Paraphrase the ethical issue concerning Larry Whitten and the Paragon Inn. What do you think of Mr. Whitten's actions? How does this case relate to your study of interpersonal communication?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Answers will vary but must reflect an understanding of the ethical issue: Texan Larry Whitten has had success in buying dying hotels and making them successful. When he purchased the Paragon Inn in Taos, New Mexico, he hoped to make it successful, too, and to save the jobs of the people who would lose them if it closed. As part of his success plan, Whitten required that the Paragon's employees, most of whom were Hispanic, refrain from speaking Spanish while at work and change the pronunciation—and sometimes, spelling—of their names to the "American" version of the name (such as "Mark" for "Marcos").

This relates to interpersonal communication in a variety of ways: content vs. relational levels of communication, Whitten's personality type, the motives for communicating (pleasure, affection, inclusion, and control), culture, the self-concept and self-esteem of the Hispanic workers, their levels of communication apprehension, identity management, perception, stereotyping, etc.