Review the activities on pages 158 & 159 of your textbook. Select one activity from Activities 1-4 (do not write about all 4 scenarios), and write a response to the scenario using the 10-step decision-making process discussed in chapter 5. Each step should be explained in at least one paragraph, and the 10 paragraphs should state your course of action and why you made the decisions you did. Note: I realize some of these scenarios are controversial. The point of the assignment is not whether you make a ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ decision. You will be graded on whether you critically think through your decision and are able to explain it using the 10-step method from the textbook. Even if I don’t personally agree with your final decision, that will not have an impact on your grade. Applying the Ethical Decision-Making Process Now let us see if we can apply this decision-making process to the profession of health education/promotion. A health education specialist, let’s call her Anne (pronouns: she/her/hers), is employed by an organization and is in charge of the organization’s employee health promotion program. Based on the results of the health risk assessments (HRA) taken by employees, Anne is aware that one employee, “high up in the organization” (e.g., school principal or department manager), is a consistent abuser of alcohol. The person’s supervisor is aware of the situation but has ignored it. The employee in question is well liked within the organization and is a good employee. To the best of Anne’s knowledge, alcohol has not impacted this person’s work performance, but she feels it has the potential to do so. Anne is not sure if the alcohol has impacted the employee’s personal life. What should Anne do with this information? Let’s look at how we might analyze this situation using the 10-step process presented on the previous pages. Step 1. Define the problem, identify the ethical issue, and gather relevant information. The problem is that the employee is abusing a substance, and the health education specialist knows it, as does the employee’s supervisor. Is it an ethical problem? Anne knows that an alcohol-impaired person can harm themselves and others, either intentionally or unintentionally, and thus has an obligation to protect their health (see Article I, Section 4, of Appendix A). Anne also knows she has an obligation to protect the privacy of the employees (see Article I, Section 6, of Appendix A). To Anne, this appears to be an ethical situation because of the two competing issues. Anne has decided to get more information before acting. She decides to look at the employee handbook to see if anything like this appears there. She also decides to ask her own supervisor for guidance and check with the Human Resources (HR) Department for information. And, finally, she looks to see when the employee is scheduled for their HRA feedback appointment. Step 2. Identify who will be affected. Anne is aware that, depending on what actions are taken, the parties impacted by those actions are the employee, the employee’s supervisor, the organization and its reputation, family members of the employee, and even Anne herself and her supervisor. Step 3. Contemplate the ultimate goals and ideals. Anne wants to do what is ethically right. From a theoretical point of view, Anne embraces the deontological viewpoint of dealing with ethical situations. In other words, she believes that the ends do not justify the means. She is trying to make sense of how that applies to this situation. Step 4. Identify the alternatives (viable courses of action). Anne sees the following as viable courses of action: (1) Approach the employee’s supervisor and ask them to handle it; (2) Talk to the employee about it at their scheduled HRA feedback appointment; (3) Turn the information over to the HR Department to let someone there deal with the problem; (4) Turn the information over to their supervisor so that it can be dealt with at the managers’ level; (5) Do nothing until something happens because of the employee’s alcohol use; or (6) Do nothing at all. Step 5. Consider the consequences of the alternatives. Here are the consequences Anne sees with each of the alternatives she identified in Step 4: Alternative 1—The supervisor may do nothing or may now be forced to act because someone else is aware of the situation. This may lead to the employee’s dismissal, or the employee may get the help they need, or the supervisor may decide not to act on the information. Alternative 2—This alternative would protect the employee’s privacy, bring the problem to the attention of the employee, and let the employee act without others knowing about it. Anne also knows that the employee may not take the feedback session well and “blow up” at Anne. Alternative 3—This alternative places the situation in the hands of those trained to deal with them effectively. Depending on the organization’s policy, it may also lead to the employee’s dismissal, or the employee may get the help they need. Alternative 4—Similar to Alternatives 2 and 4, it places the problem in someone else’s hands and would probably have much the same consequences as those two alternatives. Alternative 5—Nothing may ever come of the employee’s alcohol abuse, or some serious harm may come to the employee or someone around them. Or Alternative 6—Doing nothing at all, which would change nothing. The employee possibly will continue as a good employee with no problem for themselves or others, or harm could come to the employee, their coworkers, or members of the employee’s family. Step 6. Consider the nature of the alternatives. Anne does not feel that by acting she would be violating any human ideals or intrinsic moral rules or values. She does feel; however, that she cannot do “nothing.” She does not like the alternatives, but she feels an ethical obligation to act. Anne may be facing an ethical dilemma. Step 7. Reflect on yourself. Anne knows that if she does nothing, she will not be able to live with herself because she sees herself as a moral person. But she is concerned about being seen as the “goody-goody” employee or even a “tattle tale” or an employee who cannot be trusted with confidential information. Step 8. Reflect on society and the environment. Anne had a hard time reasoning through this step of the process. Because a large percentage of U.S. adults consume alcohol, she feels that society in general may see the employee’s situation as “none of her business.” But she still sees a need to act. Step 9. Apply the categorical imperative. Anne feels she needs to act because it is her duty. She wonders what kind of health education specialist she would be if she was not concerned about the health of a coworker and the possible harm that coworker could bring to self or others. She feels that she needs to be a role model for others. Step 10. Choose an alternative, provide a rationale, act, and monitor the results. Anne decided to act by talking to the employee about the alcohol abuse at her scheduled HRA feedback appointment. She chose this approach not only because it does not violate the employee’s privacy but because it also tries to protect both the employee’s health and that of those around them. If this approach does not induce the employee to change, Anne feels that she may need to take further action. As you can see, moral decisions are not easy to make. They are not to be taken lightly, and responsible action is important. Remember, this decision will not occur in a vacuum; the “ideal” decision may not be the best decision. What do you think about Anne’s actions?
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