Lecture No1. Subject and Specific Features of Ethics of Business Communication

Theoretical and Historical Preconditions of Development of Ethics of Business Communication.

Questions of comprehension of problems of Ethics of Business Communication can be found in the works of ancient philosophers and thinkers of the last eras who were looking for the answer to the following questions: a) what we have to do to make the right moral actions, and b) a question of people as subjects of communication. Many ideas of thinkers of last eras have direct relation to the problem of interpersonal communication of people, including their business communication. So, according to one of the fundamental provisions of the theory of interpersonal communication mental conditions of people in many respects are defined by the content of their moral consciousness and somehow comprise it in itself. Therefore studying of discipline of Ethics of Business Communication assumes comprehension from positions of today of that theoretical heritage from the field of psychology and ethics which can promote deeper understanding of the problems relating to Ethics of Business Communication.

Correlation between Ethics and Etiquette.

Ethics of Business Communication	Etiquette of Business Communication
Sharing of information, experience, capabilities and performance results In ethics the moral side of the action and its content is demonstrated.	Behavior In etiquette the ethical direction, the form of display is demonstrated. В этикете показана эстетическая направленность, форма его проявления. Business etiquette represents set of rules and norms of expedient behavior of the partners in joint business which provides respect to human personality and strict observance of legal, financial and ethical obligations.

Correlation between Business Ethics and Business Relations

Correlation between Business Communication and Business Relations

Business communication	Business relations
Sharing information, experience, capabilities and performance results. In ethics the moral side of the action is demonstrated.	One of the types of public relations that makes interrelation between partners and colleagues and even competitors and arises in the process of joint activity on the market and in the collective group.

 

Difference between business and personal relations:

Comparative Table

Business relations	Personal relations
Emerge in the process of execution of job related objectives and are regulated by instructions and decrees	Personal relations are not supported by documents and emerge on the basis of psychological motives: sympathy, community of views and interests
Official format	Unofficial format
Aim – final result	Communication process is of important
Business assignment is on the first place	Interest in each other is on the first place
Peculiar only to adults	Are present at any age

 

Lecture №2. Functions, Structure and Means of Communication.

Key components of communication.

Specific features of verbal and non-verbal communication.

Non-verbal signals and signs.

 

Key words – nature of communication, contact, interaction, verbal communication, non-verbal communication, signals, signs, language, communication channel, body language, space, intrusion, gesture, face expression, congruent.

Social band (from 1,22 to 3,6 m).

This is the distance we keep between ourselves and people we know, but not very well. For example, with the new colleague.

Public band (over 3,6 m).

At this distance we are confortable with most strangers. If you were talking in public this is the distance you would feel most comfortable to have between you and the audience.

Eye contact:

Throughout centuries people draw big significance to eyes and their impact on behavior of the person. Eyes can tell a lot of things about the person and to become the most reliable signal in the course of communication as they are the main center of the human body, and pupils move absolutely independently.

Ancient wisdom says: "Look the person in the face when you speak with him". Why visual contact is so important:

Firstly: it creates communicative contact. And in the European society (unlike some Asian examples, for example, Japan) visual contact in case of communication is standard and desirable.

Secondly: visual contact provides you opportunity to constantly read out non-verbal information of communication partner. The eyes are located in the middle zone of the face and, supporting visual contact, you can well watch face expressions, movement of the eyes, and by peripheral sight even to track face expression and gestures! As soon as you lose visual contact with communication partner then these information channels will become closed for you. For this reason it is necessary to aim to support the correct eye contact with your communication partner for nearly 60% of time.

Not only duration of the look is important. The "geographical" zone of the face and the body at which the look is directed is not less important. It also influences the process of negotiations. When you communicate or you conduct business negotiations then the right visual contact is important. Forget about a look "into the center of the forehead", "nose bridge" or other places. Eye contact is only correct when you accurately look in one of the eyes of communication partner. It doesn't matter which one. It will not possible to look into both eyes at one time because of anatomy-physiological features of the sight.

