Begin by selecting a case study of an ethical dilemma that you discovered in the research during this course. Review the case study from the lens of each ethical viewpoint (utilitarianism, deontology,

Running Head: ETHICAL DILEMMA 0

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Ethical Dilemma

OL-7005B Ethical Leadership

Dr. Banerjee

31 May 2020

Introduction

We are faced with choices every day and having critical decision-making skills are important to help us navigate different aspects of our lives. Sometimes we have a feeling that something we are not doing is not right and this is because of our beliefs, values, how we have been raised among other factors. Interacting with different individuals at our workplaces could make us face these ethical dilemmas especially when providing services. When faced with an ethical dilemma, chances are that at one point we will have to compromise on ethical standards. Ethics are the standards that a group of professionals considers right when making their decisions and they mostly based on logic . Values are guided by individual judgment or how people feel about different situations. Morals are what individuals consider to right based on their family background, beliefs, or guided by factors such as religion . This paper will, therefore, look into a case study of a situation where there was an ethical dilemma as well as taking a risk as an employee in a workspace due to ethical standards.

An ethical dilemma comes about when two aspects clash, for instance, value and law or policy and moral judgment. There are various ways in which people are faced with this conflict and the concept is if this individual think that they have a sane moral judgment to do two actions but both actions cannot be done at the same time. This individual could do each of the actions but not both. This means that it does not matter which decision this individual makes; they will eventually feel like they morally failed. For a conflict to be considered as a moral dilemma, it has to ensure that there is truth and that the requirements for this conflict are not overridden. This, therefore, means that , by the time the individual is making this conclusion, they need to think about the consequences and even consult if they need help. This way, they will end up prioritizing what matters most and protect the parties of interest.

When one is faced with this dilemma, the first thing that they should do is to accept that they are in a moral dilemma. This is followed by carefully analyzing the situation so that you can break it down to workable problems that have solutions. These are then guided by ethics, policies, research, philosophy, morals among other factors. Also, it is important to share this dilemma with professionals who will help you with an insight that will guide you into making the best decision. Reading is also a strategy that is relevant if your moral judgment makes you feel like sharing will breach trust between you and your client. Having an open mind will also help in this process since it helps analyze the dilemma considering all the parties that will be affected.

I am a social worker and I am faced with moral dilemmas frequently in my career. I am sure this is the same for those in the medical field especially when interacting with patients. A few weeks ago, I was handling a case of a family of four but one of the children had recently passed away. My supervisor gave me this case and my task was to ensure that the child is taken care of by making a decision that will benefit her. The mother of this child has a bi-polar disorder and her father is a violent alcoholic (Feldman, 2012). She had been told that she would get married to an older man to help the family solve their money problems, in addition, the parents have been fighting so much recently that she does not feel safe in her own house.

As a social worker, I need to ensure that I respect her privacy, besides, ethics in social work practice require me to care for this young girl and look after her well-being but I also need to file a report indicating the progress of my case. This report also needs to include the statement that the client has presented which has led me to believe that this child does not feel or is not safe in her own home (Bertotti, 2010). When filing this report, I need to ensure that I exhaust my finding but at the same time, the client could feel like I have compromised their trust. If I have trust issues with my client, chances are they might stop cooperating or give me misleading information that will also affect my case and the conclusion I make thereafter. Also, if I break the law when trying to solve this moral dilemma, I could lose my practice license or my job.

I believe that children need to be raised in a healthy environment else they will carry on the habits they see at home in their relationships as adults. Issues that parents have should be solved privately and they should not subject their insecurities to an innocent child since it affects them psychologically. When a social worker has been assigned to a minor, they need to do everything they can to protect them and eventually make a decision that promotes their well-being. However, in my situation, I deliberately decided to omit some of the things my client asked to keep confidential but made sure I indicated everything I thought would be useful in helping to make a conclusion that would be great for this child.

