Topics in the course will include:

• The causes, contributing factors, and attitudes that surround the moral dilemmas faced by communicators working within corporations and client-based agencies.

• The ethics of persuasion, both intent and technique.

• The methods of solving moral dilemmas, including: professional ethics and codes, traditional ethical systems, and a worksheet approach to moral decision making.

Issues covered in the course will include:

• Conflicts of interest,• deception,• corporate social responsibility

(CSR),• image versus reality in message

construction,• and the problem of

transparency in word-of-mouth marketing and social network public relations.

Assignments & Criteria for Grading:All class assignments will be listed each week on the course web site. This is an applied

course in ethics using both traditional and contemporary approaches to moral decision making. The course will include a reading list of articles and background pieces. Assignments will include analysis of the readings and both in- and out-of-class case studies using decision-making methods learned in the course and from the readings.

S Y L L A B U S

STRATCOM ETHICSWINTER 2010

The Ethics of Strategic Communication will explore some of the ethical issues most often encountered in public relations, advertising, and corporate communications.

Instructor: Tom BivinsOffice: Allen 215-BPhone: 346-3740e-mail: tbivins@uoregon.edu

No late assignment will be accepted unless it meets one of the “Acceptable Absences” listed in this syllabus. It is up to you to make sure you know what

assignment is due on what date.

INSTRUCTOR I N F O R M A T I O N

Instructor’s personal website is located athttp://jcomm.uoregon.edu/~tbivins/Bivins/index.html

Types of assignments:

Make sure you keep a copy of each assignment for yourself and bring it to class for discussion purposes.

Submitting Assignments• Assignments are to be emailed

to the instructor before 8:00 a.m. on the day they are due. They should be sent as separate documents in a single email. For example, if you have “Thoughts for the Day” and a case study assignment due on a given day, send each as a separate document, appropriately labeled. The preference is for Microsoft Word documents, but pdfs and other formats are acceptable if they can be opened successfully by the instructor.

• All assignments submitted via email must have “J496 homework” in the subject line, or they won’t go through.

• Print out and bring a hard copy of each assignment to class to facilitate your discussion.

• No homework will be accepted late or if you do not attend class. (See "Acceptable Absences" below for exceptions.)

• Homework assignments will be emailed back to you approximately one week after they are turned in. It is in your best interest to keep these graded assignments in case there is a discrepancy in your final grade at the end of the term.

Thoughts for the day: (20%) A brief (350-word maximum) write-up with at least one of the following kinds of entries:

• a question or comment regarding the treatment of a specific concept or theory in the readings or in lecture;

• a thought that runs counter to a reading’s observations regarding a specific example, concept, term, or theory;

• an illustration of one of the points made in the reading (from family, friends, watching TV, or other source) that helps to apply a term, concept or theory;

• a reference to a "show and tell" item (print ad, video clip, news item, etc.) that illustrates a relevant point in the reading. Bring in the item or be prepared to locate it on the internet.

Team case studies: (30%) A case study will be due for the first class meeting each week.

Beginning in the third week, preassigned teams will present a case study to the class on the assgined day for that week (see Assignments page). The case study must be analyzed first by using the Worksheet, then by answering the questions assigned for each case. Both the worksheet analysis the answers to the case study questions must be covered in the presenation and turned in by the team. The case study must be chosen from the following list (which can be found on the case studies page):

Continued on next page

UNDER PR CASE STUDIES:

• SPIN: Serious Speeches Pose a Serious Problem for a Speechwriter

• TRANSPARENCY:Blogger Identity Crisis• TRANSPARENCY:Coming Clean with Green

Energy TRANSPARENCY:Ghostwriting Glitches for the Monthly Newsletter

• WITHHOLDING INFORMATION:PR Crisis at the Chamber: How Open is Too Open?

• MORAL CLAIMANTS:A Walk-A-Thon that Walks the Walk

• MORAL CLAIMANTS:Is the Customer Always Right?

