Ethical Issue 1
Ms. Carlan said “I feel a little uncomfortable coming to you. But, quite frankly, I don’t know what else to do.”
“Well, please feel free, Ms. Carlan,” you replied, hoping to put her at ease. “My job is to be available for employees with problems or concerns.”
She began her explanation. “It all began about three months ago. I had started working in the policy analysis and budget section of the department as an analyst. After completing my business administration degree, I was quite excited to find work that would challenge me. Well, I work for Jim Landers, the section chief, and he gave me some very interesting assignments. I had my first big presentation at the Mid-Winter Retreat. I had prepared and rehearsed dozens of times because I knew I’d be in front of my peers as well as the director of administration, Mr. Wallings. I had only met him once before, during my orientation to our section.
“My presentation went very well. That night we all went out for drinks, dinner, and dancing. There must have been ten of us or so. My boss was there, as well as Mr. Wallings. Everyone seemed to be trying to score points with Mr. Wallings throughout the evening, but I really didn’t even have a chance to talk with him. Then everyone started dancing. After about an hour, I danced with Mr. Wallings. He was highly complementary about my presentation and told me what a bright future I had ahead of me. I was, of course, flattered. We spoke for a while after dancing.
“At about midnight, I went to my room to prepare for the next day’s session. I was in my room about 45 minutes when there was a knock on my door. It was Paul Wallings. He said he had to talk with me, so I let him in. He had a drink in his hand, and it was evident to me that he had had a few drinks too many. He made a few passes at me, but I rejected them, telling him that I didn’t get involved with people at work. He seemed stunned at the rejection and left my room angrily after about ten minutes. He basically avoided me for the rest of the retreat.
“We got back to the office the following day, and I plunged into my work. Then it began. My boss, Jim Landers, started giving me assignments that, quite frankly, were beneath me. He really started scrutinizing my work and excluded me from some of the management-development programs that ordinarily I would have attended. Then, I had my three-month appraisal; I was told by Mr. Landers that my work was less than satisfactory, that I wasn’t showing enough initiative, and that my professional and personal skills in the office were lacking. I couldn’t believe it. After I prompted him, he told me that both he and Mr. Wallings thought my presentation at the retreat had been ‘a sophomoric job.’
“That’s when things clicked. I realized that Mr. Wallings was getting back at me through my boss for rejecting his advances and that since that time, my job, the working condition, the environment, and my boss’ attitude had changed dramatically.
“I couldn’t tell my boss about it because I believed he would think it was a ‘female’ way of retaliating for a poor performance review. But I really think that it was Paul Wallings who was calling the shots and my boss was just the messenger who delivered Wallings’ orders.”
QUESTIONS that must be answer
1. As personnel director for this organization, what are your legal- ethical obligation?
Note- write about him as a supervisor- his ethical responsibility as a supervisor- his ethical obligation. (Compliance with Laws, Rules and Regulations, Reporting Illegal or Unethical Behavior)
2. Use an ethical decision-making model to outline how you would respond to.
Note-(book) Ethical, Legal, and Professional Issues in Counseling, 6E Pg 15-17 ethical decision making MODELS (PICK Any ethical MODEL) take about the DIFFERENT parts of the model
3. How does critical thinking fit into how you responded.
Note- go to the critical thinking reference
