ETHICS IN INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION

ETHICS IN INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION

By BACS/NRB/1811/17

    BACS/ NRB/1872/17

Ethics is a set of principles that govern the behavior of individuals and groups. Defined as a community’s perspective in what is good and bad in human conduct. Communication skills are required fundamental in the workplace and in our day to day lives so as to maintain the relationships we have or would want to have with people. Not all intercultural communication is derived from international perspectives. Some are just from people with different backgrounds and upbringing but of the same nationality and/or religion.

Inter cultural communication ethics guide the process of exchanging information across cultures in a manner that maintains respect. People from different cultures can encode and decode messages differently which leads to misunderstanding and miscommunication.

Cultural relativism states that each culture determines its own ethics for everyday communication while Meta-ethic states that there is an ideal ethical system that can be put to use by all cultures. It is quite difficult to ensure all cultures uphold to some ethics as most people believe that they should choose what is ethical in their own culture which in case example, some cultures uphold human sacrifices for various reasons while others do not

. Robert Shutter (2003) centers his work on three different types of ethics which are Communicator ethics, Message ethics and Receiver-Audience ethics. Communicator ethics refers to ethics that contribute to the well being of others, to fulfill their happiness as human beings.  Message ethics refers to the right or wrong communication behaviors and Receiver-Audience refers to the guidelines people use when receiving messages.

There are five golden approaches towards ethics that have been devised.

11)      The golden purse (ethical egoism) - This approach is based on what works for ‘me’. It consists of considering the advantages and disadvantages of a decision and choosing what is best for ‘me’.

22)      The golden consequence- This approach is based on how useful something is to most people involved in the decision. It seeks for the greatest good of the majority.

33)      The golden law- This law suggests that there is a single right or wrong regardless of the context or situation which is determined through the use of logic.

44)      The golden rule- This principle states that one should do to others as they would have them do unto them. In intercultural communication, you should treat others as you would like to be treated.

55)      The golden mean- In this case mean refers to average. This principle states that the choice lies between the extremes in any situation.

After looking at the five approaches we realize that a universal ethic can be determined by looking at cultures to find out principles they have in common to which all people can agree.

There are three principles formed for ethical communication.

a)a      The Humaneness Principle. It en tails dealing with others by treating them in a humane way using the basic values we all k now regardless of our culture such as  peace and honesty.

)    b  The Dialogic Principle. The core of this principle is interaction with others which leads to understanding their perspective and culture before one make’s any ethical decision.

c) c     The principle of ‘to’ and ‘me’. It seems similar to the dialogic principle but the main point here is one must be critical in how they represent another culture

Intercultural communication ethics enable one to make a wise decision on how communication takes place with people of a different culture. One has to acknowledge the different values and beliefs that the other person upholds and that will assist in their interaction. They will be able to achieve their end goal and maintain a respectful relationship with the other party.

ROLES OF ETHICS IN INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION

11.      Preserving relationships. Being aware of the ethics required to communicate to people of different cultures ensures a relationship is maintained because there are no boundaries crossed or misunderstandings.

22.      Effective Communication. When one is knowledgeable on ethics of communication to a certain culture, they are able to communicate effectively with the other party. The message is encoded and decoded as was intended.

33.      Improve decision making. One is able to make informed decisions based on the information they have received as their interpretation is based on the other person’s culture.

44.      One’s reputation is upheld. One is able to maintain the way people look at them when it comes to dealing with other people.

55.      Trust is built between the two parties of different cultures.

The ethics not only relate to the message being passed across but the process as well. One has to be well read on other cultures that they expect to be relating with in order to maintain the relationship.  With the five golden stances, one should approach various life situations using them and evaluate their decisions from them.

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REFERENCES

1      Hall,B. (2005) Among other cultures: The challenge of communication. Belmont,CA:Wadswow, Shutter, R(2003). Bowling Down. New York: Simon and Shcuster