshop started with a handout summarizing ten core values in technical communication, which could be read in about 2 minutes. The ten values* are summarized as follows:
   
1. Honesty... Our duty to tell the truth. Honesty in technical communication means making our best effort to provide honest, clear, and accurate communication. It means neither falsifying, omitting, nor slanting information with the intent to deceive our audience. It means being candid in our intellectual and professional assessments, whether they be personnel evaluations, cost estimates, or research conclusions.
2. Legality... Our duty to obey the law. Legality in technical communication means abiding by our duty to follow the laws and regulations that govern our profession, including meeting all terms and obligations of legal contracts we undertake.
3. Privacy... Our duty to respect the rights of others. Privacy in technical communication means making every attempt to respect the rights of others. It means protecting the rights of both individuals and our employers in gathering and disseminating confidential information.
4. Quality... Our duty to provide quality products and services that will best serve the end user. In technical communication quality means defining and performing to standards that best serve the user's unique communication requirements.
5. Teamwork... Our duty to work together to meet mutual objectives. In technical communication, teamwork refers to the ability to work together effectively with clients, employers, coworkers, and even competitors to develop and produce quality communication products that meet user requirements.
6. Conflict of Interest... Our duty to be loyal and to observe fair play. As technical communicators, we must serve our clients and employers with integrity in a way that excludes considerations of personal advantage and promotes the interests of the company or client, as long as doing so does not violate the public good. We must conduct our professional duties in an equitable and even-handed manner.
7. Cultural Sensitivity... Our duty to reflect the growing diversity of the workplace in our technical communications. In technical communication, the value of cultural sensitivity demands tolerance, understanding, and freedom from prejudice. It means embracing diversity, respecting rather than fearing differences, and reflecting that respect not only in our products but in our personal and professional behavior as well. To do so represents more than a professional value, it is a commitment to defend our birthright as human beings.
8. Social Responsibility... Our duty to preserve and protect the public good. In the context of technical communication, social responsibility is our duty to behave responsibly and ethically in using and disseminating information that affects the welfare of the public. It encompasses both serving our user--meeting their need for quality communication product--and protecting our users. It is also maintaining vigilance and advocating responsible behavior within our places of employment.
9. Professional Growth... Our duty to maintain and develop our skills. As technical communicators, we aggressively pursue our own professional growth through self-development activities that keep pace with the latest advancements in our profession. Such activities include formal education, membership in professional associations, in-house training, on-the-job training, and professional networking. We seek and accept candid evaluations of our professional performance and use such feedback to define activities that will promote our professional development.
10. Advancing the Profession... Our duty to respect and assist our colleagues and enhance the reputation of our profession. As technical communicators, we have an obligation not only to pursue our own professional growth but also to assist our colleagues in their professional development and to work together to enhance the reputation of our profession.

• * Excerpted from Ethics in Technical Communication: Shades of Gray, Allen and Voss, John Wiley and Sons, Inc., copyright © 1997. All rights reserved.

Ten Scenarios

• The next step in the "no talk" workshop was another handout -- this one requiring about 5 minutes for participants to read 10 short scenarios involving situations of ethical conflict in real-world technical communication settings. Each scenario called for a small group to develop a treatment plan for a highly specific communication product or products (e.g., a public relations damage control plan after an environmental disaster, a floor plan and equipment list for a high school career day exhibit on technical communication). The ten scenarios*, in brief, were as follows:
   
1. "Better Late than Never." A proposal manager wants to cover up the company's inability to meet the government's schedule in order to parley technical and cost discriminators into a contract win. The technical communicators must convince her that honesty is a better policy. Assignment is to storyboard the pitch that will convince her.
2. "Some Disassembly Required." An industrial-grade trash compactor has a distressing tendency to blow up in the face of technicians who are disassembling it for routine maintenance. Legality demands a warning be written for the documentation which is sufficiently explicit to serve safety, without destroying the product's marketability.
3. "Big Brother is Watching." Misuse of the company's e-mail system and other electronic resources has prompted management to conduct some electronic eavesdropping, which has sparked an outcry from employees who feel their privacy has been violated. The assignment is to come up with a preliminary draft of a new company policy governing use of electronic media for surveillance.
4. "Champagne Taste, Beer Pocketbook." A local entrepreneur wants the world when it comes to promotion for the grand opening of his new mini-mall, but falls short in the cash department. The trick is how, specifically, to give him maximum quality for his limited budget.
5. "Project Desert Garden." A multinational consortium is proposing to install an irrigation system in a desert country. The host nation wants a sizable portion of the economic benefit to occur within its borders, but its industrial capability is limited. The job is to draft a corporate letter of commitment that provides the requested industrial teamwork but in a manner which is realistic to the project and the country.
6. "Drawing the Line." Following a spate of incidents involving misuse of company time and equipment, a cross-disciplinary committee is assembled with the unenviable responsibility of drafting a new company policy on conflict of interest.
7. "Plan Your Future (in Miami)." A committee of technical communicators must display both project planning and cultural sensitivity in developing specific plans for a high school career day exhibit at an inner-city school in Miami.
8. "Damage Control in the Delta." Following a nasty chemical spill in the Mississippi delta, the Publications team for a large firm scrambles to mount a public relations campaign that will limit the negative impact upon the company's image while also serving its ethical commitment to social responsibility.
9. "S-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g the Training Dollar." A team of writers and graphic specialists must develop an equitable plan for professional development in the face of a 50% cut in the department's training budget.
10. "To Cert or Not to Cert..." Stepping onto controversial turf, a team of technical communicators is asked to help in advancing the profession by outlining a top-level plan on how to certify technical communicators, including the type of certification instrument(s) to be used and a specific plan for how to accommodate the wide range of disciplines supported by technical communicators, as well as the range of specialties within the profession.

