Briefly define ethics. Relate the study of ethics to communication.

What will be an ideal response?

- Ethics refers to an individual's system of moral principles.
- People have been removed from political office, lost their jobs, or been publicly chastised for violating ethical standards and codes. Such behaviors often involve unethical acts related to communication. Financiers have received prison terms for participating in insider trading-using illegally obtained information to make money on the stock market. Sharing such information constitutes an illegal act of communication. Another unethical behavior is telling lies, whether done to hurt someone else or to protect or enhance one's own position. Though politicians spring to mind as typical offenders in this category, the problem is more widespread: for instance, enhancing one's résumé to increase the chances of being hired or "borrowing" a friend's old term paper or speech to pass a course. Finally, plagiarism is the use of another person's information, language, or ideas without citing the originator and making it appear the user is the originator.
- Ethical communicators speak responsibly and give credit to any sources contributing to their messages. An ethical communicator does not plagiarize and does not deceive. An important distinction to make is that unethical communication may constitute effective communication, but it is not virtuous.