The Fundamentals Of Leadership And Ethics: Five Ethical Dilemmas (Essay Sample)

hat you experienced during your field attachment. Explain how you arrived at the final deci KARATINA UNIVERSITY NAME ONYANGO FAITH AKINYI REG No. E107/0984J/13 FACULTY SCHOOL OF EDUCATION AND SOCIAL SCIENCES DEPARTMENT SOCIAL SCIENCES COURSE BACHELOR OF ARTS (CRIMINOLOGY, CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND PUBLIC SAFETY) YEAR OF STUDY Y4 S1 ACADEMIC YEAR 2016/2017 COURSE CODE BAS 401 COURSE TITLE FUNDAMENTAL OF LEADERSHIP AND ETHICS INSTRUCTOR DR. PAULINE THUKU TASK Discuss five ethical dilemmas t sion in each case and why. DATE OF SUBMISSION 5TH OCTOBER 2016 KARATINA UNIVERSITY NAME MERCY K. NYABIBA REG No. E107/0982J/13 FACULTY SCHOOL OF EDUCATION AND SOCIAL SCIENCES DEPARTMENT SOCIAL SCIENCES COURSE BACHELOR OF ARTS (CRIMINOLOGY, CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND PUBLIC SAFETY) YEAR OF STUDY Y4 S1 ACADEMIC YEAR 2016/2017 COURSE CODE BAS 401 COURSE TITLE FUNDAMENTAL OF LEADERSHIP AND ETHICS INSTRUCTOR DR. PAULINE THUKU TASK Discuss five ethical dilemmas that you experienced during your field attachment. Explain how you arrived at the final decision in each case and why. DATE OF SUBMISSION 5TH OCTOBER 2016 Many people from all walks of life are routinely confronted with ethical dilemmas in dispensation of their duties. Some of the situations are familiar while others obscure each demanding a unique decision that suits each case scenario. The term Ethical dilemma has no universally accepted meaning as different scholars have defined the term differently laying different emphasis on different aspects of the phenomena. The term has evolved over time with its initial conceptualization being a complex situation that requires a decision to be made of right or wrong. According to University of California Levan Institute, ethical dilemmas are situations that challenges one’s ability to choose the most ethical course of action. Ethical dilemma can also be defined as a complex situation that often involves an apparent mental conflict between moral imperatives, in which to obey one would result in transgressing another. From the above definitions, ethical dilemma in my own words would imply conflict between two or more ethical principles where a choice is to be made all of which are morally correct and neither of which resolves the situation in an ethically acceptable fashion. In determining what constitutes an ethical dilemma, three main conditions must be manifest for a situation to be termed so. First, an individual called ‘agent’ has to make a decision about which course of action is best for a certain situation. Secondly, there must be different courses of action to choose from and lastly, some ethical principle(s) must be compromised no matter what course of action is arrived at. In my work, two main types of ethical dilemma will be manifest; absolute or pure dilemma and approximate dilemma. Absolute dilemma only occurs when two or more ethical standards apply to a situation but are in conflict with each other whereas approximate dilemma involves conflict between values, laws and policies besides the conflicting ethical standards. In holistic analysis of ethical dilemma, I will enumerate examples from the probation department for better elaboration of the concept. The examples are recapitulated as below. Working in the probation department, I was confronted with a client who was referred to probation after having been caught with items that after interrogation were believed to be for witchcraft purposes. This client was caught with neck of a hen, some feathers and some powder-like substances at the court gate and was suspiciously seen to be finding his way through. Being an attachee, I had limited know-how on witchcraft matters and therefore lacked competence in the said area. If I declined to serve the client holding on the argument of lack of competence, this would mean the client would not receive any services. Denying to see the patient will be in conflict with the department’s commitment to promote the well-being of clients. The courses of action were; denying to see the client, seeing the client and explaining present limit of my expertise or give referrals to the chief probation officer. This dilemma was resolved by considering the ethical standard that stated that an individual should only accept a client on the grounds that he/she has the necessary competence or with intention to obtain the necessary competence. I therefore accepted the client and shared with him my present limits of my expertise and followed through on my obligation to seek knowledge in the said area and consequently referred the client to the chief probation officer. (Pure or Absolute) Another scenario of a dilemma was in a counselling session when I had an encounter with a client struggling with bhang addiction and depression. The client later committed suicide after completion of her treatment session. The client’s parent who were faithfully attending the family counselling sessions came to the office and discussed with me the event and the client’s lifelong challenges. The parents thanked me for my tireless efforts and support and tipped me of how it will be a sad moment for them the next day as the burial will be taking effect. Towards the end of our talk, the parents asked me to help in doing the eulogy at the funeral. The ethical dilemma in this case is concerned about violating client’s privacy and confidentiality and that of entering in inappropriate dual relationship with the family of the client. The courses of action were; to go to the funeral and deliver eulogy, go and fail to deliver eulogy and lastly fail to go. The preferred course of action was that of attending the burial and not reading the eulogy. This was grounded under the value of giving clients humane treatment and showing empathy as you try fitting into the client’s shoes in this case the client’s situation. (Pure or absolute dilemma) In addition, a scenario was also encountered where I was compiling a report about domestic violence which involved a husband beating up her wife. As a probation officer, I am legally obligated to compile reports and submit them to court. In this case, tension emanates when I was left to choose between the legal requirement to report and desire to uphold confidentiality. The courses of action that I had were; submitting the report to court in its authentic form, giving the report with minimal confidential information or fail to give the report. In this case, I was guided by the National association of social workers code of conduct that acknowledges obligation to follow legal requirement and decided to submit the report to court though after thorough scrutiny and omitting sensitive information that can be unhealthy for the client. The value of upho...