According to psychological researches more than 65 percent of information is transmitted through non-verbal means of communication that is 35 percent is presented by verbal channel of communication. This conclusion has been made by professor Berdweestle and is connected with the importance of non-verbal signals in human communication. He claims that the ordinary person pronounces words for only 10-11 minutes in a day, and the average sentence sounds no more than 2,5 seconds. Professor Berdwheestle considers that verbal communication makes only 35 percent of personal communication and 65 percent of information is transferred by non-verbal ways. The American scientist Albert Merabyan in 1971 has opened the rule "7%-38%-55%". He came to the conclusion that human communication for 7 percent is verbal (words and phrases), for 38 percent vocal (intonation, tone of the voice, other sounds) and for 55 percent non-verbal.

General concepts.

General Concepts.

Business communication is the process of interrelation and interaction in which exchange of activity, information and experience takes place. Business communication differs from conversation in broad sense by the fact that in the process of business communication we set objective and specific tasks which require solution.

In business communication it is not impossible to cease relationship with the partner (at least, without losses for both sides).

Considerable part of business communication is made by job related communication, i.e. the interaction of people which is carried out during working hours in the organization. However business communication is wider concept than just job related communication as it includes interaction and hired workers, and owners-employers, happens not only in the organizations, but also on various business parties, seminars, exhibitions and so forth.

Business (official, office) communication may be conditionally divided into direct (direct contact) and indirect (between partners there exist distance in space and time). In the first case communication takes place at direct contact between subjects of communication, i.e. assumes personal contacts and direct perception of each other in the communication process, and in the second case communication takes place by means of correspondence or technical means, or through the intermediary. Direct business communication has more significant productivity, emotional impact and influence than indirect one.

According to the method of exchange of information oral and written business communication are distinguished.

Oral types of business communication, in turn, are divided into monological and dialogical.

1. Monological. This type implies the address of one person to others with the aim of messaging information. The following types fall under monological:

• Welcoming speech;

• Trade speech (advertising);

• Information speech;

• The report (at the meeting).

2. Dialogical. Oral contact of two and more people with the aim to achieve desirable result is the cornerstone of this type of communication. Dialogical types are: business conversation; business negotiations; interview; dispute, discussion, debate; business meeting; public presentation; telephone conversation.

In direct contact and direct conversation oral and non-verbal communication are of the greatest value.

Discussion or transmission of messages by phone are the most common forms of communication and they are distinguished by direct contact and variety of methods of communication that allows to combine without effort business (formal) and personal (informal) parts of any message.

Written types of business communication are numerous job related documents: business letter, minutes, report, reference, report and explanatory note, act, statement, agreement, charter, provision, instruction, decision, order, decree and power of attorney, etc.

Communication
Speaking	Listening	Reading	Writing
Verbal/Nonverbal Oral Direct/Indirect Dialogical/Monological			Business correspondence
Business conversation Business negotiations Dispute, discussion, debate Business meeting Public presentation Telephone conversation
Managing communication

2. Group Forms of Business Communication.

There are various forms of group discussion of business (office) matters. The most common forms are meetings.

The meeting is the general term to define any situation when accidentally or intentionally several people get together, and this meeting may be either short or long.

Business meeting is group meeting devoted to discuss any specific issue or several questions.

Modern businessmen spend in average 25% of their working time at the meetings. The Top leaders spend twice more time at business meetings. Statistics says that 53% of time spent at the meetings is not productive. At the same time modern business demands to achieve greater results in less time. Therefore the quality of the meetings is important. Well-conducted, productive meetings which deal with relevant subject matter efficiently are a sign of good teamwork, a high level of morale and commitment, and typify a healthy organization.

A number of ethical requirements is imposed to the meetings to regulate relations both between the heads and subordinates as well between participants of the meeting. The stage of preparation for the meeting is important. Success of the meeting for 90% depends on quality of its preparation. Any, even the shortest meeting, will only benefit from early planning.

An employee who is responsible for preparation of event firstly should clarify the following:

· objective of the meeting;

· key discussion points;

· list of participants;

· place, time and form of the meeting;

· composition of the Agenda.

