Types of ethical issues in business discrimination. If we look even more closely at this ethical issue, we find that 54% of women claim to have experienced unwanted sexual advances in the workplace and 23% say that the case of sexual harassment actually involved a superior. The most important step in addressing sexual harassment as a serious ethical dilemma in companies is to implement employee training. Start by making sure that everyone who works for you knows the rules, that those rules are posted in the workplace, and that you apply a zero-tolerance policy for sexual harassment.
From there, you'll want to make sure that your company's leaders set a good example, that you continuously monitor inappropriate behavior, and that you provide employees with a safe and discreet way to report cases of harassment. In addition, there should never be any fear of reprisal for reporting sexual harassment; victims, whether presumed or proven, should receive their full support. It's also best to take preventive measures to reduce the risk of sexual harassment. This may include having employees sign agreements in which they commit to following company rules, not allowing “little things” to go unnoticed, limiting the service of alcoholic beverages during company events, etc.
If sexual harassment occurs in your company, recognize the allegation, investigate the case thoroughly, respond with care, and administer disciplinary action if necessary. One of the most current ethical issues in business is the question of the personal behavior of employees on social networks outside of working hours. Of course, there's still a big gray area of situations that may or may not make it ethically justifiable to fire an employee for their behavior on social media. When it comes to employee etiquette on social media, the bottom line for most companies is that the employee can be justifiably fired if the activity is considered unfair or financially harmful to the company.
Of course, neither you nor your employees would want to get to a point like that, so what can you do to minimize employee “bad” behavior on social media? Addressing ethical issues in companies related to social networks can be difficult, mainly because most situations will fall into the gray zone. To help eliminate confusion or lack of clarity for you and your employees, the best thing you can do is create a set of rules and policies that clearly describe what is (and not) acceptable for employees to do on social media. Your company's guidelines on employee behavior on social media should be accompanied by training sessions and regular reminders for the entire company via email. Similarly, if there's ever a case of misconduct on social media and you're forced to fire an employee, it may be a good opportunity to re-address the issue with other employees.
While discrimination and harassment policies in business environments technically refer to different types of treatment, both protect certain classes of employees. Another example of ethical issues in business is the abuse of leadership. This occurs when people who hold positions of power in an organization misuse their authority, either with staff members or in connection with their administrative functions. Ethical compliance issues in business are often related to companies deviating from the rules and laws that govern business activity.
Businesses must comply with all environmental, federal and state regulations. If they don't, they can jeopardize the health and livelihoods of those inside and outside your company. Some companies knowingly ignore these regulations to improve profits. An ethical issue in business, for example, related to compliance is that a company dumps its waste illegally.
The company knows it's wrong, but it does it anyway because it reduces the cost of finding safe alternatives. Penalties can consist of fines, prison sentences and can often lead to the closure of a business. For example, in the area of accounting, one of the most infamous business ethics topics in the news was the Enron scandal in 2001, in which company executives used questionable accounting practices to hide financial problems and give the impression of higher profits. Business owners, especially those in the retail industry, are well aware of how theft can affect their businesses.
However, theft is not committed strictly by customers. It is estimated that between 25 and 40% of workers steal from their work. In addition, according to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, companies can lose 5% of their annual revenues due to employee fraud. Ethical issues are both personal (micro) and social (macro) in nature.
There is an ongoing struggle between legislating morality for the “public good” and fighting to preserve the individual right to autonomy. It is the intense emotional nature of such concerns that takes an issue from the personal level to the social level. While it is normal to be prejudiced, it is important to know when and how this affects the ability to practice within the principle of justice, so that no client is discriminated against or denied access to the treatment that other clients receive. This requires understanding the conscious and unconscious reactions of countertransference to what the client may present in treatment.
It also requires knowing when to request a consultation with a supervisor, so that personal problems don't get in the way of working with clients. The principle of autonomy implies that individuals have the right to decide how to live their own lives, as long as their actions do not interfere with the well-being of others. This principle respects the unconditional value of the individual and promotes the concepts of self-government, self-determination and self-government. When working with HIV-infected drug addicts, the substance abuse treatment counselor can play a key role in determining if the client is competent to make their own decisions and determining whether or not the client has the information needed to make a personal decision.
Competition issues are rarely clear. There are several factors that can make a customer appear temporarily incompetent. One day, a customer may seem unable to make independent decisions and, the next day, be quite lucid. When analyzing a customer's ability to maintain autonomy, consider not only the initial impression, but also the duration and severity of the behavior, as well as the reports of other people in the client's life.
Consultation with other medical or psychiatric professionals, reports from the client support system, and a solid initial evaluation can help clarify the presence of changes in mental status. Charity assumes the responsibility of improving and increasing the well-being of others, or more simply, of “doing good for others”. But what does it really mean to “do good”? What may be right in the eyes of the substance abuse treatment counselor may be considered harmful in the eyes of the client. The counselor must consider if it is the client's agenda or his own.