UNDER ADVERTISING CASE STUDIES:

• Infomercial Uncertainties• To Beat ‘em or Join ‘em?• Sports Team Names• IMAGE VERSUS REALITY: Social Responsibility

for SUVs: an Oxymoron?

EVALUATION CRITERIA: TEAM CASE STUDIES

(a downloadable evaluation form can be found here)

Each member of the team will turn in an evaluation sheet for each of the other members. The total score you assign each member will be based on their participation in the total project in terms of 100%. In other words, each member has an opportunity and an obligation to participate or carry out their assigned portion of the project with 100% effort. The average of the other team members' assessments of each other will result in a percentage of the final project grade. That percentage will become that team member's grade for the project. For example:

The other four members of your team each evaluate you as performing the following percentages of your work out of 100%.

80, 100, 100, and 90%, for an average of 92.5%.

Supposing the grade of the case study presentation is 90 out of 100. Your grade for the assignment will be 92.5% of 90, or 83.25.

Please answer the following questions when evaluating each team member.

What was the nature of the work assigned to this team member?In your estimation, how well did they do? Specifically, what were their strengths and weaknesses?

What percentage, out of 100%, would you assign them based on their input into the total project?Fill out one form for each member of your team, stapled together. If you think all members of your team deserve 100%, turn in only one form with "All members" written in the "Team member" space at the top of the form.

Please note, some members will naturally take on a greater portion of the assignment. That is their prerogative. However, if this is done in order to take up the slack caused by the lack of commitment of another member, they should receive credit for it. Otherwise, judge the contributions of each member based only on their assigned portion of the work and how well they carried out that portion.

The assignment on this day may also include readings (see number I above) for which the rest of the class must turn in Thoughts for the Day.

Other Homework: (20%) Essays, show-and-tell pieces, and other miscellaneous assignments will be due throughout the term. Format will be clarified for each assignment.

Submitting Assignments

Assignments are to be emailed to the instructor prior to the start of each class. They should be sent as separate documents in a single email. For example, if you have "Thoughts for the Day" and a case study assignment due on a given day, send each as a separate document, appropriately labeled. The preference is for Microsoft Word documents, but other formats are acceptable if they can be opened successfully by the instructor.

All assignments submitted via email must have “J496 homework” in the subject line, or it won’t go through.Print out and bring a hard copy of each assignment to class to facilitate your discussion.

No homework will be accepted late or if you do not attend class. (See "Acceptable Absences" below for exceptions.)

Homework assignments will be emailed back to you approximately one week after they are turned in. It is in your best interest to keep these graded assignments in case there is a discrepancy in your final grade at the end of the term.

Exam info on next page

The rest of the syllabusExam: (30%) There will be a single exam around the 7th week of the term covering readings and concepts up to that point.

The format of the exam will be announced in advance and a study guide made available approximately one week prior to the exam.

The exam will be taken on laptop computers, in class. Make sure you have access to a laptop.

Class Participation:Class participation is greatly encouraged. Merely sitting in class is not participating. Part of what you learn in this class will depend on your level of involvement.

Acceptable Absences:The ONLY acceptable absences are: • students participating in

University-sanctioned athletic or academic events,

• physician-verified illnesses.

• verifiable emergencies only if accompanied by a note from the office of academic advising.

Please e-mail the instructor in advance or as early as possible about your absence. I will make arrangements for missed assignments.

If for some reason class is cancelled (bad weather, instructor illness, etc.), there will be a message on the "announcements" page on Blackboard as well as an email directly to you from the instructor. It's in your best interest to check the announcements regularly and to keep your email address updated.

Grade Breakdown:Thoughts for the day = 25%Case studies = 45%Exam – 30%

Extra Credit:Extra credit is given for past-life experiences only. Advanced degrees may be awarded upon proof of reincarnation.

This syllabus is subject to change at

the instructor's whim; however I

will try to let you know at least 24

hours in advance of any changes.