Module 3 Flashcards
Values and Ethics
When we talk about values
we are referring to the customs, standards of conduct, and principles considered desirable by a culture, a group or people, or an individual
Knowing your own value system:
helps you to ‘own’ your beliefs and being consciously aware of your values helps you to limit the likelihood of judging your clients when their values differ from your own. Being non-judgmental and suspending judgment is not easy and some would say that it’s not even possible. If we can’t help but judge, then how do we avoid allowing our judgements to negatively impact on our clients? The answer to this lies in critical reflection and supervision. Understanding ourselves helps us to avoid the pitfalls of being overly judgemental. It’s also important to note that our values may change, as we understand ourselves better.
Strengths Perspective
This holds that individuals will do better in the long run when they are helped to identify recognise and use the strengths and resources available in themselves and their environment. Identification of strengths is seen as a large part of the solution to problems people experience. Informing this perspective are the values of positive change and choice.
Human Rights based approach
It holds that individuals have inherent worth and rights to self-determination. Valuing humanity is central to this approach
Social justice
holds that fairness in the distribution of social resources, rights, opportunities and duties (equity, rights, access, participation). Social justice informs many of the approaches to practice in our professions.
Empowerment
This is the “process by which individuals, groups and communities increase their personal, interpersonal, and political power in order to improve situations. It is a collaborative process that assumes competence given opportunity and resources. It requires clients to change and define their own goals, and the means to achieve them.
ethics
we are referring to the exploration of what is right or wrong and the resulting actions that we take based on our principles. Understanding ethics requires that we explore the moral principles that underpin behaviour
Meta ethics
refers to the broader philosophical questions about whether certain phenomena exist, for example, truth and justice.
ethical theories
he process of applying moral philosophy to make sense of our world can be made easier by drawing on ‘ethical theories’. The existence of documents debating and discussing ethics from many ancient cultures attests to the fascination that people have always had with grappling with ethical issues. Ethical theory provides us with a way of considering the big questions that have long captured our attention.
ethical issues
Legal or technical matters that operate within a particular social context
ethical problems
Arise when a social worker see that a situation involves a difficult moral decision, but course of action is clear
ethical dilemmas
workers are faced with a choice between two alternatives, but the right choice is unclear
Power in human services
Ways of exercising power in your future professional life:
- Legitimate power – rules, employed role
- Expert power – professional legitimacy
- Reward power – capacity to distribute resources
- Referent power – status, personal qualities
- Coercive power – physical force, legal means
The influence of moral philosophy on practice
- One of the central questions to plague human service
workers is how best to understand the nature of
humanity, human behaviour and interactions between
people. - In other words, why are we, as humans, the way we are
and why do we do the things we do? - Philosophy has given depth to the understanding of
human experience. - Concepts of freedom and autonomy are important to
human service practice. - More recently, Western bias has been balanced by
different cultural worldviews.
Moral Philosophy. Western Paradigm:
Humans are free and autonomous individuals.
Human rationality, individual liberty and freedom (liberal democracy)
Moral Philosophy. First Nations and Eastern Cultures:
Connectedness, kinship, communalism and spirituality (humans are not the most important)
Normative or applied ethics:
Guide conduct in specific areas of interest (e.g. euthanasia, animal rights, environmental ethics)
History of values in human services work
- Morality period – deservedness of clients; 1800’s- 1900’s
- Values period – as professions were forming, lots of debate about core values; 1920s-1970s
- Ethical theory and decision-making period – as professions developed a more distinct identity; 1980s-1990s
- Ethical standards and risk management period – identifying ethical risk areas; 1990s-present (the ‘ethics boom’)
- Digitalisation and the impacts of technology
The study of ethics develops the capacity for :
critical judgement and practical decision-making by focusing on people’s rights and responsibilities and the impact of personal values and beliefs on decisions, actions and empathy
Ethical challenges: Work with individuals:
Work with individuals:
- Relationships
- Boundaries
- Clarification
- Disclosure
- Negotiation of relationship
Ethical challenges: Work with families and partnerships
- Confidentiality
- Privacy
- Disclosure
-Truthfulness
Ethical challenges: Work with groups
- Confidentiality and its limits
- Disclosure
- Mediating group dynamics
Ethical challenges: Community work
- Indecision
- Conflicting agendas
- Balancing competing claims
- Resource allocation
- Political issues
- Resolving conflict
Ethical challenges: Social Policy
- Balancing needs: society, Individual, groups
- Economic and political agendas
- Resource distribution
Ethical challenges: Research and evaluation
- codes of ethics
- Participants: are not harmed, informed/consent, privacy, integrity, accuracy
Ethical challenges: Organisational practice, management and leadership
- Monitoring
- Allocating resources
- Negotiating conflict
- Standards
- Supervision
Education and Training
- Payments for qualifications
- Culture and language
E-professionalism
- Online professional persona – privacy issues, risk to
professional reputation if information is not safeguarded - Opportunities for advocacy, employment and training,
disseminating information - Remote service delivery – e-therapy, cyber-groups, web-based
interventions - Knowledge for the digital age. Practitioners must understand
implications, ensure security and privacy of information (how it is
sourced, shared and stored)
Common Ethical Theories - How decide what to do and
how to justify it?
- Deontology – laws, rules, duties, doctrines
- Utilitarianism – ‘greatest good for the gretest number’
- Virtue ethics – moral character
- Ethics of care – relational, what does a compassionate response
require - Communitariasm – collective v’s individual
Defining ethical decision-making
The process by which social workers engage in an
exploration of values – which may be evident in the personal,
professional, social and organisational spheres – in order to
establish where an ethical dilemma might lie, according to
which competing principles, and which factors take priority in
the weighing up of alternatives (McAuliffe, 2010)
Inclusive model
Essential dimensions:
- Accountability
- Reflection (critical and contemplative)
- Cultural sensitivity
- Consultation
- Interdependence
Steps of inclusive model
- Defining the ethical dilemma:
The first question to ask is whether there is in fact an ethical dilemma present - Mapping legitimacy:
Next you must determine who are the legitimate ‘others’ in the situation. Any cultural factors to consider? Is it appropriate to share this dilemma with others? - Gathering information
Need the information to make the decision efficiently, based on knowledge of processes and protocol. - Alternative approaches and action
Now you have gathered all information, what are the courses of actions/options? How will I justify my actions? - Critical analysis and evaluation
At the end, engage in a reflective analysis about what you did and what you learned to make your practice stronger in the future.
Inclusive model: Accountability
The ability to make decisions that can be clearly articulated and justified and that take into account the personal, professional, organisational, legal and social context
Inclusive model: Reflection
The ability to make decisions that can be scrutinised by others, clarify practice and lead to better practice in the future, with this reflection being both critical and contemplative
Inclusive model: Cultural sensitivity
The ability to make decisions that are culturally appropriate, taking into account different value positions and drawing on cultural expertise
Inclusive model: consultation
The ability to use resources wisely and to engage in appropriate discussions with others who may assist in the above 3
Inclusive model: interdependance
Considerations of the relational connections between humans, non-humans and the environment, and the awareness that actions impact upon and are impacted by many factors
