![Jenny’s Ethical Dilemma
[Your Name]
Ethics Coordinator
[Your organization in the CS]](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/ethicalcasestudyjennysdilemma-230428154559-cb0e722d/85/Ethical-Case-Study_Jenny-s-Dilemma-pptx-1-320.jpg)
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Ethical Case Study_Jenny's Dilemma.pptx
- 1. Jenny’s Ethical Dilemma [Your Name] Ethics Coordinator [Your organization in the CS]
- 2. Case Study Overview The setting for this case study is a university. The psychology department's chairman, Ben, visited Jenny in her office to discuss having her cover for the absent professor Stan in the biopsychology course. Jenny was informed by Ben of Stan's wife's health problems. When Jenny mentions her lack of familiarity with biopsychology, Ben appears to ignore her concerns. Ben reminded Jenny of the position that would become open in the fall when another professor is set to retire and added that he is aware that Jenny wants a permanent position at the institution. Jenny speaks with her colleague Rhonda about what happened. Rhonda and Jenny talk about their experiences with discrimination as women and as part-time instructors.
- 3. Ethical Concerns • Learners may suffer if Jenny agrees to instruct a course for which she is not qualified. • As department head, Ben is abusing his position by blackmailing Jenny. • Part-time lecturers are asked to represent full- time lecturers on what they refuse to do. • Sexist biases could have an impact on the university's power structure.
- 4. Ethical Standards: Strengths and Weaknesses Professionals must resolve conflicts between ethical norms and organizational requirements in accordance with APA ethical standards. - (APA, 2016, 1.03) Additionally, the APA ethical standards mandate that any ethical transgression that can endanger an individual or an institution be notified to the appropriate authority. -(APA, 2016, 1.05)
- 5. Ethical Standards: Strengths and Weaknesses What the APA ethical guidelines describe "improper complaints" are expressly discouraged. -(APA, 2016, 1.07) Making accusations could be avoided owing to concern that they will not be taken seriously. There is a case to be made that the APA code of ethics needs to have greater safeguards in place for complainants.
- 6. Deontology Utilitarianism • Everyone is handled with integrity and treated ethically. • Focuses on morals and the best possible good. • The application follows rules and is universally applicable. • Assess and focuses on effects when decisions are made. • Prioritizes obligations over effects. • Rules utilitarian (Looks at specific situation). Comparison of Deontology and Utilitarianism
- 7. Ethical Decision Making with the Model Proposed by Fisher 1. Commitment to ethics. 2. Follows APA ethical rules, ethical standards, professional norms, &organizational policies and procedures. 3. Confirms if local, state and/ or federal laws apply to the given ethical scenario. 4. Attempts to comprehend the multiple perspectives of the diverse stakeholders. 5. Applies steps 1-4 to provide alternative options. 6. Reviews & analyzes the effectiveness of the action implemented.
- 8. Ethical Decision Making with the Model Proposed by Fisher Jenny needs to weigh the pros and disadvantages of teaching a class for which she is not qualified. Only after carefully considering everything said above should she make a choice. Jenny should take into account the fact that women hold the majority of part-time jobs. It is important to take into account any potential ethnic gaps in the organization's structure.
- 9. Proposed Resolution • Jenny should turn down Ben's offer and work to resolve these moral dilemmas. • This suggestion is supported by the following: -Part-time instructors frequently experience unfair demands from full-time instructors. -Jenny was almost openly coerced into accepting Ben's offer by him. -Someone who is not trained in biopsychology might not be able to teach students properly.
- 10. Proposed Resolution Jenny should work with other adjunct professors like Rhonda to resolve this ethical dilemma. If other part-time lecturers do not work together, Jenny should think twice before complaining. If the majority of contract instructors are cooperative, then the faculty's power structure should be the target of criticism. Unless Jenny can show she is being blackmailed, she should simply ignore Ben's demands if she is alone.
- 11. Proposed Resolution Public disputes between instructors could harm the faculty's reputation. When possible, the APA advises resolving ethical disputes informally (APA, 2016). Professors ought to work with the faculty to find a solution to the ethical issue. The final resort should be an ethical complaint to a relevant authority.
