The IABC Handbook of Organizational Communication: A Guide to Internal Communication, Public Relations, Marketing, and Leadership

Conclusion

From a personal and a corporate point of view, it pays to think through ethical choices before they happen—to know in advance how you intend to manage communication ethically—and to recognize the many factors that influence ethical decision making.

Cultural relativism is a weak concept, useful only because it emphasizes tolerance. Pluralism is a strong concept for two reasons: (1) because it is based on Aristotle's Golden Mean: it avoids the extremes of absolutism and relativism; and (2) because it seeks the wise person's common ground where new insights can emerge from conflicting values, principles, and loyalties—if the wise person holds steady and listens hard.

Basic assumptions and principles of ethical communication apply throughout ...