The agenda is the key factor which influences efficiency of discussion. The agenda is made only after the objective of the meeting is defined. At the same time the objective should be accurately formulated, have logical completeness and unambiguous interpretation. It is necessary to compose the document thoughtfully, making clear which item in the agenda assumes discussion, and which item may require decision making. It is recommended to describe the essence of the problem.

The agenda is usually made in a written (printing) form with allocation of certain time for each point of discussion.

Time spent for preparation seldom is wasted for nothing. If you come to a meeting and the objectives of the meeting are clear to you, you gave a thought to the issue under discussion beforehand and prepared all the materials then efficiency of such meeting is almost guaranteed.

The issue of managing discussion is complicated by the fact that discussion in its nature assumes disorder and inconsistency. The role of chairman (facilitator) in discussion is performed by the chairman of the meeting and this role comprises several other roles which are: the leader, referee, regulator and catalyst.

How to conduct effective meeting:

Objective	Start in time, to set objective clearly State the problem/situation/reason Define obstacles and limitations Define the task of the meeting
Plan	Draft agenda Formulate topics of agenda Set priorities and allocate necessary time
Guidance	Ensure effective discussion Announce topics for discussion Find out opinions, points of view and experience Keep up interest and ensure participation of the members of the group Limit discussion by the topics as per the agenda Use time limitations to ensure discussion does not shift aside.
Crystallization	Ensure formulation of conclusions Recognize senses and changes of points of view Summarize agreements and disagreements Speak out conclusions as soon as they are generated Check that conclusions are understood and accepted
Activity	Achieve approval and commitment Summarize and formulate accurately conclusions Achieve commitment to the developed tactical plan Determine responsibility for action steps Be convinced that participants understand further actions Finish in time

Right chairman is very important for an effective meeting. Managing the meeting means management of group of people. In order to manage the meeting effectively it is important to differentiate its content from the process. Content constitutes the theme of discussion and key issues of the agenda, while the process is the method of running discussion. The chairman should not only be good with the content (essence of the issues under discussion), but to know the nuisances of the process how to conduct the meeting.

Sometimes the position of the chairman leads to outburst of problems, but the right chairman is capable to make sure that the meeting is held within the allocated time, that nothing is missed and relevant decisions were made. Purposeful communication is the cornerstone of this process.

Anyone in the role of the chairman should always keep in mind about two key functions of the chairman:

- to see that all the established procedures are met, to watch behavior of the participants and motivate their effective input into discussion;

- be the leader who sets before himself the aim to achieve definite result.

The other functions of the chairman in the process of managing discussion:

- creation of warm, friendly and at same time business atmosphere;

- ability to translate into simple language the speeches of the colleagues so that the content of the speech is understood by all the present;

- to cut off pointless topics, both potential and real;

- from time to time to summarize discussion points and doing this to draw attention to the topics left in the agenda. Summing up of discussion points requires high level of inborn capabilities and practice in order to sum up the result briefly, in due time and in such manner that it is accepted as the correct summary of achievements at specific point of time.

In order to perform the abovementioned functions of the leader and to stimulate discussion the chairman (facilitator) should be able to:

· think accurately and quickly;

· listen attentively;

· be able to express thoughts clearly and briefly;

· be ready to explain the point of view which was badly formulated;

· be fair and impartial;

· prevent unnecessary interventions;

· be patient, tolerant and good willed;

· be friendly, but at the same time vigorous and business like.

 

3. Ethics of Business Telephone Communication.

Business communication over the phone is not aimed for detailed exchange of opinions; it is aimed to exchange operational information. The art of telephone communication is in the ability to give full information in the minimum of time and to receive all the needed information.

People speak long on their personal phones. Business communication requires short but not long conversation over the phone. You need not distract yourself and your client by long phone conversations. The standard norm for business phone calls is 3 minutes. The experience of people with a high culture of telephone communication states the following:

· 20 seconds to establish contact

· 40 seconds to formulate the issue

· 100 seconds to have serious discussion of the issue

· 20 seconds to finalize the conversation.

In total – 180 seconds this is equivalent to 3 minutes.