- 12. Conclusion Psychologists frequently face moral choices that might have an impact on both their professional and personal lives. The ethical principles of Jenny's job can direct her toward challenging such abuses if she is aware of them. This instance shows how sexism and the distribution of power can result in unethical behavior. Jenny and the other professors are advised to find a non-formal solution to this ethical dilemma.
- 13. References • American Psychological Association. (2016). American Psychological Association ethical principles of psychologists and code of conduct. Retrieved November 20, 2022, from http://www.apa.org/ethics/code2002.html • Conway, P., & Gawronski, B. (2019). Deontological and utilitarian inclinations in moral decision making: A process dissociation approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 104(2), 216–235. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0031021 • Dai, J. (2017). A review of the empirical literature on ethical decision-making: 2004-2010. SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2344521
- 14. References Humphrey, E., Janosik, S. M., & Creamer, D. G. (2018). The role of principles, character, and professional values in ethical decision-making. NASPA Journal, 41(4). https://doi.org/10.2202/0027-6014.1393
Editor's Notes
- [Notes are optional on this page.]
- The case given resembles a real-life scenario. Professors occasionally have to teach lessons for which they are unprepared due to a department's shortage of employees. The department chair requests a part-time professor with no prior biopsychology teaching expertise in this example scenario to teach a biopsychology course until the absent lecturer resumes. Jenny's acceptance of Ben's requests could be viewed as both ethical and unethical, based on the ethical standpoint and the specifics of this circumstance. For example, from a utilitarian standpoint, the conduct that results in the greatest good for others takes precedence over any obligation (Humphrey, 2018). For instance, Jenny's decision to teach the lesson would be deemed ethical if the biopsychology learners would gain from having her as a teacher. On the other hand, Jenny's choice to teach the course would be viewed unethically from a utilitarian standpoint if the learners suffered from having a teacher who had no biopsychology training background. However, from a feminist ethical standpoint, actions that reinforce power disparity are unethical (Humphrey, 2018). Even if the students will gain from Ben's behavior, it will not be deemed ethical because he is exploiting his position of authority to persuade Jenny to accept his idea.
- Jenny views Ben's demands and actions as unethical for at two primary reasons. First of all, Jenny does not think it is proper for her to teach in a subject in which she has little expertise. Second, she thinks full-time lecturers abuse their power by making part-time professors perform duties that they are unwilling to perform themselves. When Ben advises Jenny to seriously reconsider accepting his proposition if she wants to land a full-time employment after another professor departs, it is obvious that he is misusing his position of authority. The interaction between Jenny and Rhonda also reveals more ethical issues. One issue is that it appears part-time teachers are overworked with assignments that full-time professors do not want to finish. Even worse, part-time instructors are not compensated for overtime. This implies that full-time academics often take advantage of their advantageous position at the expense of part-time teachers, in addition to Ben misusing his power. Sexism is yet another possible ethical issue. Jenny as well as another professor believe that some of the team members may have sexist attitudes since the majority of the tenured professors at that university appear to be men.
- The APA ethical standards' requirement that professionals take action to resolve conflicts between those standards and organizational requirements is one of their strengths. Additionally, the APA ethical standards mandate that any ethical transgression that can endanger an individual or an institution be reported to the appropriate authority. A national committee on professional ethics or an institutional authority are two examples of this power (Dai, 2017).
- The APA ethical guidelines may have a flaw in that they expressly discourage "improper complaints." According to APA, it is discouraged for anyone to make ethical complaints that would refute claims. This can be considered a weakness because, often, someone who complains about their employer is taking a big risk. After reading this section of the code, Jenny, for example, might be worried that if she raises a concern about what she perceives to be abuse within her institution, ethical committees might not take it into account and she might lose her job. The APA code of ethics might benefit from adding more protections for individuals like Jenny in order to compel them to report wrongdoing.
- "The aim justifies the means" is the core principle of utilitarianism. The philosophers Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill came up with the idea. In contrast to the latter, it considers actions' results to be of greater worth. It also asserts that exploiting happiness for the benefit of society is the most moral thing to do (Conway & Gawronski, 2019). As a result, consequentialism is necessary for utilitarianism. Deontology, on the other hand, is a moral theory that is based on the Scriptures and may make reference to laws, moral principles, and intuition. Its roots are in the Greek terms deon and logos, which translate to "study of duty." Immanuel Kant's philosophical tenets serve as its foundation. According to deontology, both the actions and the results must be morally correct (Conway & Gawronski, 2019). It emphasizes that the morality of the action bears higher weight and that the consequences of a bad action are not necessarily the same as the deed itself. Utilitarianism theory provides a more functional framework this case since it focuses on the best possible good, in this case is to have learners study without the interruption of absence their lecturer.
