You are surely aware that ethics needs to be a part of all your business activities, including your formal writing. Yet, some employees are not familiar with basic rules for ethical formal writing. So, you need to instruct them how to apply the ethical code of conduct in writing formal documents.
Take a look at what your employees should know about ethical formal writing.
Develop a code of ethical formal writing
Today, ethical formal writing is a must. You simply cannot ignore it. It doesn’t matter whether your employees are writing a report, a recommendation letter or any other formal document, they simply must apply ethical formal writing. It’s the basic rule!
For example, if they write a recommendation letter, they need to be honest. Although their intention is to present the person in the best light, they should not mislead the person to whom they write. Thus, they may praise the person who they recommend, but also must use only true information about it.Also, if they write the report, they need to ensure its validity, reliability and ethicality.
Hence, you should develop and implement an effective code of conduct that your employees will use all the time in formal writing. No matter whether they are writing a report or any other formal document they will know what is expected from them. In this way, you can avoid some flaws that are inherent to humans.
Set the rules and procedure for ethical formal writing
If your employees need to write a report that implies the research, help them to overcome ethical issues by setting the rules and procedure for ethical writing. Explain to your employees that the participation in the survey must be voluntary and anonymous. Set the procedure for data analysis and guidelines for accurate presenting of data. Also, inform your employees about the form of report writing.
If your employees are not able to handle ethical issues, encourage them to use editing/proofreading tools for formal writing, such as Handmadewriting for example. In this way, they can get useful tips for ethical formal writing or use some of the tools that can help them to write the report. This will save them a lot of time and effort, while you will be sure that the report is well written and complied with all ethical rules.
Avoid plagiarism in formal writing
Your employees must avoid plagiarism in any form. Taking credit for others’ work is absolutely forbidden in formal writing. They must cite all the sources they have used, either by using quotation marks or by paraphrasing the authors’ words.
However, sometimes employees do not plagiarise intentionally, but accidentally. Take care of that too. For example, some of them might use the same text they have written in some other formal documents not knowing that this is also unethical in formal writing. So, let them know to reference their previous work too, especially if it is published.
Authorship issues in formal writing
Ethical issues may also arise in relation to authorship when more than one employee is included in formal writing. This is often the case in businesses. Yet, such issues are also easily resolved.
For example:
Define their authorship roles before they start writing the report.
Encourage their communication and collaboration during the report writing
Determine the parts of the formal document that will be written by each author.
Warm up
As you see, your employees need to develop ethical formal writing skills. Thus, you may organise a training for your employees to learn them what is ethical behaviour, how to apply it in formal writing, and on what to pay a special attention. Also, encourage them to share their experience in formal writing. Provide them with advice if necessary. Also, keep them informed about the new rules and procedures for formal writing in your company.
If necessary, you can always oversee their work or give them advice on how to resolve some ethical issues. Although this will require your extra effort and time, you will ensure the ethically written formal document. Next time, they will know what to do.
Share with us your experience in ethical formal writing.
About The Author
Josh Carlyle is a business developer and writing expert Write my essay today, who is experienced in content management and copywriting. Working at Writing Guru, Josh is aware of the latest trends in the digital marketing industry as well as online business. He is always willing to share his knowledge and ideas with entrepreneurs and write for the blogs from the insights of a professional businessperson.