In business telephone communication one distinguishes two types of rules depending on the type of the call:

- rules of telephone communication for the incoming calls;

- rules of telephone communication for the outgoing calls.

These rules are known as unwritten rules of business telephone communication.

Planning negotiations.

Planning negotiations

Types of negotiation. In theory, there are two distinct types of negotiation.

Positional negotiation is the traditional form of negotiation. Participants often work to a tight mandate. If their positions afford no compromise, the result will be deadlock. Success is usually achieved only after all aspects of opposing positions have been explored to try to find common ground.

Typical examples include, union/management bargaining, disputes between customers and suppliers and boundary or territorial difficulties.

Positional negotiation according to the manner it is conducted may be tough or soft.

Principled negotiation is the “Harvard Model” whereby negotiators are encouraged to search for the underlying principles which support “positions”.

This is a more relaxed and creative process for the negotiator, who is briefed to deliver objectives, not solutions. Principled negotiation depends on detailed identification of all the various options. The will to succeed is often greater than in positional negotiating, because both parties feel a sense of achievement rather than loss.

Principled negotiation degenerates into positional negotiation or deadlock if emotions are allowed to cloud the issues at stake.

Stages of Negotiation. In order to achieve a desirable outcome, it may be useful to follow a structured approach to negotiation. For example, in a work situation a meeting may need to be arranged in which all parties involved can come together.

The process of negotiation includes the following stages:

1. Preparation.

2. Discussion.

3. Clarification of goals.

4. Negotiate towards a Win-Win outcome.

5. Agreement.

6. Implementation of a course of action.

1. Preparation. Before any negotiation takes place the following needs to be considered:

ü analysis of the situation, i.e. to make diagnosis of the situation

ü search for all the needed information

ü thinking over ideas and possible solution

ü decision needs to be taken as to when and where a meeting will take place to discuss the problem

ü who will attend

ü setting a limited time-scale can also be helpful to prevent the disagreement continuing.

This stage involves ensuring all the pertinent facts of the situation are known in order to clarify your own position. Undertaking preparation before discussing the disagreement will help to avoid further conflict and unnecessarily wasting time during the meeting.

In advance of the negotiation, participants learn as much as possible about the other party's position and what the strengths and weaknesses of that position are, and are prepared to defend their positions and counter the arguments the other party will likely make to defend their position.

2. Discussion. During this stage, individuals or members of each side put forward the case as they see it, i.e. their understanding of the situation.

Key skills during this stage include questioning, listening and clarifying.

Sometimes it is helpful to take notes during the discussion stage to record all points put forward in case there is need for further clarification. It is extremely important to listen, as when disagreement takes place it is easy to make the mistake of saying too much and listening too little. Each side should have an equal

3. Clarifying Goals. From the discussion, the goals, interests and viewpoints of both sides of the disagreement need to be clarified.

It is helpful to list these factors in order of priority. Through this clarification it is often possible to identify or establish some common ground. Clarification is an essential part of the negotiation process, without it misunderstandings are likely to occur which may cause problems and barriers to reaching a beneficial outcome.

4. Negotiate Towards a Win-Win Outcome. This stage focuses on what is termed a 'win-win' outcome where both sides feel they have gained something positive through the process of negotiation and both sides feel their point of view has been taken into consideration.

A win-win outcome is usually the best result. Although this may not always be possible, through negotiation, it should be the ultimate goal.

Suggestions of alternative strategies and compromises need to be considered at this point. Compromises are often positive alternatives which can often achieve greater benefit for all concerned compared to holding to the original positions.

5. Agreement. Agreement can be achieved once understanding of both sides’ viewpoints and interests have been considered.

It is essential to for everybody involved to keep an open mind in order to achieve an acceptable solution. Any agreement needs to be made perfectly clear so that both sides know what has been decided.

6. Implementing a Course of Action. From the agreement, a course of action has to be implemented to carry through the decision.

 

Failure to Agree. If the process of negotiation breaks down and agreement cannot be reached, then re-scheduling a further meeting is called for. This avoids all parties becoming embroiled in heated discussion or argument, which not only wastes time but can also damage future relationships.

