Task 5c

Task 5c

Reader 5- What I have learnt

   Before going through Reader 5, my knowledge on ethics was quite limited, only briefly going over it in Module 1. I now have a much better understanding of the subject and how important it is in both my professional and personal life to abide by ethical practices that are put in place.
    What is important to realise is ethics are not always black and white, but often there is a grey area of uncertainty. One must always question whether the acts they are carrying our are good and whether they are necessary. I have to constantly ask myself these questions when carrying out any investigations as I do not wish to upset or affect anyone's life negatively though my investigations. As the term 'ethics' originates from the Greek word 'ethos' (meaning character), it prompts me to question decisions I make and if it reflects my character in a good way. each if the three main contexts; personal, professional and organisational come into practice within my life, particularly when entertaining within care homes as it covers such a vast spectrum of people and circumstances.
    Case Study 1 'Mid Staffordshire Inquiry Unhealthy System', raised many questions for me as it directly affected so many people's lives on a number of levels. How did all these top professionals not realise so many people were at risk? Why was a public inquiry denied? Who's door do these ethical responsibilities lie?
    I think the ethical issues stand on all levels; personal, professional, organisational and even societal.

Personal- People were dying unnecessarily, under other peoples care who were consciously making decisions that directly effected them. Why did people in authority not know? If you are placed in that position of power, you have a moral responsibility to ensure people are as safe as possible. Francis has an obligation (personal and professional) to bring the situation to light to certify it won't happen again.
Professional- As a medical practice, supposedly holding one of the longest established ethical systems, where were these ethics during this time? This applies to the ethical values from the very bottom all the way to the top and the CEO of the NHS.
Organisational/ Societal- This issue lies deeper into the way the NHS is run. The NHS have no moral obligation to be honest when things go wrong. As one of the largest and most important systems in our country, I feel this is ethically wrong, particularly when people's health and lives are at stake. It is also interesting to know that community health councils were abolished over ten years ago, making it a struggle for patients voices to be heard.

Where do the limits for responsibility lie?
   Predominantly for me I feel Nicholson and Bower are most responsible. As head of Mid Staff hospitals, they must have a clear overview of all operations throughout the staff; from healthcare workers,nurses and doctors to auditors and managers. If the 'pivotal cog' in a machine does not operate effectively, then how can the machine be expected to run efficiently?
   However I do feel there are overlaps, as although it is largely their responsibility, they were not physically the ones looking after the patients. Therefore you would have to investigate the medical staff in the hospitals. It is difficult to decipher who is most to blame, and would need much more investigation to enable the whole truth to be resolved.

  This case study was a very useful way to gain a better understanding of these issues and how it can filter through many levels. When conducting my own inquiry I must not only consider one platform e.g personal, but ensure all grounds are covered for a complete ethically responsible inquiry.

Evolution of ethics

'Most ancient thinkers, including Aristotle were concerned with the character of an individual. In considering this they would look at what makes a person good, or what virtues an individual could have.' After reading this section, I made a list of virtues that were relevant to myself, my professional life and how they could effect my career if I did not hold these values. Aristotle 'considered virtues to be mid-points between two extremes' so I found extremes of each virtue to find the mid point.


Virtue-          Extremes

Confident----  reserved and arrogant
Hardworking---- lazy and workaholic
Approachable---- shy and overwhelming
Ambitious----settled and dreamer.

These are virtues I think are essential to be both a performer and working with people within care homes. I pride myself on being an honest caring person, who can be approached easily and provide a confident and professional performance.
   

Case study 2- photography in Ethics.

   This photo, was a huge ethical dilemma which provoked many debates within the media and ethical arguments for years.
Having studied the different theoretical approaches to ethics I came up with points from each view to see how they differ.

Consequentialist View
* His role of an 'observing photographer' is irrelevant if another human life is at stake.
* The photographers were told not to approach anyone as there were risks of an epidemic and catching illnesses- a moral struggle of risking your safety for the life of another?

Deontologist View
* His action was wrong and he should have taken action and helped the dying girl rather than stand back and observe,


Virtue Ethicist View
*  He was obviously guilty about his action. Does this mean because his morals were good, yet he had to obey rules means he did the right thing?

    This case study demonstrates the battle between professional boundaries and what is morally right. I have learnt the different approaches to ethics and depending on your theoretical viewpoint, the ethics can change and have a completely different  point of view. It poses an important question about what you choose to show on social media. What may be an interesting or thought provoking to one person, could be highly offensive to another.


Case Study 3- The Dance class

   This was obviously useful as it directly related to my profession, and by analysing this case I could break down clearly what ethical issues occur everyday in the performing arts industry.
   The issues raised in this case were;

*  Teachers only spending one minute on warm ups- not good for students health and well being. Also teaching them bad habits.

* When interviewing the school owner- they said they were running a business, having to pay rents and earning money. What the teachers do in the class is 'their business' and 'a full studio is better than an empty one'. Business interests come before teaching standards.

* Teacher 2- Belittled one dancer and the whole class ignored it. When he was interviewed he said 'I am only preparing her for the real world, if she can't survive a bit of criticism in my class she is not going to last long in a dance company'

Descriptive ethics-
No warm ups run the risk of injury. Bullying/singling someone out is a bad teaching method. Not caring he may have upset someone, lack of compassion which is a desirable trait for a teacher to have.

Theoretical Normative Ethics-
Being a bully is a bad virtue, therefore singling someone out and being negative, no matter what the intention is wrong. He could have communicated in a more positive and professional manner. I feel in this instance it is ethically wrong as it will humiliate and single out the dancer, lowering her self esteem.

   However you could argue this teaching method is ethical on the grounds he actually has good intentions of preparing her for the real world. Relativism comes into this as sometimes the performance industry is tough, and often it is deemed acceptable to be shouted at and not be considered a bully. I personally feel, as a teacher myself, there are far better approaches than being unnecessarily harsh on someone.

   Overall this Reader clarified just how important attention to detail is regarding ethics within an inquiry. Along with the previous device, I now know many codes of conduct and systems that help me conduct a responsible inquiry that will be beneficial to myself and also the people involved.