Please help with professional ethics paper topic.
January 19, 2016 3:40 PM Subscribe
Hi guys, I just finished a summer from hell finishing my accounting designation. To round off my degree, I need to finish a rather open ended paper, and I'm almost out of brain cells and motivation. The paper need be only 2000 words, so nothing too in-depth is required.
The assignment states: Choose an issue in professional ethics that pertains to a particular type of professional. (the course covered journalist, lawyer, accountant and doctor). Write a critical essay aiming to resolve the issue you pose by considering a range of possible positions on the issue. In your analysis, you will provide arguments and reasons that also show why the positions that you reject are less satisfactory from an ethical perspective than the position you defend. The goal of this assignment is to defend the most ethically satisfactory position on your chosen issue as well as showing why the alternative positions are ethically less satisfactory.
This doesn't sound too hard, but for some reason I'm drawing a blank. I haven't ran into any real world ethical issues in my career to date, and all the issues I've googled and we've covered, like say, medical disclosure, or whether lawyers owe a duty of care to clients even if they know they're guilty, seem too complex and unwieldy for a 2,000 word paper. All the other assignments have been pre-selected and easy in comparison. Thanks in advance.
The assignment states: Choose an issue in professional ethics that pertains to a particular type of professional. (the course covered journalist, lawyer, accountant and doctor). Write a critical essay aiming to resolve the issue you pose by considering a range of possible positions on the issue. In your analysis, you will provide arguments and reasons that also show why the positions that you reject are less satisfactory from an ethical perspective than the position you defend. The goal of this assignment is to defend the most ethically satisfactory position on your chosen issue as well as showing why the alternative positions are ethically less satisfactory.
This doesn't sound too hard, but for some reason I'm drawing a blank. I haven't ran into any real world ethical issues in my career to date, and all the issues I've googled and we've covered, like say, medical disclosure, or whether lawyers owe a duty of care to clients even if they know they're guilty, seem too complex and unwieldy for a 2,000 word paper. All the other assignments have been pre-selected and easy in comparison. Thanks in advance.
Response by poster: Sorry, not to threadsit - I don't want the issues to be too clear cut - the first two examples are hard to defend on any ethical basis, leading to a foregone conclusion. The third one has potential though - thank you.
posted by tatiana131 at 3:48 PM on January 19, 2016
posted by tatiana131 at 3:48 PM on January 19, 2016
A political podcast I listen to just discussed something that would fall into the journalist category: You discover something controversial/tabloid worthy but not necessarily politically relevant about a candidate running for political office (think something like an affair). Do you have an obligation not to report on the story because you believe it is not relevant to the person's qualifications for office? Or an obligation to report since some voters may care, and it's not your job to judge that for them?
If you can branch out from the four professions listed above, I know a situation often discussed among academics I know is grade inflation. If you are a lecturer/adjunct with little job security, do you have an ethical obligation to try and combat grade inflation, even though it could hurt course evaluations (and thus your future job prospects)?
posted by rainbowbrite at 3:54 PM on January 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
If you can branch out from the four professions listed above, I know a situation often discussed among academics I know is grade inflation. If you are a lecturer/adjunct with little job security, do you have an ethical obligation to try and combat grade inflation, even though it could hurt course evaluations (and thus your future job prospects)?
posted by rainbowbrite at 3:54 PM on January 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
Another one that occurs to me in the medical field would be working for a Catholic hospital that denies women reproductive health care. There are numerous court cases about this issue out there that you could look at (for example: here and here). The ethical questions to explore might be: if you are a doctor who believes women deserve full and equal access to health care, should you take a job at a Catholic hospital? What if it's the only one in your area? Should you take the job and do some of these procedures even if you were forced to sign an agreement when hired saying you would not? Etc. etc.
posted by rainbowbrite at 3:58 PM on January 19, 2016
posted by rainbowbrite at 3:58 PM on January 19, 2016
I think a serious issue that is live in the world is the selling things to people that they shouldn't buy. I'm thinking things like mortgages they can't afford to pay, or insurance with the wrong coverage. Or selling the product that brings the best commission for you rather than the one that is best for the buyer.
The are lots of pills and creams for sale that have no therapeutic value, and some that can be harmful.
posted by SemiSalt at 4:37 PM on January 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
The are lots of pills and creams for sale that have no therapeutic value, and some that can be harmful.
posted by SemiSalt at 4:37 PM on January 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
I had a similar assignment in my teaching degree. The case in question was a new teacher removing student files from the school grounds in order to read them at home to understand her students better. The files were then stolen from her car. Removing files without permission was an ethical (and legal) breach however the teacher had a moral reason for accessing the files - getting to know her students. I came down very hard on the teacher in my essay response but the marker suggested I was too hard on her as her moral reasoning was valid (if inappropriately enacted).
posted by Thella at 4:39 PM on January 19, 2016
posted by Thella at 4:39 PM on January 19, 2016
Best answer: I competed in Ethics Bowl in college - which is basically philosophy students competitively arguing applied ethics cases, often drawn from recent events. From this year's regional cases (pdf), it looks like Case 4 (forced chemotherapy on a non-consenting minor) & Case 10 (a doctor coming out of retirement to give out pain meds) are good medical cases. This year's national cases (pdf) have some more good medical cases - Case 2 (medical doctors diagnosing commercial pilots to avoid having unsafe pilots in the air), Case 6 (advance directives), and Case 11 (doctors participating in or observing the torture of Gitmo detainees).
