Technical Writing Chapter #2

What does justice mean?

- This standard concerns how the costs and benefits of an action or a policy are distributed among a group. -Justice requires that people doing the same job receive the same pay, regardless of whether they are male or female, black or white. -The cost of maintaining a high-speed broadband infrastructure should be borne, in part, by people who use it. However, because everyone benefits from the infrastructure, the standard of justice suggests that general funds can also be used to pay for it

What is Liability Law?

-A manufacturer or seller of a product is liable for injuries or damages caused by the use of that product. Liability is an important concern for communicators, because courts frequently rule that manufacturers are responsible for providing adequate operating instructions and for warning consumers about the risks of using their products. -Warning their consumers of their products by providing safety labels on products and explaining in the instructions how to use the products safely

What does it mean to not mislead your readers?

-A misleading statement — one that invites or even encourages the reader to reach a false conclusion — is ethically no better than lying

What are the 11 principles for ethical communication?

-Abide by relevant laws - Comply with Accessibility Standards -Abide by the appropriate professional code of conduct -Abide by your organization's policy on social media -Take advantage of your employer's ethics resources -Tell the truth -Don't mislead your readers -Use design to highlight important ethical and legal information -Be clear -Avoid Discriminatory language -Acknowledge assistance from others

Copyright questions one may have?

-Abide by the fair-use concept. Do not rely on excessive amounts of another source's work (unless the information is your company's own boilerplate). -Seek permission. Write to the source, stating what portion of the work you wish to use and the publication you wish to use it in. The source is likely to charge you for permission. -Cite your sources accurately. Citing sources fulfills your ethical obligation and strengthens your writing by showing the reader the range of your research. -Consult legal counsel if you have questions. Copyright law is complex. Don't rely on instinct or common sense.

What are creative commons?

-Attribution (Man in a circle): you must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work) -Noncommercial (money with a slash): you may not use this work for commercial purposes -No derivative works (equal sign): you may not alter, transform, or build upon work -Share alike (rewind arrow): if you alter, transform, or build upon this work, you may distribute the resulting work only under the same or similar license to this one

What does be clear mean?

-Clear writing helps your readers understand your message easily. Your responsibility is to write as clearly as you can to help your audience understand what you are saying. For instance, if you are writing a product warranty, make it as simple and straightforward as possible. Use tables of contents, indexes, and other accessing devices to help your readers find what they need.

What are the 5 obligations to your employer?

-Competence and diligence: Competence refers to your skills; you should have the training and experience to do the job adequately. Diligence simply means working hard. -Generosity: You are obligated to help your co-workers and stakeholders outside your organization by sharing your knowledge and expertise. If a customer or supplier contacts you, make the time to respond helpfully. -Honesty and Candor: You should not steal from your employer. Stealing includes such practices as embezzlement, "borrowing" office supplies, and padding expense accounts. Candor means truthfulness; you should report to your employer problems that might threaten the quality or safety of the organization's product or service. -Confidentiality: You should not divulge company business outside of the company. If a competitor finds out that your company is planning to introduce a new product, it might introduce its own version of that product, robbing your company of its competitive advantage (an employee who knows about a development that will increase (or decrease) the value of the company's stock, for example, buys (or sells) the stock before the information is made public, thus unfairly — and illegally — reaping a profit (or avoiding a loss)) -Loyalty: You should act in the employer's interest, not in your own. Therefore, it is unethical to invest heavily in a competitor's stock, because that could jeopardize your objectivity and judgment. For the same reason, it is unethical (and illegal) to accept bribes or kickbacks. (However, if your employer is unethical you now have an obligation to change that behavior "whistleblowing")

What does rights mean?

-Concerns individuals basic needs and welfare. Example that everyone agrees that people have a right to a reasonably safe workplace. -That when we buy a product we have the right to expect that the information that accompanies the product is honest and clear. -Not everything desirable is a right ex: healthcare in some countries is considered a right (government required to provide it), but in other countries health care is not considered a right.

What is contract law?

-Contract law deals with agreements between two parties. In most cases, disputes concern whether a product lives up to the manufacturer's claims. These claims take the form of express warranties or implied warranties -Express warranty is a written or oral statement that the product has a particular feature or can perform a particular function. For example, a statement in a printer manual that the printer produces 17 pages per minute is an express warranty -Implied Warranty has 2 kinds of non-written guidelines: • The merchantability warranty guarantees that the product is of at least average quality and appropriate for the ordinary purposes it was intended to serve. • The fitness warranty guarantees that the product is suitable for the buyer's purpose if the seller knows that purpose. For example, if a car salesperson knows that a buyer wishes to pull a 5,000-pound trailer but also knows that a car cannot pull such a load, the salesperson is required to inform the buyer of this fact

What are the four different bodies of law?

-Copyright -Trademark -Contract -Liability

What is copyright law?

