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Chapter 3 Ethics of Management
OUTLINE
I. Ethics of Management
A. Certain situations force managers to confront their own system of morals
and values
B. ͒The study of ethics can help media managers make difficult moral
choices that confront them in their professional and personal lives ͒
II. What Is Ethics
III. Ethical Decision Making in the Media Industries
A. There is no universally accepted code of ethics in the media industries
B. Five ethical duties of mass media employees
C. Six factors that complicate the making of ethical decisions by managers
IV. Norms Used in Moral Decision Making
A. Ethical norms form the basis of many of our individual and societal beliefs
B. The golden mean
C. The Judeo-Christian ethic
C. Mission statements
VI. Ethical Issues in Media Management
A. Serving the market or the marketplace
2. A good manager can effectively serve the needs of the public and the
needs of the market
B. Controversies over content
1. Sexual content
3. Children’s programming
4. Social media content
C. Ethics in news and public affairs
1. Questions of truth and accuracy
3. Citizen journalism
5. Confidentiality of sources
1. Responsibility to the audience
3. Responsibility to customers
5. Responsibility to a company
E. Implementing an ethics program
2. Four-step plan applicable to any organization
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ASSIGNMENTS/PROJECTS
1. Divide the class into groups. Have each group obtain and analyze the mission
statement of a local media organization. Does the mission statement make sense? Is it
2. Divide the class into groups and have each group analyze a code of ethics obtained
MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUESTIONS
1. Which of the following statement is not right in regard to ethics?
a. ethics is concerned with basic questions about what is right and what is
wrong
2. The “golden mean” is an ethical norm established by
a. Hawthorne
3. Which of the following methods is not the way to study ethics?
a. empirical method
4. Which of the following is not the ethical duty of mass media employees?
a. duty to self
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© 2017 Cengage Learning®. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly
accessible website, in whole or in part.
d. duty to society
*p. 49 e. none of above
5. The idea that ethical decisions should be made out of a sense of moral duty was
developed by this philosopher.
a. Hutchins
b. Dewey
6. Which of the following is not a factor that can complicate ethical decisions by
managers?
a. Ethical decisions have many alternatives.
b. Ethical decisions have extended consequences.
7. Which ethical norm supports actions that will result in the most happiness for the
greatest number of people?
a. the golden mean
b. the Judeo-Christian ethic
8. Which ethical norm takes the view that moral decisions should be acceptable to all
members of society?
a. the golden mean
b. the Judeo-Christian ethic
9. Which ethical norm takes the view that each individual decides what is best from his
or her viewpoint and does not judge others’ decisions?
a. the golden mean
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10. Which of the following is not the most common areas of ethical questions?
a. truth and accuracy
b. right to privacy
11. Ethical norms concerned with the process of making decisions are called
a. relativistic ethics
12. According to Chapter 3, which of the following is not a function of an acceptable
mission statement for an organization?
a. provide a definition of the purpose of an organization
13. Social responsibility theory, an ethical norm, is associated with
*p.54 a. Hutchins
14. Which of the following areas of ethical concern fall outside the responsibilities of a
television station program director?
15. Which of the following is not discussed in Chapter 3 as a valuable step to be used in
establishing a program of ethics for a media organization?
a. statement of mission
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© 2017 Cengage Learning®. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly
accessible website, in whole or in part.
*p. 64 b. use broadcast time to communicate the organization’s program of ethics to
the public
c. clarify the values of the organization
d. create a code of ethics
e. none of the above
16. Which of the following statement is not right in regard to mission statement?
a. many media organizations have defined mission statements
TRUE/FALSE QUESTIONS
17. Deontological ethics are also known as nonconsequentialist ethics.
18. There is no professional code of ethics for the mass media industries; there are
19. John Dewey is most often identified with the ethical norm of relativism.
20. Electronic media sales departments are not burdened with ethical concerns.
21. A mission statement is another name for an ethical code.
DISCUSSION/ESSAY QUESTIONS
1. Define ethics and discuss the relevance of the study of ethics to management in the
electronic and digital media.
3. The chapter on ethics identified five areas of “duty” or responsibility required of
media practitioners. List any three of these duties.
4. Among the ethical issues discussed in this chapter was the concern with the ability of