No good lawyer, accountant, or journalist cases this year, but there have definitely been all three in years past if you want to look through the case archives.
posted by Jaclyn at 4:52 PM on January 19, 2016 [7 favorites]
No good lawyer, accountant, or journalist cases this year, but there have definitely been all three in years past if you want to look through the case archives.
posted by Jaclyn at 4:52 PM on January 19, 2016 [7 favorites]
For legal professionals, an ethical problem might arise around potential conflicts of duty or interest. A lawyer representing a company X in negotiations with company Y suddenly inherits shares in that company Y. Should she (a) refuse to represent X in the negotiations any more; (b) immediately sell the shares in Y and carry on representing X; (c) keep the shares and continue to represent X, promising herself that she will not allow her personal stake in Y to influence her job performance; or (d) disclose the inheritance to X and leave the decision to the client.
posted by Aravis76 at 4:53 PM on January 19, 2016
posted by Aravis76 at 4:53 PM on January 19, 2016
And one for medics: a patient comes to a doctor and asks whether a given procedure creates any risk of a particular harm. The procedure does create a small (<5%) risk of that harm. The doctor knows the patient has a very anxious temperament and may refuse the procedure altogether if the risk is disclosed. The doctor also considers that it is in the patient's best interests to undergo the procedure (say the patient's long-term health will be seriously compromised if they don't undergo the procedure). Should the doctor disclose the risk?
posted by Aravis76 at 4:57 PM on January 19, 2016
posted by Aravis76 at 4:57 PM on January 19, 2016
For accountant, doctor, or lawyer...what are the ethics of practicing for a family member? Most professional associations consider it unethical but.. the truth is that most practitioners do it all the time.
Storing client files on a smartphone.
One of the hard ones they ask you in law school is what do you do if you know someone will die if you don't violate privilege. For example, a kidnapping where the perpetrator has been arrested but the kid is still alive somewhere but noone knows where. If the client will tell you and not the court...
Is gene editing ethical if it passes down to future generations and we can't possibly know the implications of that yet?
Something that actually affected an acquaintance: Is it ever ok to post about a case you are involved with on Facebook? When?
posted by eleanna at 4:58 PM on January 19, 2016
Storing client files on a smartphone.
One of the hard ones they ask you in law school is what do you do if you know someone will die if you don't violate privilege. For example, a kidnapping where the perpetrator has been arrested but the kid is still alive somewhere but noone knows where. If the client will tell you and not the court...
Is gene editing ethical if it passes down to future generations and we can't possibly know the implications of that yet?
Something that actually affected an acquaintance: Is it ever ok to post about a case you are involved with on Facebook? When?
posted by eleanna at 4:58 PM on January 19, 2016
One common journalistic ethics dilemma: Do you sit on a story damaging for a source in order to be assured more, better stories from the source in the future?
One less common but more meaty journalistic ethics dilemma: A source discloses sensitive material which is important to the public interest but is illegal to leak. For example, that can include sealed court or police records, or military secrets. The police ask you to reveal your source. Do you? (One thing that I think makes this particularly meaty is that it's largely governed by state press shield laws, meaning that in some states you are protected from having to reveal the information, and in some states you're not and can be sent to prison for contempt if you refuse.)
posted by klangklangston at 6:58 PM on January 19, 2016
One less common but more meaty journalistic ethics dilemma: A source discloses sensitive material which is important to the public interest but is illegal to leak. For example, that can include sealed court or police records, or military secrets. The police ask you to reveal your source. Do you? (One thing that I think makes this particularly meaty is that it's largely governed by state press shield laws, meaning that in some states you are protected from having to reveal the information, and in some states you're not and can be sent to prison for contempt if you refuse.)
posted by klangklangston at 6:58 PM on January 19, 2016
A student, with an imposing deadline to write an essay on professional ethics has no ideas. Is it acceptable for them to crowd-source ideas in a public forum. They will be writing the essay on their own, just get the initial spark from an outside source. Is it ethical for an outside source to suggest the ethical dilemma the student was in originally, and if the student chose to use it and ended up defending it as unethical should the student fail the course?
posted by koolkat at 5:11 AM on January 20, 2016 [5 favorites]
posted by koolkat at 5:11 AM on January 20, 2016 [5 favorites]
Your manager asks you to organize a project for his/her team. They need to evaluate a product or service offered by several vendors, and choose one. It will cost a million or so over a year or two.
You check in with all the vendors, chat with the marketers, gather some brochures, make some charts, etc.
Then you get a few calls from one of their CEOs, who gradually raises the following:
1. Just checking in to say hello.
2. Want to be sure we're on the radar.
3. Any questions we could answer?
4. Btw, what's your availability?
5. Because we really need a tatiana 131.
6. And we offer a competitive package.
7. And of course you could work from home every day.
8. And pretty much be your own boss.
9. Did I mention we offer a VERY competitive package?
The ethical question is: At what point do you notify your manager of these conversations?
Happened to me in the auto industry. I didn't even know it was happening. But I think I answered the ethical question.
posted by LonnieK at 6:39 PM on January 20, 2016 [1 favorite]
You check in with all the vendors, chat with the marketers, gather some brochures, make some charts, etc.
Then you get a few calls from one of their CEOs, who gradually raises the following:
1. Just checking in to say hello.
2. Want to be sure we're on the radar.
3. Any questions we could answer?
4. Btw, what's your availability?
5. Because we really need a tatiana 131.
6. And we offer a competitive package.
7. And of course you could work from home every day.
8. And pretty much be your own boss.
9. Did I mention we offer a VERY competitive package?
The ethical question is: At what point do you notify your manager of these conversations?
Happened to me in the auto industry. I didn't even know it was happening. But I think I answered the ethical question.
posted by LonnieK at 6:39 PM on January 20, 2016 [1 favorite]
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You're a doctor, your patient wants you to up their opiate prescription for vague reasons, none of which are supported by their symptoms.
You're a journalist who has uncovered serious legal breaches by an elected official, but you found out courtesy of entirely off-the record statements.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 3:44 PM on January 19, 2016