-Copyright law is the body of law that relates to the appropriate use of a person's intellectual property: written documents, pictures, musical compositions, and the like. -Copyright literally refers to a person's right to copy the work that he or she has created. -The most important concept in copyright law is that only the copyright holder — the person or organization that owns the work — can copy it. -Anything written or revised by an employee on the job is the company's property, not the employee's. -Under fair-use guidelines, you have the right to use a portion of a published work, without getting permission, for purposes such as criticism, commentary, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research

What does use design to highlight important ethical and legal information mean?

-Courts have found that burying information in footnotes or printing it in very small type violates a company's obligation to inform consumers and warn them about hazards in using a product. When you want to communicate safety information or other facts that readers need to know, use design features to make that information easy to see and understand

How to protect your client's or employer's trademark?

-Distinguish trademarks from other material. Use boldface, italics, a different typeface, a different type size, or a different color to distinguish the trademarked item. -Use the trademark symbol. At least once in each document — preferably the first time the name or logo appears — use the appropriate symbol after the name or logo, followed by an asterisk. At the bottom of the page, include a statement such as the following: "*COKE is a registered trademark of the Coca-Cola Company." -Use the trademarked item's name as an adjective, not as a noun or verb. Trademarks can become confused with the generic term they refer to. Use the trademarked name along with the generic term, as in Xerox® photocopier or LaserJet® printer. -DOES NOT PROTECT TRADEMARK buy three LaserJets® PROTECTS TRADEMARK buy three LaserJet® printers -Do not use the possessive form of the trademarked name. Doing so reduces the uniqueness of the item and encourages the public to think of the term as generic. -DOES NOT PROTECT TRADEMARK iPad's® fine quality PROTECTS TRADEMARK the fine quality of iPad® tablets

What does acknowledge assistance from others mean?

-Don't suggest that you did all the work yourself if you didn't. Cite your sources and your collaborators accurately and graciously

What does avoid discriminatory language mean?

-Don't use language that discriminates against people because of their sex, religion, ethnicity, race, sexual orientation, or physical or mental abilities.

What are three basic rights that employees enjoy in exchange for their labor?

-Fair wages, safe and healthy working conditions, and due process in the handling of such matters as promotions, salary increases, and firing.

What are 4 commons kinds of misleading technical communication?

-False implications. If, as an employee of SuperBright, you write "Use only SuperBright batteries in your new flashlight," you imply that only that brand will work. If that is untrue, the statement is misleading. -Exaggerations. If you say "Our new Operating System 2500 makes system crashes a thing of the past" when the product only makes them less likely, you are exaggerating. Provide specific technical information on the reduction of crashes. Similarly, do not write "We carried out extensive market research" if all you did was make a few phone calls. -Legalistic constructions. It is unethical to write "The 3000X was designed to operate in extreme temperatures, from -40 degrees to 120 degrees Fahrenheit" if the product does not operate reliably in those temperatures. Although the statement might technically be accurate — the product was designed to operate in those temperatures — it is misleading. -Euphemisms. If you refer to someone's being fired, say released, not granted permanent leave or offered an alternative career opportunity.

What does it mean to abide by your organization's policy on social media?

-If your employer has a written policy about how employees may use social media, study it

What does it mean to abide by the appropriate professional code of conduct?

-Is likely to have a code that goes beyond legal issues to express ethical principles, such as telling the truth, reporting information accurately, respecting the privacy of others, and avoiding conflicts of interest.

What are the 3 major characteristics an effective code has?

-It protects the public rather than members of the organization or profession. For instance, the code should condemn unsafe building practices but not advertising, which increases competition and thus lowers prices. -It is specific and comprehensive. A code is ineffective if it merely states that people must not steal or if it does not address typical ethical offenses such as bribery in companies that do business in other countries. -It is enforceable. A code is ineffective if it does not stipulate penalties, including dismissal from the company or expulsion from the profession.

How to use Social Media Ethically and Legally?

