Ethical Decision-Making

Professionals in all fields experience ethical problems especially in health care. In fact, ethical issues arise in government, industry, science, and academia (Steneck, 2004). Ethical issues can be see in every decision making process which often involves competing goals and motives (Werhane, 2002) Ethical decision making (EDM) requires a number of complex cognitive processes in which people must assess the effectiveness of alternative courses of action in the context of their understanding of the problem and the relevant rules and guidelines involved (Miner & Petocz, 2003). Occupational therapists (OT) have increased autonomy to meet the clients and provide unrestricted practice in today's healthcare

The key takeaways from this article range from decision making models to ensuring that employers make an ethical decision. An ethical decision model is a great tool to use when faced with a tough decision to make (Inggs & Christensen, 2015). In order to ensure that a manager has made an ethical decision, he or she should consider everyone else around him or her that their decision could obtain an effect on. As a manager, it is important to utilize every tool necessary to make a decision. It is more important to stray away from the garbage can model which displays that decision making is sloppy and desultory (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2013). Also, it is important to know which biases are showing up in the decision-making process.

Today, executives are having a rough time juggling between the demands of the workplace and those of their families and other personal responsibilities. In a bid to meet targets and other organizational goals and objectives, business executives in addition to traveling extensively also tend to dedicate long hours to office work.

Throughout the last century, The Unites States of America has been affectionately dubbed, “the melting pot.” Although our Western culture was built on a multicultural foundation, we have nevertheless failed, “to embrace many of the needs, views, and perspectives specific to those not considered part” of the dominant White-Western culture. Only in recent decades have we truly started to address this gap and the needs associated with serving others from a culturally sensitive standpoint. The American Counseling Association (ACA) has slowly adapted to these needs by integrating culturally sensitive language in the ACA Code of Ethics; however, culture permeates every aspect and every level of the counseling process and does not stand alone.

This essay will examine the ethical decision making model by Kerridge et al (2005) in relation to a palliative care of a client with liver cancer. In this particular situation Mr. Hopkins has had surgery and it failed to remove the cancer in his liver. He completed his radiotherapy and was returned home. He is in pain and asking to the district nurse to end his life. This situation creates an ethical dilemma to the district nurse. Nursing practice is complex sometimes nurses have to undergo certain level of ethical issues that they encounter in everyday practice. Surveys show that majority of the nurses face the issues related to the right of the patients and their values is the most frequently encountered ethical issues in the daily nursing

Albert Borgamann (2006) states that, “the moral landmarks that the modern theories of ethics have discovered and the traditional virtues that set norms for practices of excellence work well in telling us how to treat one another and how to conduct ourselves (p. 10). A person’s core ethical framework is individual yet is guided by upbringing and often is based on what Borgamann (2006) considers “a system that appears to exhibit a fine division of moral labor between laws and ethics (p.25).

The Inclusive Model of Ethical Decision making was developed by Donna McAuliffe and Lesley Chenoweth as a means of providing a useful framework for developing contextual and reflective ethical practice in mediation between ethical dilemmas (Dr. Samantha Hardy, Dr. Olivia Randle, 2012, pg. 71). The Models foundation is built on four essential platforms that are interlinked in order to strengthen the core of the ethical decision-making. These platforms are further followed by five key steps, that have a heavy focus on the core platforms. An essential aspect of this model to always be mindful of is the fact that the steps are not always necessarily done in order from step one to step five (Úriz and Viscarret, 2017, pg. 48). As a practitioner,

Can we improve the effectiveness of decision-making in the workplace; absolutely, but the question remains, how, and by what measure, if we take the ethical decision tree as an example, it narrows the deciding factor down to four ethical questions and from there we can make an intelligent decision, first is it legal, secondly, will maximize shareholder value, thirdly, is the proposed action ethical, and fourthly, would be ethical not to take action.

Some of the things I have taken away from this course are a better understanding of ethical theories, laws, regulations, and policies. I am also more capable of applying the decision-making framework to analyze alternatives to ensure compliance with organizational ethical standards. In the second week of class we performed a matrix mapping of an IT related ethical issue. We learned about normative ethical theories and methods for ethical analysis. In week two we applied what we learned by creating a policy to address the ethical issue we focused on in week two. Week four consisted of performing extensive research of a specific technology and we began gathering information as it related the associated ethical issues. We discussed responsibility, liability and laws as they relate to these ethical issues.