• * Copyright © 1998, Lori Allen and Dan Voss. All rights reserved.

Workshop Results

• After a brief flurry of instruction and activity to shepherd participants into groups and guide them in selecting their scenarios, the presenters were pleasantly surprised to find they had little to do for the next 53 minutes. Each of the four groups was soon a beehive of discussion and activity. Participants were busily scribbling out hand-made visuals and word charts on easel notepads. At first, the presenters circulated and hovered, mother-hen-like, anxious to ensure that everybody was "on task." It soon became apparent that the "No Talk" workshop was going to be exactly that--at least on the part of the presenters. Oddly, it was a little unnerving... but the more products began to emerge at the tables, the more gratifying it became!
• The teams selected Scenarios #1, 3, 6, and 8. A capsule summary of their efforts follows:
• Scenario #1: The group managed to strawman an entire presentation touting the virtues of its Highly Accurate Go-Get 'Em (HAG) missile. The charts ran as follows:
   
• Chart #1. Word chart entitled "Superior Product." Bullets: Faster, More accurate, More deadly, 10% less cost.
• Chart #2. Dramatic pictorial line graph depicting HAG's superior velocity compared to the competition. HAG is exploding while the competition is still cruising.
• Chart #3. Scenario showing HAG striking its target, an enemy bomber, while Products B and C veer off course and take out a housing development.
• Chart #4. Stealth chart showing Hag's low radar profile. (Blank vugraph acetate.)
• Chart #5. Bar chart showing Hag's 10% lower cost.
• Chart #6. Key chart: A Flexibility Matrix analyzing the tradeoffs among schedule, resources, and requirements. The former and latter are shown to be relatively inflexible, leaving resources as the only area that can be flexed. Nifty segue to final chart suggesting a solution.
• Chart #7. Shows how reducing the cost advantage from 10% to 5% can at least halve the schedule problem, while retaining superior performance.
• Scenario #3: The first-cut at the new "Company Policy on Privacy" read as follows: Our employees are responsible adults who do understand the implications of using company resources for personal business or other activities. With that in mind, our staff needs to be aware of the ramifications and legalities involved in the use of our communication resources, as follows:
   
1. E-mail and phones. Use of e-mail and phones should be limited to company business. However, limited personal use is accepted and should be applied judiciously. It is the responsibility of the cognizant manager or supervisor to set department standards governing judicious use of these resources and communicate these standards to his/her department.
2. Physical searches. Physical searches of persons and property will be conducted only if management has reasonable cause to suspect the employee (1) poses a threat to another employee or to himself/herself, (2) has stolen company property or proprietary information, or (3) is misusing company resources for personal endeavors.
3. Video surveillance. Hidden video cameras are not to be used. Video surveillance, if any, is to be limited to physical security considerations and conducted with advance notice and with cameras in full view.
4. Monitoring of e-mail and telephones. Management has the right to periodically monitor employees' e-mail and telephone calls to ensure that they are not making inappropriate use of company resources. However, any information obtained during such monitoring must be held in the strictest confidence and used only in the event and to the extent that it establishes proof of punishable offenses.
• Scenario #6: Acme Company developed the following guidelines for "Drawing the Line" when it comes to personal use of company time and resources, as well as conflicts between overtime and personal commitments.
   
• Overview: At Acme, people are our most important resource. The professional skills, time, and energy of our associates create the value of our company. To protect this valuable resource, we have adopted this conflict of interest policy, addressing business activities, use of resources, professional activities, and overtime. If you have any questions concerning this policy, contact the Human Resources Office.
• Use of time and professional skills.
   