- As can be seen, Jenny has a number of options for resolving this ethical dilemma. The suggested actions follow the Fisher's model. The following steps are part of Fisher's model: 1) establish and maintain a professional commitment to acting morally; 2) become sufficiently informed with the "Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct" of the APA to recognize unanticipated scenarios that call for ethical decision-making and to predict situations that call for ethical planning; 3) assemble additional information from professional standards, local, state, and federal laws, as well as organizational policies, that is pertinent to the particular ethical situation; 4) make an effort to comprehend the viewpoints of various stakeholders who will be impacted by the decision and seek advice from colleagues; 5) use Steps 1 through 4 to produce ethical alternatives, then assess each one in light of moral theories, general ethical norms, applicable laws and policies, and stakeholder implications; 6) decide on and carry out an ethical course of action; 7) keep an eye on and assess the efficacy of the course of action; and 8) if possible and necessary, alter and keep assessing the ethical plan.
- The fact that men hold the majority of full-time posts in this situation in terms of power structure, while women professors appear to be more likely to have part-time employment, is one obvious problem. Jenny should take into account the possibility that sexism influences how this organization is constituted while determining whether to bring up this ethical dilemma even though there is not enough information to understand the situation clearly. Before making a choice, it is important to take into account if ethnicity also affects the organization's power structure. However, there is not enough information to make this determination.
- When all the phases from the selected ethical decision-making model are taken into account, it is clear that Jenny should not submit to Ben's extortion demands without standing up for what she believes is right. Jenny has compelling reasons to believe that the faculty's power structure has encouraged aggressive behavior on the part of some full-time professors because other faculty members—like Rhonda—seem to be suffering abuse as well. Since Jenny is not qualified to teach psychobiology lessons, students may also suffer if she accepts Ben's proposal.
- It appears that unjust demands made by other instructors have affected other part-time instructors, like Rhonda. Jenny faces a more challenging moral choice than it may initially appear because it could have an impact on other faculty members as well. She should thus speak with other adjunct lecturers to ascertain what they anticipate. Rhonda has also been subjected to demands from other professors that appear to be abusive. If that is the case, not just Jenny but a group of adjunct professors should present the ethical case. Jenny may not be able to demonstrate that some professors are acting abusively toward others if other academics choose not to support her. The only sensible course of action Jenny can take in this circumstance is to reject Ben's offer.
- Jenny and the other instructors should think about how their actions might impact the faculty as a whole, including the learners, before acting. The reputation of the faculty could be harmed by a public dispute amongst academics, and staff tensions could even compromise the standard of instruction. This is why Jenny and other adjunct teachers should first think about finding a solution amicably, which is something that is actually advised by APA ethical guidelines. However, it will be morally correct to bring the complaint to an ethical authority if the ethical problem cannot be resolved amicably.
- In conclusion, Jenny and other psychologists frequently face ethical issues that are challenging to resolve since doing so could endanger their personal or professional well-being. In Jenny's situation, the unethical behavior of other instructors, particularly Ben, is fairly clear. Other part-time academics appear to also be subjected to unjust demands made by tenure-track professors, in addition to her subtle coercion. Jenny can make a moral choice by adhering to her profession's ethical norms as well as an ethical decision-making model like the one Fisher suggests. This example demonstrates a phenomenon that has been observed in numerous contexts, namely that abuse can result from seism and power dynamics. Professional groups are not entirely immune to sexism or power structures, which can lead to ethical transgressions. Although making an ethical choice in what appears to be a complex instance is challenging, it is advised that Jenny discuss this issue with other professors and attempt an informal resolution to the ethical quandary in order to safeguard the organization's well-being.
- [Include at least three scholarly research references for this assignment. In addition, Web sites, books, textbooks, and assigned resources may be cited, but they do not count toward the three required references. You must find research articles. Remember to use APA formatting throughout your notes sections.]