Ethics, ethics, ethics…

Individuals often encounter ethical dilemmas in their workplace on a regular
basis. We as technical communicators must realize our important role as it relates to ethics.

Technical communicators act as conduits of information between their employers and the end-user. Furthermore, technical communicators can also be considered public intellectuals as indicated by Bowdon. Bowdon’s (2004) case study found the following:

Technical communication specialists are uniquely poised to serve as public intellectuals. We have specialized knowledge about ideological dimensions of language that can affect policies and products on institutional and individual levels. We understand historical misconceptions about language as a window pane for reality and can use that awareness to help other professionals to problematize tacit assumptions about audience and other issues that may shape their documents. We recognize the social and political functions of genres and associated conventions and know the importance of that awareness to creating accurate, effective, and ethically sound texts. Our professional and civic engagement can shape the world in which we live and work. (p. 325)

Work environments vastly influence the ethical parameters technical communicators must operate within. Unfortunately, the true art and social significance of technical communication is often times lost on management. Monberg (2002) furthers this point by writing:

Technical writing crafts representations. These representations shape social understandings and practices in a global, information age where such representations coordinate action across distance, cultures, and a wide variety of knowledge specialties. Such representations risk failure, albeit at times in indirect or obscure ways, when the differences inherent in bridging diverse perspectives are rendered invisible because a unitary managerial perspective is unreflectively and automatically adopted. These representations hold a profound influence on how we collectively think about individual agency, expertise, and political power. (p. 213)

Moreover, it is essential that we as technical communicators understand and apply ethics within our profession.

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Bowdon, M. (2004). Technical communication and the role of the public intellectual: A community HIV-prevention case study. Technical Communication Quarterly, (13) 3, 325-340.
doi: 10.1207/s15427625tcq1303_6

Monberg, J. (2002). Science and technology studies as a research method: Toward a practical ethics for technical writing. In Gurak, L. J. & M. M. Lay (Eds.), Research in technical communication (211-227). Westport, CT: Praeger.