Need done by Saturday September 29, 2018 no plagiarism

Ethical Dilemmas

CFS 4010 Dr. Salman

What are ethics?

u Ethics u Are the study of right and wrong, duty and

obligation u Involve critical reflection and morality u Are a conscious deliberation regarding moral

choices u Are an individualized, private matter

What are professional ethics? u Professional Ethics

u Are concerned with right and wrong actions in the workplace and are a public matter

u Tell employees what they ought to do and ought not to do

u Spell out professional obligations employees have u Affirm the moral commitment of a profession u Help individuals resolve the moral dilemmas they

encounter at work u Define the core values of the field

Who is affected by professional ethics?

u Children u Families u Clients u Colleagues u Community and society

What steps are required in professional ethics?

u Step 1- Explore the issue/identify the problem

u Step 2- Identify the stakeholders affected u Step 3- Brainstorm possible resolutions u Step 4- Consider an initial effort to resolve

the issue u Step 5- Decide on a course of action u Step 6- Adjust policy if need be

Ethical Scenarios

What Would You (as a Future Professional)

Do?

The Heinz Dilemma

Mr. Heinz is ordinarily a law-abiding man. One day, his wife becomes gravely ill. Heinz takes her to the doctor, who prescribes a medication for her. She does quite well on this medication and begins to recover. However, Heinz has no insurance and runs out of money quickly paying for this expensive medication. After a few months, he can no longer purchase the medication and his wife begins to take a turn for the worse. One day, he is in the pharmacy and notices that no one is behind the counter. The medication is in plain view. Should he steal the medication to help his sick wife?

Olivia and the Birthday Cake Olivia, a program director, is committed to serving nutritious foods and providing healthy choices for children. For that reason her center does not regularly serve cookies, cakes, or other foods full of sugar, fats, or preservatives. The program’s family handbook describes these policies. It states clearly that birthday cakes are not allowed. Policies strongly encourage families to celebrate special events with healthy foods such as sliced fruit, vegetable plates, and veggie pizza.

Another important part of the program’s philosophy is developing close relationships with all the families. Olivia strives to warmly welcome children and families each day. One morning a mother who is new to the center, who has been shy about participating, and whose mastery of English is limited, arrives with a large, elaborately decorated cake to celebrate her child’s birthday. On one hand Olivia wants to avoid violating the center’s policies, but on the other she wants to strengthen her relationship with this mother and make her feel that she and her family are important members of the program community.

Ms. K and Social Networking Ms. K is a veteran teacher who is very popular with her students. She frequently offers students extra help after school, so it’s not uncommon to see students visiting her classroom after school. She has tutored one of her students, “Melissa,” in a variety of subjects over a two year period. During that time, Ms. K has emailed and texted “Melissa’s” cell phone using her personal email address. At first, the exchanges were very general; sometimes unrelated to school work (e.g., asking Melissa about a sick family member, or how she was getting along with friends). Recently, the student began to text her teacher about more personal feelings.

Alan and His Daughter’s Teacher Alan works in the claims department of a major hospital. Paperwork on a recent admission shows that a traumatic mugging caused the patient to require an adjustment in the medication she is prescribed to control anxiety and mood swings. Alan is struck by the patient’s unusual last name and upon checking her employment information realizes she is one of his daughter’s grade school teachers. Alan’s daughter seems very happy in her school and he cannot violate patient confidentiality by informing the school of a teacher’s mental illness but he is not comfortable with a potentially unstable person in a position of influence and supervision over his eight year old daughter. Can Alan reconcile these issues in an ethical manner?

Care for a Hearing- Impaired Family An early interventionist begins working with an 18 month old infant who was born two months early and has qualified for services because of developmental delays. Both parents are deaf and communicate through sign language. The early intervention team is concerned about language delays and wants to provide a speech and language therapist for the child. The parents are refusing these services because they want their child, who is not hearing impaired, to grow up in the deaf culture that they value. They are requesting that the early intervention staff only communicate with their child through sign language. The early intervention practitioner is concerned that the child may miss the opportunity to develop spoken language if the child has such limited exposure to oral language during this critical period for language development. What should the “good” family life educator do in this situation?

A Family from Somalia

A mother and her 4-year-old son attend an Early Childhood Family Education Class. They are from Somalia. The mother has limited English but participates well in the parenting class by listening and talking at length when asked a question. Her son loves the children’s room. He is eagerly involved in most areas of the room, with a clear preference and a strong interest in the housekeeping area. The father attends one day and says he is thankful that his son is in the class and he hopes his son will continue to learn English, letters, and numbers. After a few weeks, the father sends a message to the teacher indicating that his son is not to play in the kitchen area. Household work is not for boys and Somali males have nothing to do with such activities.