Why Choose an Ethical Framework?

When we are new to a field, or when we need to deliberate about an unexpected dilemma which has arisen in the course of our work, using a framework guides us. Using a framework that is new to us can help us to consider- examine - issues we may not have taken the time to have considered, without having had that framework to take us on that unexpected journey. And when those dilemmas get wound up with ethical principles and values, we need to explore what has occurred and use “professionally accepted decision-making models” that fit our context (Parsons & Dickinson, 2017, p. 213; Swanson & Fouad, 2020).

We tend to repeat what we know: we are predictable beings, and we can simply 'rinse repeat' when doing familiar tasks. But when we take the time to see situations from another's perspective, our focus can shift, and we may suddenly see our field, problem, or opportunity anew. That has immense power. If there are frameworks in this post which we have used before, trying one we are unfamiliar with may help us to reach a destination at "the end of all our exploring [we] will [...] arrive where we started, and know the place for the first time" (Gardner, 1985, p. 897).

That is a very powerful aspect of reframing which gives us new insights, changes how we think of our rights and responsibilities. These shifts allow us to grow.

I have explored three ethical frameworks that we can consider, as follows: 

• Welfel (2016) with the model detailed here; 
• Bond (2005), which the 6 step model used in the CDANZ (2020) webinar (here), and which you can read more about here; and 
• Velasquez et al. (2009), where we can explore the six lenses here, and the ten questions to ask here. Further, there is a simple set of four questions which we can ask, which was based on the very early work that Velasquez was involved in by Cavanagh et al (1981), which can be explored here.

If anyone finds other ethical frameworks, please share them with me: it is always great to collect new tools for our kete! 

The choice of which to use, though, as always, is ours.

Sam

References:

Bond, T. (2005). Standards and Ethics for Counselling in Action (Counselling in Action series) (3rd ed.). SAGE Publications Ltd.

Cavanagh, G. F., Moberg, D. J., & Velasquez, M. (1981). The Ethics of Organizational Politics. Academy of Management Review 6(3), 363-374. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.1981.4285767

CDANZ. (2020, October 29). CDANZ Webinar: Ethical scenarios in career practice [video]. Career Development Association of New Zealand. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1f7-cmGvGxUGK9KZraXheRaR6En2N57HE/view

Parsons, R. D., & Dickinson, K. L. (2017). Ethical practice in the human services from knowing to being. SAGE Publications Inc.

Swanson, J. L., & Fouad, N. A. (2020). Career theory and practice: learning through case studies. Sage Publications

Velasquez, M., Moberg, D., Meyer, M. J., Shanks, T., McLean, M. R., DeCosse, D., André, C., Kirk, O., & Hanson, K. O. (2009). A Framework for Ethical Decision Making. Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University. https://www.scu.edu/ethics/ethics-resources/a-framework-for-ethical-decision-making/

Velasquez, M., André, C., Shanks, T., & Meyer, M. J. (2015). Thinking Ethically. Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University. https://www.scu.edu/ethics/ethics-resources/ethical-decision-making/thinking-ethically/

Welfel, E. R. (2016). Ethics in counseling and psychotherapy: Standards, research, and emerging issues (6th ed.). Cengage Learning.