Additional Exercises

Chapter 2, Additional Exercise 4: Evaluating the Institute of Scientific and Technical Communicators Code of Conduct

According to Chapter 2, an effective code of conduct has three major characteristics:

It protects the public rather than members of the organization or profession.
It is specific and comprehensive.
It is enforceable.

In groups of three or four, assess the effectiveness of the Code of Conduct of the Institute of Scientific and Technical Communicators (ISTC). To what extent does the code reflect the characteristics listed above? How helpful would the code be for a technical communicator faced with an ethical dilemma? Be prepared to share your findings with the class.