The first step of the Ethical Decision-Making Procedure is stated as, “1.0 Become Aware of Dilemma” (McNamara). According to the given case scenario, the dilemma is clearly stated. It reads that the client (mother) does not believe in rewards or support the use of them for her son. The mother is going against what the BCBA believes in and stands for, thus causing a direct dilemma. Removing reinforcers is not feasible for the professional BCBA, and this must be properly addressed with the client. Situations like these are where the Ethical Compliance Code comes into place for the sake of the clients and professionals involved.

Management constitute amongst major components of a company, organization or a business. As such, management oversees employees interactions with their supervisors and also control of people within a particular organization. Also, it includes critical and ethical decision-making process so as to address various ethical dilemmas experienced by employees while undertaking their respective assigned duties within the company. Ethical dilemmas are hereby to stay as issues usually arise now and then and place a variety of options that bear different repercussions. Therefore, it calls for ethical and critical decision-making skills so as to make the most appropriate option that bears more benefits in comparison to other options presented. While making ethical decisions, it 's substantially important to play heed to a certain ethical decision-making theory. This would enable an individual making the decision to ripe best possible consequences rather than living to regret. Moreover, ethical decision making is typically important in business as making a wrong decision may result not only in huge losses but also poor relationship amongst colleagues and miserable life for employee(s) working in a particular company or business in question.

Making consistently ethical decisions is difficult. Most decisions have to be made in the context of economic, professional and social pressures, which can sometimes challenge our ethical goals and conceal or confuse the moral issues. In addition, making ethical choices is complex because in many situations there are a multitude of competing interests and values. Other times, crucial facts are unknown or ambiguous. Since many actions are likely to benefit some people at the expense of others, the decision maker must prioritize competing moral claims and must be proficient at predicting the likely consequences of various choices. An ethical person often chooses to do more than the law requires and less than the law allows.

Throughtout this written assignment there will be a discussion on ethical decision making about making a decision on possible ethical consequences that may be placed in your life, and what ethical consequences will be dealt with in the mental health professional field. Decisions could possibility pertain your conduct such as an ethical dilemma that will required a serious decision to be solved by your action as an leader. Even though a leader may not have caused the problem, they do not have a choice but to respond to the issues at the workplace. The key is how would a leader react to the issue and how their reputation and career standards will interfear afterwards. An early recognition could prevent many ethical issues from increasing in the mental health field and work environment. Ethical dilemmas could happen in many different ways, such professionals do have any act of acknowledge by knowing they have allowed themselves to be placed in a predictment without any knowing about it. This assignment will also discuss the scenario, what the reactions were from the team leader, what consequences should take place, the code of ethics and what were the results from decision making.

The modern manager should tick a variety of boxes when it comes to skills they possess and while some are considered more important than others, ethical decision making is a skill that has become increasingly pivotal. Jones states that a ‘moral issue is present where a person’s action, when freely performed, may harm or benefit others’ and defines ‘an ethical decision is a decision that is both legally and morally acceptable to the larger community’ (1991, p. 387).

Nurses often encountered various ethical dilemmas in the practice setting. Both virtue ethics and caring ethics support good ethical decision making for nurses (Park, 2012, p. 149) but these are inadequate to assist in solving an ethical dilemma (Park, 2012, p. 149). For that reason an ethical decision making tool is helpful for the nurses or clinicians to come up with an ethical decision (Kelly, 2012, p. 571) that allows them to gather information, identify any gap of understanding on the issue or the disagreements between the involved parties through a clear communication (Park, 2012, p. 140). Several authors presented an ethical decision making processes (Park, 2012, p. 141), here presented the two processes that can be applied in resolving an ethical dilemma. One example of ethical decision making process is the DECIDE model by Thompson, Melia & Boyd (Allen, Chapman, Francis, & O’Connor, 2008, p. 5) and the Integrated ethical decision-making model which was derived from the combination of the different ethical decision-making models strengths (Park, 2012, p. 140). These two ethical decision-making model steps are identical to each but differ on the detailed instruction on how the steps are to be done or used in actual case. By comparing the two models the integrated ethical decision-making model have a detailed instruction. The