-Keep your private social-media accounts separate from your company-sponsored accounts. After you leave a company, you don't want to get into a dispute over who "owns" an account. Post only about business on your company sponsored accounts so there's no confusion on ownership. -Read the terms of service of every service to which you post. Although you retain the copyright on original content that you post, most social-media services state that they can re-post your content wherever and whenever they want, without informing you, getting your permission, or paying you. -Avoid revealing unauthorized news about your own company. A company that wishes to apply for a patent for one of its products or processes has, according to the law, only one year to do so after the product or process is first mentioned or illustrated in a "printed publication." Because courts have found that a photo on Facebook or a blog or even a tweet is equivalent to a printed publication you could inadvertently start the clock ticking. Or suppose that on your personal blog, you reveal that your company's profits will dip in the next quarter. This information could prompt investors to sell shares of your company's stock, thereby hurting everyone who owns shares — including you and most of your co-workers. -Avoid self-plagiarism. Self-plagiarizing is the act of publishing something you have already published. If you write an article for your company newsletter and later publish it on a blog, you are violating your company's copyright, because your newsletter article was a work made for hire and therefore the company's intellectual property. -Avoid defaming anyone. Defamation is the legal term for making false statements of fact about a person that could harm that person. Any slander or defamation of character is a big no no -Don't live stream or quote from a speech or meeting without permission. Although you may describe a speech or meeting online, you may not stream video or post quotations without permission. -Avoid false endorsements. The Federal Trade Commission has clear rules defining false advertising. The most common type of false advertising involves posting a positive review of a product or company in exchange for some compensation. -Avoid impersonating someone else online. If that person is real (whether alive or dead), you could be violating his or her right of publicity (the right to control his or her name, image, or likeness). If that person is a fictional character, such as a character on a TV show or in a movie, you could be infringing on the copyright of whoever created that character. -Avoid infringing on trademarks by using protected logos or names. Don't include copyrighted or trademarked names, slogans, or logos in your posts unless you have received permission to do so.

What codes do organizations have to bring awareness to unethical issues?

-Many organizations, encourages employees to report ethical problems to a committee or a person (sometimes called an ethics officer or an ombudsperson) who investigates and reaches an impartial decision. -If all resources have been used and still theres ethical problems you can whistle blow

What does recuse mean?

-Not participate in the discussion of this position if your friend we're to apply and you don't want any conflict of interests

What are the obligations to the environment?

-Our excessive use of fossil fuels not only deprives future generations of them but also causes possibly irreversible pollution problems, such as global warming. -Everyone — government, businesses, and individuals — must work to preserve the environment to ensure the survival not only of our own species but also of the other species with which we share the planet. -Aware of the environmental effects of your company's products so you help write an environmental impact statement -Alert supervisors to the situation (environmental damage) and work with them to reduce damage. -Can be expensive so thats why organizations cut corners on environmental protection

How to distinguish plagiarism from acceptable reuse of information?

-Plagiarism is the act of using someone else's words or ideas without giving credit to the original author -Obviously, it is plagiarism to borrow or steal graphics, video or audio media, written passages, or entire documents and then use them without attribution -However, writers within a company often reuse one another's information without giving credit — and this is completely ethical. -Boilerplate, are simply copied and pasted from previous press releases. Because these descriptions are legally the intellectual property of the company, reusing them in this way is completely honest.

What are the four moral standards that are useful in thinking about ethical dilemmas?

-Rights -Justice -Utility -Care

What does tell the truth mean?

-Sometimes, employees are asked to lie about their companies' products or about those of their competitors. Obviously, lying is unethical. Your responsibility is to resist this pressure, going over your supervisor's head if necessary.

What does it mean to comply with accessibility standards?

-The federal government has outlined standards for making websites and other forms of technical communication accessible to all users, including people with disabilities, who make up about 8 percent of the population. Government sites are required to comply with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, and the Department of Health and Human Services encourages all private and commercial sites to do the same.

How can you improve ethical culture?

-The organization's leaders can set the right tone by living up to their commitment to ethical conduct. -Supervisors can set good examples and encourage ethical conduct. -Peers can support those employees who act ethically. -The organization can use informal communication to reinforce the formal policies, such as those presented in a company code of conduct. -It is not enough for an organization to issue a statement that ethical and legal behavior is important. The organization has to create a culture that values and rewards ethical and legal behavior. That culture starts at the top and extends to all employees, and it permeates the day-to-day operations of the organization. -An important element of a culture of ethical and legal conduct is to have a formal code of conduct, most big corporations have them

What does Utility mean?

-The positive and negative effects that an action/policy has, will have, or might have on others. -If a company is considering closing a plant, the company's leaders should consider not only the money they would save but also the financial hardship of laid-off workers and the economic effects on the community. -An action such as laying off employees can have one effect in the short run — improving the company's quarterly balance sheet — and a very different effect in the long run — hurting the company's productivity or the quality of its products.

What are the four duties manufacturers have to warn consumers when these characteristics apply?

-The product is dangerous. -The danger is or should be known by the manufacturer. -The danger is present when the product is used in the usual and expected manner. -The danger is not obvious to or well known by the user.

How to determine fair use?

-The purpose and character of the use, especially whether the use is for profit. Profit-making organizations are scrutinized more carefully than nonprofits. -The nature and purpose of the copyrighted work. When the information is essential to the public — for example, medical information — the fair-use principle is applied more liberally. -The amount and substantiality of the portion of the work used. A 200-word passage would be a small portion of a book but a large portion of a 500-word brochure. -The effect of the use on the potential market for the copyrighted work. Any use of the work that is likely to hurt the author's potential to profit from the original work would probably not be considered fair use.

