Criteria for Ethical Problem-Solving Essay
Using Cooper’s criteria for ethical problem solving and his distinction between objective and subjective responsibility find an example in the Encyclopedia of Ethical Failure and apply his steps for ethical problem solving. Be careful to identify the objective and subjective responsibilities and who faced them in the example. Also indicate if there is a utilitarian aspect to the proposed resolution of the conflict.
The Encyclopedia of Ethical Failure (EEF) (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. is a series of case studies that illustrates poor judgment on the part of United States federal employees. In general, an ethical failure is a bad decision that intentionally or unintentionally breaks a law, transgresses a compliance mandate or violates an organization’s code of conduct.
The EEF is published by the Standards of Conduct Office of the United States Department of Defense (DoD) General Counsel’s Office as a training tool. The purpose of the tool is to provoke discussion by illustrating the serious consequences of ethics violations. The goal is ultimately to motivate federal employees to contact their agency’s ethics counselors when in doubt about the right way to handle a situation.
Cautionary tales in the EEF are organized by category. EEF categories include:
- Abuse of position
- Bribery
- Conflicts of interest
- Credit card abuse
- Financial disclosure violations
- Fraud
- Gambling and other contest violations
- Gift violations
- Misuse of government resources and personnel
- Time and attendance violations
- Travel violations
To help organize your ideas, you may refer back to the Case Study Template (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.; however, keep in mind that you are required to submit a 2- to 3-page essay—not a table—for this assignment. Submit your assignment to the Critical for Ethical Problem-Solving Essay drop box by Thursday, day 3.
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Criteria for Ethical Problem-Solving Essay
Assignment Number 1
Using Cooper’s criteria for ethical problem solving and his distinction between objective and subjective responsibility find an example in the Encyclopedia of Ethical Failure and apply his steps for ethical problem solving. Be careful to identify the objective and subjective responsibilities and who faced them in the example. Also indicate if there is a utilitarian aspect to the proposed resolution of the conflict.
To help organize your ideas, you may refer back to the Case Study Template (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.; however, keep in mind that you are required to submit a 2- to 3-page essay—not a table—for this assignment.
Assignment Number 2
You just wrote an essay describing a circumstance in your professional life when you made or should have made a decision applying his steps for ethical problem solving. You identified both the objective and subjective responsibilities you faced, and you indicated if there was a utilitarian aspect to the resolution of your conflict.
Now it’s time to share that experience with your colleagues.
Applying the Steps Discussion
Summarize your Criteria for Ethical Problem-Solving essay into 1 to 2 paragraphs and post your summary for your colleagues to read by Thursday, day 3. Post a response to at least two colleagues reacting to their summaries and insights by Friday, day 4. Remember: you are posting to begin a conversation (not to give a lecture), so avoid a cut and paste of your essay and distill your paragraph to the essence of your experience or observation.
