Nonprofit Organizational Ethics

As any other organization, we have established organizational codes of ethics. Many of these codes Ferrell described are trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship. (Ferrell pg. 226) Principles and values that we have in our organization are very important to the organization to set the boundaries for behaviors that

Kohlberg’s theory of moral development is an adaptation of the development theory of Jean Piaget. Piaget studied many aspects of moral judgment, most of his findings fit into a two stage process of moral development. Put into the simplest of terms, Stage 1: children younger than 10 or 11 years think about moral dilemmas one way and Stage 2: older children consider them differently.

I and two other individuals have agreed to start a business that will provide management consulting services to nonprofit organizations. Because of the increased scrutiny on actions of corporations and those who act on behalf of organizations, we have determined that it would be essential to have our ethics program developed before we start offering our services. A business as a moral agent must prove that it has an effective ethics program to protect employees, the corporation, and businesses that the company will serve. It is also important to have an ethics program to support the ethical values of our corporation and to make it clear to employees what is acceptable behavior, and to make clear what policies and standards are to be

The second level of Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral development is the Conventional Level. The Conventional level consists of stages 3 and 4. Stage 3 is based on interpersonal expectations. Those who are at this stage try to be a “good” boy or a “good” girl and live up to others’--such as close friends and family’s-- expectations. Stage 4 is based on Law-and-Order. They are not only focused on what their family and friends say; they are now focused on society. These stages are usually reached by early teens. They don’t blindly follow rules;

ATC is, largely, a public entity funded by the City of Austin. As such, the CEO claims that integrity, discretion, confidentiality, and other core ethical values are striven for within the organization. Not only that, but since ATC does not often draft formal contracts of any sort, honesty and the honoring of agreements are very important qualities that ATC strives to maintain. While these informal codes are all well and good, it was very surprising to me that ATC does not have any written ethical codes, for the very reason that they are a public company and largely funded by the City of Austin. It seems to me that a non-profit such as this, one that is comprised of so many different partnerships and members, should strive to be an ethical company and to ensure that its members were aware of that goal. ATC deals with a lot of sensitive information such as employee contact information, detailed financials, etc. A written code needs to be in place so that ATC is aware of ethical dilemmas that may occur in any relationship or interaction and is ready to combat any such liabilities if and when they

“Every nonprofit organization should develop its own code of ethics, writes Doug White, academic director at the George H. Heyman Jr. Center for Philanthropy and Fundraising at New

Several organizations face ethical dilemmas and professional challenges on a daily basis. Assistance on how to correctly approach the issue can be found in a company’s code of ethics. A code of ethics is a written set of guidelines and protocols issued by an organization to its workers and management to help them conduct their actions in accordance with its primary values and moral standards. It aids to create a unified understanding of the boundaries within an organization and the standards set for interrelating with clients and customers alike. A code of ethics is essential for all companies and business establishments, and the American Counseling Association (ACA) and the American School Counselor Association is no exception. It is necessary to follow the ACA code of ethics or any company for that matter to avoid the myriad of law suits that would be filed daily. After reviewing the ACA code of ethics, I was able to relate to some of their guidelines.

This is when company rules, policies, and societal rules formed a considerable amount of my moral and ethical behavior. By being visible at such a young age to the adult world and adult responsibilities gave me a broader range of exposure to conventional moral reasoning and shaped many of the decision I had to make during this time. I learned the importance of respecting others, the conformity of behaviors that is expected by others, and I began to understand the principles of justice as an ethical concern. Kendra Cherry, Psychology Expert, describes Level 2 – Stage 3 & 4 (Conventional Morality) of Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development as being, “Often referred to as the "good boy-good girl" orientation, this stage of moral development is focused on living up to social expectations and roles. There is an emphasis on conformity, being "nice," and consideration of how choices influence relationships”

When it comes to having a Code of Ethics, each one is different depending on the field or profession that one is going into. Some are long to get the point across and to cover everything, others are short because there is not much to say about the field. When it comes to the National Press Photographers Association, their Code of Ethics, is not that long nor that short. It get’s straight to the point and simple and easy to understand.

“Nonprofit organizations have a special obligation, both legally and morally, to uphold the highest standards of ethical practice, to be accountable to their boards

Lawrence Kohlberg named six stages of moral development. These stages occurred in three separate levels: level one is preconventional morality, level two is conventional morality, and level three is postconventional morality. Each level consisted of two of the stages. The first level, preconventional morality, consisted of the obedience and punishment stage and the individual interest stage. The obedience and punishment stage stated that behavior was driven by avoiding punishment and the individual interest age stated that behavior was driven by self-interest and rewards. These stages usually occurred with preschool and elementary School level children. The second level, conventional morality, consisted of the interpersonal stage and the authority

Morals are how you make decisions in regard to the relationship between self-wants and needs and society’s wants and needs. According to Kohlberg those decisions that you make and the reasoning behind each decision is what determines your moral stage. Kohlberg states that there are three levels of moral development consisting of pre-conventional, conventional, and post-conventional. Within those three levels are two stages. Pre-conventional includes stages 1 and 2 with stage 1 being defined as obedience and punishment meaning that you will do what society deems as acceptable for fear of punishment. Stage 2 is defined as the individualism and exchange which is when you start to serve yourself in order to best fit your own personal interests.

You are right ethics must be considered because it plays a major part of operations and outcomes in nonprofit projects. A well-established nonprofit should practice a set of principles in order to guide the organization’s activities, changes and decision making. The set of ethic involves the behavior of employees, managers and the board members. Also, the code of conduct includes transparency, honesty, confidentiality, equity and many others. In fact, the code of ethics or statement of values encourages talented employees to apply for job positions. Indeed, it helps to maintain supporters interested in the cause. Moreover, the code of ethics ensures that transactions are legal and transparent. Finally, the method helps to recruit board members.

Kohlberg’s stages of moral development were based on a moral philosopher by the name of Lawrence Kohlberg. His main interest was to observe children during growth to develop and conclude which stages they best fit into. After observing both adults and children, he concluded that, “Human beings progress consecutively from one stage to the next in an invariant sequence” (“Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development”). All of the 6 stages he created, represent the morality in which a child or adult can be at; he created an age zone for each stage. There are a total of 6 stages but each main concept consists of 3 levels. Level 1 is the preconventional stage. This stage focuses on punishment/obedience and how the person decides to act due to the

Ethical dilemmas make organizational decisions very problematic. And for this reason, it is good to develop a detailed ethical code of conduct before the organization starts functioning because this makes it easier to make tricky decisions as and when they appear. It is what Project Mill must do before it starts the fundraising process. The fundraiser manager needs to understand that few years down the line someone will definitely raise the question about the ethical practices of the organization and hence there must be a code of conduct in place so not only the organization can stay true to it, but it can also convince others of its ethical beliefs.