What does Care mean?

-The relationships we have with other individuals -We owe care and consideration to all people, but we have greater responsibilities to people in our families, our workplaces, and our communities. -The closer a person is to us, the greater care we owe that person. -Therefore, we have greater obligations to members of our family than we do to others in our community.

What is trademark law?

-The use of trademarks and registers trademarks is so the public recognizes the name or logo of a product -A trademark is a word, phrase, name, or symbol that is identified with a company. The company uses the TM symbol after the product name to claim the design or device as a trademark. However, using this symbol does not grant the company any legal rights. It simply sends a message to other organizations that the company is claiming a trademark. -A registered trademark is a word, phrase, name, or symbol that the company has registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The company can then use the ® symbol after the trademarked item

Why these four moral standards sometimes fail in resolving ethical conflict

-They are imprecise and often conflict with each other. Therefore, they cannot provide a systematic method of resolving ethical conflicts

What are obligations to the public?

-Treat customers fairly -In general, an organization is acting ethically if its product or service is both safe and effective. -The product or service must not injure or harm the consumer, and it must fulfill its promised function. -Ex: A person who operates a chainsaw without reading the safety information and without seeking any instruction in how to use it is to blame for any injuries caused by the normal operation of the saw. But a manufacturer that knows that the chain on the saw is liable to break under certain circumstances and fails to remedy this problem or warn the consumer is responsible for any resulting accidents. - The manufacturer know more about the product than the consumer so they have a greater responsibility to make sure products comply with all manufacturer's claims and are safe. -So when designing, making, and testing the product the manufacturer makes sure the product is safe and effective when used according to instructions. -Manufacturer not liable when something goes wrong that it could not have foreseen or prevented

What is trimming, cooking and forging?

-Trimming is the smoothing of irregularities to make research data look extremely accurate and precise. -Cooking is retaining only those results that fit the theory and discarding the others. -Forging is inventing some or all of the data or even reporting experiments that were never performed. -In carrying out research, employees must resist any pressure to report only positive findings.

How to abide by Liability Laws?

-Understand the product and its likely users. Learn everything you can about the product and its users. -Describe the product's functions and limitations. Help people determine whether it is the right product to buy. In one case, a manufacturer was found liable for not stating that its electric smoke alarm does not work during a power outage. -Instruct users on all aspects of ownership. Include assembly, installation, use and storage, testing, maintenance, first aid and emergencies, and disposal. -Use appropriate words and graphics. Use common terms, simple sentences, and brief paragraphs. Structure the document logically, and include specific directions. Make graphics clear and easy to understand; where necessary, show people performing tasks. Make the words and graphics appropriate to the educational level, mechanical ability, manual dexterity, and intelligence of intended users. -Warn users about the risks of using or misusing the product. Warn users about the dangers of using the product, such as chemical poisoning. Describe the cause, extent, and seriousness of the danger. A car manufacturer was found liable for not having warned consumers that parking a car on grass, leaves, or other combustible material could cause a fire. -Include warnings along with assertions of safety. When product information says that a product is safe, readers tend to pay less attention to warnings. Therefore, include detailed warnings to balance the safety claims. -Make directions and warnings conspicuous. Safety information must be in large type and easily visible, appear in an appropriate location, and be durable enough to withstand ordinary use of the product. -Make sure that the instructions comply with applicable company standards and local, state, and federal laws. -Perform usability testing. Test the product (to make sure it is safe and easy to use) and test the instructions (to make sure they are accurate and easy to understand) -Make sure users receive the information. If you discover a problem after the product has been shipped to retailers, tell users by direct mail or email, if possible, or newspaper and online advertising if not. Automobile-recall notices are one example of how manufacturers contact their users.

What does it mean to abide by relevant laws?

-You must adhere to the laws governing intellectual property, contracts, and liability. Here are some examples: -Do not violate copyright. When you want to publish someone else's copyrighted material, such as graphics you find on the web, get written permission from the copyright owner. -Honor the laws regarding trademarks. For instance, use the trademark symbol (TM) and the registered trademark symbol (®) properly. -Live up to the express and implied warranties on your company's products. -Abide by all laws governing product liability

What does it mean to take advantage of your employer's ethics resources?

-Your employer is likely to have a code of conduct, as well as other resources, such as an Ethics Office, which can help you find information to guide you in resolving ethical challenges you encounter. Your employer will likely have a mechanism for anonymously registering complaints about unethical conduct.

What issues do Codes of Conducts address?

-adhering to local laws and regulations, including those intended to protect the environment -avoiding discrimination -maintaining a safe and healthy workplace -respecting privacy -avoiding conflicts of interest -protecting the company's intellectual property -avoiding bribery and kickbacks in working with suppliers and customers -A code of conduct focuses on behavior, including adhering to the law