• Employees shall not conduct any other business activities using Acme premises or resources that provide financial benefit to themselves or their families. Employees shall not allow others to use Acme resources for non-Acme business.
• Employees shall not engage in businesses during non-working hours that directly compete with Acme Corporation's products and services, at any time during their employment.
• Employees shall not disclose proprietary business information to those outside the Corporation, including family members.
• Employees shall not give or receive gifts, including meals, valued at more than $25 from our customers or suppliers. This policy does not apply to personal friends and family members.
• Use of resources for professional development. Employees may use company resources for professional development, including education and participation in professional organizations. Resources include the copier, telephones, computers, and telephones.
• Professional enrichment. The use of company resources for professional enrichment is permitted. If use is extensive, supervisory approval is required. If you have any questions about what is acceptable, contact your manager. Guidelines for what is acceptable follow:
   
• Use of company resources (time, money for expenses) for training, seminars, and conferences for professional enrichment is permitted, with manager approval.
• Use of work time to develop materials for professional activities (e.g., a professional society) is permitted, as long as this does not interfere with your work responsibilities and is not billed to a direct contract.
• Use of company equipment (e.g., computers, copiers, fax) to complete professional enrichment projects is permitted. If you need to use the equipment on a large scale, you must have approval from your manager.
• Use of resources for personal purposes. Employees may make judicious use of company resources for personal purposes, within the following guidelines: Employees make occasionally make up to 20 black-and-white copies of personal materials on plain paper, conduct up to 15 minutes of personal telephone conversations per 8-hour workday, and put in up to 15 minutes of personal Web browsing per 8-hour work day without supervisory approval. For uses in excess of these guidelines (e.g., a greater number of copies, special paper, more time on the phone or the Web), employees must have the permission of their manager.
• Off-hours use of computers. Employees may use company computer facilities off hours for education, professional development, and personal activities that are not of a business nature (i.e., for profit), which do not involve inappropriate materials (e.g., downloading prurient material from the Web), and which do not consume company supplies (e.g., printing several hundred copies of Little League schedules, church bulletins, or the like).
• Overtime policy. Acme Company realizes that its employees lead full and active lives. However, due to the nature of our business and in order to meet our customer demands during peak business periods, each employee may be requested to work overtime. Acme will not compensate an employee who works 5 hours or fewer during a pay period. Overtime beyond 5 hours will be compensated at straight time if it is requested and approved by a supervisor at least 2 business days before it occurs. Employees shall not be obligated to work overtime that is requested upon shorter notice (or, even overtime that is requested with advance notice, if it creates an unusual personal hardship), but they are encouraged to make every effort to do so in the interest of meeting company business objectives. Employees are requested to notify their supervisor immediately in the event of a personal conflict with scheduled overtime. In such instances, it is up for the supervisor and the employee to make alternate arrangements. This may include working at home or working longer hours on another day.

• Note: The groups that worked on Privacy and Conflict of Interest both converged rapidly on the importance of relying on management judgment and providing sufficient flexibility in the guidelines to allow that judgment to be exercised. This is the only viable path by which to navigate the myriad gray zones that pervade these subjects and to adjudicate individual cases with any measure of equity.

• Scenario #8: The "Damage Control in the Delta" Swat Team conducted a dynamic chalk talk from the easel outlining its plan of attack:
   
• Analyze the audience
   
• Internal: Corporate Board of Directors and Vice President of Public Relations
• External: Environmental Protection Agency
• External: The public
• External: The news media ("Mr. Stormy Weather" and Co.)
• Determine the overall communication objectives and strategies:
   
• Control the damage to the company's image
• Release the truth incrementally, to protect public safety but avoid panic
• Present a credible perception of the company as honest and sincere, and genuinely concerned for the public welfare
• Investigate the situation and make sure the truth is not being covered up.
• Honestly state the problem. "An accident occurred last night..."
• Develop and deliver the right messages
   
• Preparedness. We already had a plan in place (the "Emergency Action Plan," or EAP) for just such an eventuality, and we are already implementing it. Semper paratus. Boy Scout motto type stuff.
• Corporate responsibility. We are actively working with the EPA and other outside agencies to contain the damage and clean up the spill.
• Thoroughness. We are investigating the cause of the accident and will implement preventive action to ensure it is not repeated.
• Select appropriate media
   
• Open and candid press conferences
• TV and radio spots, especially during the early stages
• Infomercials on subsequent clean-up and preventive action: hire an ad agency
• Public forums: briefings to civic groups, college and high school classes
• Formal study: publish a formal analysis of the root cause including specific preventive actions that will be implemented to prevent any recurrence.
• Production plan
   
• Methods for message delivery
• Use of ad agency
• Consultation with experts in field
• Integration of all accident-related communication activity
• "Deep pockets"... better to spend what it takes now to contain the public relations damage than to lose long-term business that may never be recovered. When it comes to damage control, the old saying "Penny wise and pound foolish" definitely applies.

Editorial Comment

The presenters could not help but observe that not only did the four teams do a bang-up job of handling their ethical dilemmas, they also provided a textbook example of focused teamwork in our profession. It is hard to believe they accomplished as much as they did in just 53 minutes, but the output speaks for itself. To all, a job well done!