Mattson and Buzzanell (1999) suggest that feminist ethics differ from other ethical approaches by focusing on "equitable power sharing and decision making."

Question

Discuss the phases of the approach and describe a situation when you feel this approach would be best suited.

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

While their feminist ethical approach is multifaceted, the following issues help
to introduce the perspective.
Definition of the Situation: Through examination of organizational members' language
choices, behaviors, and various aspects of the context, the ethical or unethical nature of
the situation can be determined. Mattson and Buzzanell define "unethical behavior from
a feminist organizational communication approach as communicative actions and
processes that attempt to marginalize, silence, and disempower individuals or groups and
that prohibit the development of voice"Unethical behavior from this perspective, then, is that behavior that serves to mute or
silence the contributions of those members seeking to deviate from the goals of management. Values and Ideals: In this phase, communicative action that violates the
values of voice, community, and fairness are identified. As stated above, one important
value to this feminist ethical frame work is voice, and actions that suppress the voice of
those not in power by those in power are immediately suspect. The value of community
involves a positive view of relationships, and the mutual pursuit of individual and
collective needs. "When organization members communicate without consideration of
multiple commitments, caring, and community maintenance, then unethical messages
may be exchanged" (p. 65). The third feminist value appropriate for ethical analysis is
fairness. The value of fairness implies the equitable balance of power and resources, and
any behavior that reduces the resources of marginalized organizational members in favor
of those in power should be considered unethical.
Ethical Principle: Traditional ethical approaches tend to exclude the role and importance
of emotion in the communicative behavior of organizational members. From this
feminist ethical perspective, organizational behavior that precludes the expression of
emotion limits the extent of relational and community development, and therefore should
be considered ethically suspect.
Development of a Solution: This final phase points to the need to constantly reevaluate
options and solutions until an acceptable solution is reached. "If options violate ethical
principles or result in harms to vulnerable stakeholders, then these alternatives are
eliminated from possible courses of action"