Chapter 12 - 2021

Understanding Intercultural
Communication Second Edition

Chapter 12
How Can We Become Ethical Intercultural

Communicators?
Stella Ting-Toomey & Leeva C. Chung
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
PowerPoint Slides Designed by Alex Flecky and Noorie Baig

TODAY’S MENU
I. Intercultural Communication Ethics:
Contemporary Issues
II. Multiple Ethical Positions: Assessing

Pros and Cons
III. Becoming Ethical and Flexible

Intercultural Communicators
I. Intercultural Communication Ethics:
Contemporary Issues
Ethics: set of principles of conduct that

governs behavior of individuals and
groups; a set of standards that uphold the
community’s expectations concerning
“right” and “wrong” conduct.
Pros and Cons
Three ethical positions used to assess

ethical violations in diverse cultures:
Complete my.blog 12.1 on p. 256.
A. Ethical Absolutism Position
B. Ethical Relativism Position
C. Ethical Universalism Position
Pros and Cons

A. Ethical Absolutism Position
• Emphasizes principles of right and wrong
(good and bad behavior) in accordance with
a set of assumed universally fixed standards
regardless of cultural differences.
• Universality: one set of consistent
standards guides behavior on a global level;
cultural context is minimized. The
standards, however, are often reflective of
dominant or power-holder cultural group.
Pros and Cons

B. Ethical Relativism Position
• Emphasizes the importance of understanding

cultural context and its underlying traditions,
beliefs, and value patterns in judging conduct.
• Relativists emphasize that ethical/unethical
practices should be understood (but not
necessarily agreed with) from cultural
insiders’ viewpoint.
Pros and Cons

C. Ethical Universalism Position
• Emphasizes importance of deriving inclusive
universal ethical standards and then placing
ethical judgments against these all-
encompassing standards.
• Judgments require knowledge about
underlying similarities across cultures and
about the unique features of a culture and
involve collaborative dialogue, open attitudes,
and hard work from all cultural/ethnic and
marginalized groups and voices.
Pros and Cons

Ethical Ethical Ethical
Absolutism Relativism Universalism
Pros
Pros and Cons

Pros Fixed standards
for all practices
Pros and Cons

Pros Fixed standards Takes role of
for all practices culture
seriously
Pros and Cons

Pros Fixed standards Takes role of Involves
for all practices culture collaborative
seriously dialog, open
attitudes
Pros and Cons

attitudes
Cons
Pros and Cons

attitudes
Cons Culturally
imposed
perspective by
dominant
culture, and
nondominant
cultures are
marginalized.
Pros and Cons

attitudes
Cons Culturally Encourages too
imposed much cultural
perspective by flexibility,
dominant may perpetuate
culture, and intolerable
nondominant cultural
cultures are practices by
marginalized being too
culturally
accepting
Pros and Cons

attitudes
Cons Culturally Encourages too Requires hard
imposed much cultural work from all;
perspective by flexibility, most using this
dominant may perpetuate position are
culture, and intolerable “imposed
nondominant cultural ethics,” relying
cultures are practices by heavily on
marginalized. being too Eurocentric
culturally moral
accepting philosophies
Pros and Cons

D. Meta-Ethics Contextualism Position: An
Alternative 4th Position:
Meta-ethics: ethical way of thinking that
transcends particular ideologies; the
application of ethics is understood only
through systematic analysis of the multiple
layers of the ethical dilemma
• Strength: emphasizes fact-finding and layered
interpretations, takes into serious consideration
importance of culture, context, persons, etc.
• Problem: time-consuming approach
A meta-ethical decision is a discovery
process—into our own values,
inconsistencies—and prompts us to gather
multiple-level information.
• Can you think of creative solutions other than

the ones investigated?
• Is there a way to prevent similar ethical
dilemmas or pressures from arising in
the future in this culture?
B. Becoming Flexible: Final Passport
Do-Ables
• Practice parallel thinking.
• Responsibility for peace lies with each of
us—starts with inner peace.
• Dynamic flexibility: integrating
knowledge, open-minded attitude, culture-
sensitive skills, and communicating
ethically with culturally dissimilar others.
Final Parting Thoughts…
An intercultural life is a creative life that demands both

playfulness and mindfulness in transforming one’s
intercultural journey into a discovery process.
~ Stella Ting-Toomey & Leeva Chung

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Understanding Intercultural

Communication Second Edition

How Can We Become Ethical Intercultural

Stella Ting-Toomey & Leeva C. Chung

OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS

PowerPoint Slides Designed by Alex Flecky and Noorie Baig

II. Multiple Ethical Positions: Assessing

III. Becoming Ethical and Flexible

Ethics: set of principles of conduct that

Pros and Cons

Three ethical positions used to assess

Pros and Cons

Pros and Cons

• Emphasizes the importance of understanding

Pros and Cons

Pros and Cons

Pros and Cons

Pros and Cons

Pros and Cons

Pros and Cons

Pros and Cons

Pros and Cons

Pros and Cons

Pros and Cons

• Can you think of creative solutions other than

An intercultural life is a creative life that demands both

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