At the subsequent meeting, the stages of negotiation should be repeated. Any new ideas or interests should be taken into account and the situation looked at afresh. At this stage it may also be helpful to look at other alternative solutions and/or bring in another person to mediate.

 

Lecture No1. Subject and Specific Features of Ethics of Business Communication

1.Key Definitions of Ethics of Business Communication

2.Theoretical and Historical Preconditions of Development of Ethics of Business Communication.

3. Ethics, Morale and Morality. Correlation between Ethics and Etiquette.

4. Correlation between Business Ethics and Business Relations.

 

Key words – ethics, virtue, good, evil, responsibility, honor, justice, social contact, inner conflict, communication partner, business communication, morale, etiquette, business ethics, business etiquette, business relations, personal relations, office environment, speech etiquette.

 

1. Key Definitions of Ethics of Business Communication.

The answer to the question: “What is the subject of Ethics of Business Communication” could be easily understood if we learn separately the meaning of each of the words: “ethics”, “business” and “communication”. In the explanatory dictionary of the Russian language the following definitions of the words “ethics”, “business” and “communication” are given:

ETHICS	BUSINESS	COMMUNICATION
(originates from the Greek word “ethos” – tradition, custom, temper) – the science about morale and morality Ethics deal with the issues connected with inner world of the person. The concept of ethics is associated with rules, standards of behavior.	(originates from the Greek word “ethos” – tradition, custom, temper) – the science about morale and morality Related to business activity, work. The adjective “delovoy” originates from the noun “delo”. The root: “-del-”; the ending – “o”. The word “delo” originates from the pravoslavian word “delo”. The meaning is “work, occupation, action”. Synonyms of the word “delo” are work, business, enterprise. Explanatory dictionary of the Russian language under edition of Ozhegov S.I. and Shvedova N.Y. provides the following definition of the adjective “delovoy”: related to social, business activity, to work. Business writing. Business conversation. (originates from the Latin verb “communicare” which means: inform, participate, share)	(originates from the Latin verb “communicare” which means: inform, participate, share).

The word “ethics” is understood in two meaning: firstly, as the philosophical discipline that studies morale and morality; secondly, as set of standards of behavior, the morale of a particular person or social group. The term “ethics” was introduced by Aristotle to describe set of ethical virtues and the science which gives answers to the questions about virtue and the actions the person needs to undertake to become virtuous.

The most important categories of ethics are "good", "evil", "justice", "benefit", "responsibility", "debt", "conscience", "honor" and others. The overall tradition of ethics is locked to the search of something that is mandatory for a person, i.e. corresponds to some deep laws of human life. In the attempt to separate good and evil and to define the essence of virtue people developed the standards of moral behavior. The standards of moral are defined in general perceptions, precepts and principles on how one must behave himself.

Communication is the process of interaction of social subjects and groups, communities or persons during which there is an exchange of information, experience, abilities and results of activity. Communication acts as means of the life of society

Communication as interaction assumes that people establish social contact with each other, exchange certain information in order to build joint activities, cooperation.

Business communication is directed to agree and consolidate efforts of people with the aim to build relations and achieve common result. In the conditions of market relations the goal of any business is, first of all, generation of maximum profit. And business communication serves as means in achievement of this goal.

The subject of the discipline "Ethics of Business Communication" may be determined as set of ethical (moral) norms, rules and ideas that regulate exchange of information, behavior and the relations of people in the course of their production (work, business) activities.

The ethical (moral) aspect of business communication is of great importance. In real business life people are targeted to achieve not only general, but also some significant personal aims. On the one hand, the person aims to behave in line with moral norms, properly, on the other hand he needs to satisfy his/her personal requirements and realization of which is connected often with violation of ethical standards. This internal conflict between a sublime ideal and practical prudence, a moral duty and direct desire exists always and in all spheres of life. That is why it is important not to forget the GOLDEN RULE of ethics in business relations: DO NOT DO TO ANYBODY WHAT YOU DO NOT WANT TO DO TO YOURSELF.