There are quite some things I learn from working on this case. One is that it requires patient people and those who can build trust with their clients. Some people do not believe that social workers can assist in solving conflicts due to previous bad experiences. In my case, however, I knew that if I decided to take this girl to a foster home, she would be safe but I would be separating her from her family. The parents could also sue me for interfering with family affairs and argue that their culture permits marriage at any age if it has been blessed by God. The father of this child needs to go to a rehabilitation center and the mother needs to see a psychiatrist to help manage her mental illness and for the child to be raised in a healthy environment. It also taught me that confidentiality is an ethic or moral obligation that needs to be observed by social workers else it could compromise the case. It taught me that I need critical thinking, problem-solving, and decision-making skill and also to ask for assistance to help solve the problem. Besides, there are very many factors that need to be considered when concluding.

My approach when dealing with this dilemma was to consider the religious beliefs of the family as well as critically assessing the situation to find a common ground for all parties. For instance, this child is a minor and should concentrate more on her education other than marriage. As much as the family argues that she could still go to school even when married, I still believe that she needed to be more mature to know what she is getting into and the fact that her brain is not fully developed to be making such a decision (Meysen, 2018). I also recommended that the parents of the child get professional help since the child need to be in a healthy environment for her to thrive in school, in addition, the death of her sibling was also hard on her. I also decided that I will ask her to be present when I am compiling my report about the case for us to ensure that I do not compromise confidentiality. In addition, I saw it fit for the child to be around someone who could guide and take care of her until she is of legal age to live on her own. Foster homes have had a bad reputation, but it does not necessarily mean that all are bad and social workers pay regular visits to ensure that the well-being of the child is prioritized.

Some policies and laws need to be considered when making a decision on any case and breaking them will only have consequences on my career. All the ethics that came across in this case needed to be considered when making my conclusion. Looking in the responsibility my client and I had helped me have some clarity in understanding the best way to handle this case. Decision making, in this case, needed my clients, supervisor, and I to be active participants for us to have a common ground of understanding and also helping the client. Social workers have values that guide our practice for instance having social justice, practicing professional integrity as well as respecting our clients guide social workers into making confident decisions and conclusions (Reamer, 2013). In addition, I also had to look for close relatives who could volunteer to take her in the period that the parents needed to be away.

I used sensitive communication to gain and build trust with my client (Lo, 2012). This means being empathetic and giving them time to collect their thoughts as I record all the relevant information that could be useful in making my conclusion. Also, I utilized skillful negation to help me understand how the parents came up with the conclusion that marrying their daughter is culturally acceptable and also understand the reasons for the domestic violence in the child’s presence. I countered my argument based on the laws and principles that guide social work which requires us to have social justice. The parents of this child argued that normally couples fight due to small disagreements and that parents know what is best for their child.

They argued that if the child gets married to ensure that the family does not have extreme poverty then it is the right thing to do. As much as I wanted to consider this culture, it is not acceptable to make such decisions and especially for a minor. Also, if the father had money to sustain his alcoholic lifestyle then they either were okay or he had an addiction problem that made him an irresponsible parent. Certainly, the child needs to make her own decision on whether she wants to live in such an environment and her opinions need to be considered anyway since it is her life.

In conclusion, this case was intended to help the child get to a safe environment. However, her life is interconnected with her parents who are actually why the family because a social work concern. The social worker should have dedicated most of her time understanding the child's needs, wants, and headspace without interfering with the parents. This way the social worker could have understood what was best for this child and provided a conclusion that enables them to get to a safe environment that boosts her well-being. Culture played a moral judgment played a big role in creating a conflict in this case but the values and principles of social work helped solve the case ethically.

References

Bertotti, T. (2010). Decision-making and ethical dilemmas of child and family social workers. Social Work & Society, 8(1), 148-151.

Feldman, M., McConnell, D., & Aunos, M. (2012). Parental cognitive impairment, mental health, and child outcomes in a child protection population. Journal of Mental Health Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 5(1), 66-90.

Lo, B. (2012). Resolving ethical dilemmas: a guide for clinicians. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Meysen, T., & Kelly, L. (2018). Child protection systems between professional cooperation and trustful relationships: A comparison of professional practical and ethical dilemmas in England/Wales, Germany, Portugal, and Slovenia. Child & Family Social Work, 23(2), 222-229.

Reamer, F. G. (2013). Social work values and ethics. Columbia University Press.