Every company or agency expects its employees to conduct themselves ethically while performing their tasks. Making the proper choice for the greater benefit is what ethics is all about. Every person comes across a circumstance where they must make moral decisions in accordance with the rules and regulations of the company. Organizations develop a code of ethics and professional conduct to serve as a guide for employees to follow when making moral decisions. Additionally, social workers are required to abide by an ethics code. The National Association of Social Workers creates a code of ethics for social workers (NASW). Values and principles of ethics guide the NASW code of ethics. The professional code of conduct provides guidelines for ethical decision-making process to resolve ethical conflicts and dilemmas. Every social worker faces an ethical dilemma when performing their duty, whose outcome is neither preferable to the parties involved in the conflict. The ethical decision-making framework is based on supervision and consultation.
Key words: ethical dilemma, supervision, code of ethics, NASW, ethical decision-making.
Becoming a Change Agent
Improving the well-being of individuals is the major aim of social workers. However, in executing their duties, they face ethical conflicts that they cannot resolve, which develop into an ethical dilemma. The ethical dilemmas social workers face can sometimes put their service delivery in jeopardy and threaten the well-being of their clients. Resolving such ethical conflicts requires consultation to ensure that the correct moral decision is made. Social workers are always faced with uncertainty on how to combine their judgment with the set ethical standards to make decisions that promote the well-being of their clients. Many of them face the dilemma of breaking their code of conduct for the greater good or adhering to the same code at the expense of a customer. Are ethical values and principles worth subscribing to if they put the well-being of clients at risk? It is the question most social workers ponder on the daily basis. It is important to note that the ethical values and principles are put in place to help resolve ethical conflicts that might arise in the course of executing one's duties and responsibilities. The purpose of this paper is to examine Herman's case to determine the ethical violations and how supervision and consultation played a role in this particular ethical situation.
Herman's Case
It is the case of Herman, a destitute, who lives in the shanty part of the city. He commits suicide by shooting himself after he stopped receiving the home-delivery meals from a social agency (Segal, Gerdes, & Steiner, 2012). Herman could not access the meals, because he had refused to give up the gun for protective purposes, yet the social agency could not risk the safety of its worker, who was delivering meals to him (Segal et al., 2012). His death is evidence of the ethical conflicts social workers face in their work. The ethical dilemma is how to balance the provision of essential services and the safety of social workers (Segal et al., 2012). This case proves that serious ethical violations took place, and that the ethical decision-making process was not duly followed to prevent the death of Herman.
The major parties involved in this case are the social aid worker, the case manager, center director, and Local Area Agency on Aging. According to National Association of Social Workers code of ethics (2008), the foundational basis for a social worker is to enhance the well-being of an individual and the society. The center director, case manager, the social aid worker, and Local Area Agency on Aging failed in this regard. The center director behaved unethically by ordering the delivery of meals to Herman to be stopped immediately (Segal et al., 2012). The role of the director was to ensure that the basic needs of the people were met to improve their well-being. The director gave priority to the safety of the aid worker despite having no evidence of facing danger than providing food to Herman. Through this action, the director violated the NASW code of ethics on the commitment to clients (NASW, 2008). Moreover, the ethical value of social justice was violated by denying Herman, a World War II hero, access to quality meals despite serving his country selflessly (NASW, 2008). Furthermore, the dignity of Herman was violated by the director on his insistence that he chooses between protecting himself and getting food. It was highly unethical, because Herman had reported several attempts of break-ins to the police in vain, and therefore, had a right to own a gun and protect himself and his property. Moreover, he did not pose any danger to the safety of the aid worker by merely owning a gun.
The role of the case manager was to conduct supervision for the delivery of meals to the various homes in the city. The supervisor was involved in ensuring the quality of service to the needy people. The case manager should have followed up with the police report cards to ascertain that Herman break-in was investigated to reduce his endeavor to protect himself with a gun before authorizing the delivery of meals. Furthermore, the case manager did not set clear rules on boundaries that made the aid worker develop a relationship with the client (NASW, 2008). The manager was also consulted by the center director to resolve the stand-off with Herman over the gun. The difference from supervision is that consultation involves people doing the same job and asking for assistance. The effective consultation could have resolved the ethical dilemma and decide for the greater good.
The role of the social aid worker was to ensure that Herman had his meals delivered at home on time. The social aid worker violated the code of ethics of confidentiality. According to NASW (2008), social workers "should protect the confidentiality of information obtained in the course of professional service except for compelling professional reasons". The worker had no right to casually comment on the presence of a gun in Herman's house with no serious concerns for his/her safety. Moreover, the worker knew the agency's policy on security and understood that the provision of food to the client would be jeopardized by the unexpected revelation. The lack of confidentiality on the aid worker's part demonstrated lack of integrity. It was also unethical for the support worker to develop a relationship with the client. The Local Area Agency on Aging ensured that the needs of the seniors in the society were met to guarantee comfortable lives. They violated their ethical values of service and social justice by refusing to persuade the director not to revoke the delivery of meals to Herman by liability (Segal et al., 2012). The agency knew that the client was vulnerable in society regarding food and security and could have argued for his right to keep his gun, while at the same, receiving home-delivery meals from the social center.
Conclusion
Every professional social worker must adhere to a code of ethics. The ethical values important in social work are integrity, social justice, dignity and worth of a person, competence, and service. Moreover, ethical standards cannot guarantee ethical behavior. Ethical conflicts can be resolved by decision-making process based on adequate supervision and consulted. There was the gross violation of code ethics by the parties involved in Herman's case. The following recommendations would have resolved the ethical conflict in Herman's situation:
The social aid worker should have upheld the confidentiality of information by not revealing the presence of a gun to the center director.
The center director through extensive consultations could have reached a compromise to allow the delivery of meals to Herman until a solution to the gun is found.
The case manager failed in the supervisory role of the social aid by failing to set professional boundaries and emphasizing the need for confidentiality while dealing with clients.
The Local Area Agency on Aging could have taken up the role of providing meals to Herman after the center stopped its services instead of citing liability.
References
NASW. (2008). Code of Ethics. Retrieved on August 23, 2017 from https://www.socialworkers.org/pubs/code/code.asp
Segal, E. A., Gerdes, K., & Steiner, S. (2012). An Introduction to the Profession of Social Work: Becoming a Change Agent. (4th ed.). Brooks Cole.
