Ethical Consideration
The ability to identify, analyze, and evaluate at least one ethical dilemma or scenario related to communication and advocate a specific course of action.
One of the most interesting classes that I took during the program was our ethics class – Communicating Mindfully. It was so different than any other class I had. One has a certain expectation that comes to mind when you hear the word ethics – it is something that guides you to making a good and correct decision. Either you have them or you don’t. I had never considered that there were different types– interpersonal, humanitarian, judicial, intercultural and business and professional – and that our experiences guide our ethical decisions. To view and learn about them through the movie Les Miserable was a refreshing change as well. Although, I have to admit I will never watch a movie the same way again!
For the class, we each examined thirty second scene from a movie and applied our chosen type of ethic to it. I choose business and professional ethics and applied it to the scene called Surprise Evidence from Erin Brockovich. The scene compares the differences between Ed and Erin, the small town lawyer and down-on-her luck single-mom and Kurt and Theresa, the corporate well-educated lawyers, and how Kurt and Theresa treated Ed and Erin as a result of their business and professional ethics. When Ed and Erin did not fit into the perceived “uptight, corporate law firm” ethic Kurt and Theresa judged them as being incapable of obtaining the required information needed to prove PG&E knew about the contamination. Their judgments were made based on their ethics rather than taking the time to view Ed and Erin differently. Ed and Erin’s efforts were also focused on getting justice for the residents rather it being just another case.
By examining this scene through this lens and learning about the different forms of ethics taught me how to listen and consider other’s point of view before jumping to conclusions. It also taught me about different types of ethics and how they direct the way we understand and make decisions about the world around us.