The culture of the counselor or agency may also conflict with that of the client. The role of the family, medical practices, and lifestyle-related issues affect treatment, and these can differ greatly, depending on the diverse social norms of everyone involved. Similar to beneficence, non-maleficence means “doing no harm”. This principle has often been highlighted when talking about client exploitation, such as sexual contact or financial exploitation.
Both of these examples are active means of harming a customer. However, causing harm can also be more subtle, especially given the complex population of HIV-infected drug addicts. An example of conflicting interpretations of this principle is the debate on abstinence versus risk-reduction approaches in drug treatment. Abstinence advocates may claim that a risk-reduction approach harms the client by allowing their addiction, preventing the client from actually “hitting rock bottom” and seeking help.
Advocates of risk reduction argue that the abstinence-based model harms the client because it does not allow for compassion or the satisfaction of the basic needs of people who are mired in addiction. Advocates of risk reduction may claim that the abstinence-based model actually prohibits recovery because it fails to take into account that recovery is a process, rather than a rigid philosophy. This is an ethical dilemma that truly reflects the passionate nature of personal values and beliefs. Doctors need to make sure that they don't act like parents for clients and make clients feel like bad children.
If the rules relating to transfers and dismissals are not clear from the start and are not followed consistently, then the doctor is violating the principle of non-maliciousness. The principle of fidelity requires telling the truth and keeping promises. Fidelity is a fairly simple concept that can be easily violated. When a substance abuse treatment counselor hires a client, there is an implicit contract with the client.
The contract assumes that the counselor will work to resolve the client's concerns and that the information will be shared truthfully between the counselor and the client. By having the client sign the consent forms, the counselor promises that the information provided will remain confidential to anyone not listed on the form. The client undertakes to follow the agency's rules. Of course, confidentiality must be extended to the customer, whether or not they obey the program's rules.
If the customer has suicidal or homicidal tendencies, for example, confidentiality may be violated. If the customer talks about child abuse, the contract will be breached. If the client violates certain agency rules, the relationship between the doctor and the client may end. It is important for the doctor to be very clear about the limitations of fidelity so that there are no surprises later on.
See the “Confidentiality” section later in this chapter and chapter 9 for specific details on the legal issues involved. If the counselor is involved in a complicated family system, it can be difficult to remember who the client is, especially in times of conflict. When working with clients who have questionable competition, it may be wise to let someone else speak for the customer. However, it is the counselor's responsibility to ensure that, until the issue of competencies is resolved, she will have to represent the main client and act in accordance with the client's wishes.
This situation also highlights the conflicts between principles such as beneficence, fidelity and non-maliciousness. Is the provider “doing well” in reporting a customer and trying to help society in general? Or is the provider doing harm by not working with the customer to stop the behavior in the long term? To what extent does the supplier break the contract with the customer by disclosing the customer's actions? The ethical nature of this type of dilemma does not lend itself to an easy decision, but rather requires a case-by-case analysis and, at the same time, analyzing the immediate and long-term consequences of the action (Reamer, 199). See chapter 9 for more information on the legal implications of duty to warn issues. Review what principles are at stake.
What is the real dilemma? Are there any dilemmas? There can be so much going on with a customer that it's hard to see the real problem or if the problem is significant. Is the customer or the customer doing harm? Can the customer make her own decisions? Aren't you allowed to do that? Is the customer being treated fairly regardless of race, culture, or lifestyle? Are there any threats to customer confidentiality? These are the questions related to basic ethical principles. The Ethics 8 series offers 8 useful tips related to the predominant topics in the practice of social work. These tip sheets serve as a starting point for discovering ethical considerations in a given subject area and direct users to additional resources related to the subject area.
Social work, medicine, nursing, and psychology are examples of professions that have professional standards and codes of ethics. Because of the highly emotional nature of the substance abuse treatment field, providers must have the tools to explore ethical dilemmas objectively. However, the intense nature of the work and problem solving that are required in the daily work of a substance abuse treatment professional require that more training on ethics be provided. A lot of research has been done on the topic of combating ethical problems in companies related to workplace health (% 26% of safety).
The issue of competition can be one of the most difficult ethical issues when working with this population. Regardless of how familiar you are with the different categories of discrimination, you can use the set of guidelines for each type of discrimination published by the EEOC to ensure that you operate correctly with respect to this ethical issue in business. Therefore, if the doctor followed the profession's code of ethics and was well documented, or if he complied with the standards accepted by the institution where he worked, the chances of being declared responsible in a lawsuit are considerably reduced. Establishing a code of ethics for the operation of your company will help you establish a solid foundation of basic trust between you and your employees, customers, partners, suppliers, etc.
The practice of ethical social work in school systems involves a myriad of complex variables that demand a solid knowledge of the NASW Code of Ethics, along with legal, statutory, and other requirements. A casual review of your social networks will quickly reveal that the use of unethical manipulation, market deception and excessive promises of benefits are still widespread in all sectors. The study of ethics has produced a great deal of writing and many norms and principles have been presented. Employee theft also involves violating other ethical issues, such as stealing time; although this topic is not often talked about, many companies lose a good amount of money due to false reports of employee assistance.
The NASW Code of Ethics provides guidance to social workers who face unethical behavior on the part of their colleagues. . .
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