Is Professional Objectivity Important?

 

            The Ethical Standards for Human Service Professionals were developed to assist the Human Service Professionals through challenging ethical dilemmas. In order for the Ethical Standards to be beneficial, it requires an understanding of an individual’s objectivity or judgment, and this…requires more than reading. It requires action. The professional must work on their characteristic strengths and weaknesses. So, what is professional objectivity and why is it important?

Susan Manning explains that “the level of moral judgment of a leader reflects one’s ability to identify with the experience, feelings, opinions, values, and meanings of those involved in an ethical dilemma…” thus the individual’s moral judgment takes time to develop (p.104). The individual’s judgment is influenced by several factors: their family, their friends, the environment in which they were raised, and so on so forth. If an individual learns to use their moral judgment in a sound way, then in time their moral judgment will transform into ethical “reasoning” (Manning, p.106). When the individual is old enough to work, then their moral judgment will develop into their professional objectivity. The individual’s morals will play a role in determining what actions/behaviors are right or wrong. Nevertheless, the society that they live in, and work in, will have a set of standards that the individual will be expected to follow. In the end, each individual’s choice will show if they are or are not upholding the ethical standards of their profession. Regardless of others, Human Service Leaders have a moral obligation (a duty) to uphold the Ethical Standards for the Human Service professional.

Pierre Kletz defines morals as, “What lies beyond that is a logic of procedures as opposed to a submission to duties: the idea is not to do what morality dictates without thinking of the consequences of one's actions for oneself; rather, through morality, one may find the "best" action (not in ethical but in qualitative terms) to achieve one's goal” (p.12). As an ethical leader, it is important to reflect on ourselves, because we need to know what we are doing, and why we are doing it. This awareness helps an individual to be emotionally stable and to serve as an example to their employee’s. On the flip side, leader’s have the ability to hinder their employees. When a leader fails to recognize that their actions impact more than themselves, then they fail not only the organization that they work for but the community as well.

Any organization and community will benefit from ethical reasoning and leadership, because it is not a selfish act. According to Carolyn Wiley (2000), “Five key professional ethics codes in HRM are analyzed according to six obligations. The resulting characterizations revealed that these codes advocate five principles related to: integrity, legality, proficiency, loyalty, and confidentiality” (pg.1). The ethical standards for human service professionals are an important set of standards that guide human service professionals in their ethical decisions, but they don’t cover all conflicts that might arise.

For example, Statement 1 from the Ethical Standards for Human Service Professionals maintains that “Human Service professionals negotiate with clients the purpose, goals, and nature of the helping relationship…” and statement 2 goes on to say “Human Service Professionals respect the integrity and welfare of the client at all times. Each client is treated with respect, acceptance, and dignity” (p.2).  So, how should the Human Service Professional deal with the power that they have over their client? What if they find pleasure in ‘Exaltation of power’ as explained by Longlin.

Longlin reasoned that  “the masses may continue to support political leaders even if they act foolishly and against their interest, because along with those in power they share with the illusion of being protected against anxiety.” Some of the clients that come for help might be court ordered to attend, so would the Human Service Professional hold this power over the clients head or will they search for creative solutions, to encourage the client to develop their thinking and to help them change. Longlin described power as an “end to itself because of the prevalence of narcissistic and destructive parts of the self.” He believed that this abuse of power could be found in ‘political institutions’ and ‘public and private social institutions.’ The question that each individual needs to ask is – How will I use the power of authority that is given to me? How will I lead?

Robert Nash insists that all individuals that work with people need to be able to advocate. There are four attributes that he feels are essential to do this, and the first one is Humility “which means that we work hard to attribute the best motive to others, whenever they take the risk to express their thoughts in public (even, especially, when they honestly acknowledge their ignorance, based on stereotypes).” The second attribute is Faith, and he defines it as “trusting that what we hear from another is worthwhile in some way, if only, and especially, to the social justice speaker” he implores individuals to go further by having “confidence that what others have to offer about their understanding of social justice, no matter how different from ours, might even be valuable to us in some way.” The next characteristic is Self-denial “the inclination to acknowledge that we are willing, and able, to search for the truth in what we oppose, and the error in what we espouse, at least initially. It means avoiding the opposites of self-denial: arrogance, unwavering certainty, and self-righteousness.” Finally, the last attribute that Nash feels is needed is Charity. Charity is “looking for the good in others… This, of course, does not mean ignoring, or excusing, errors in judgment, faulty reasoning, or one-sided zealotry”. According to Nash, there are many conflicts that can be avoided if people “learn how to talk with one another about the hottest of hot topics” (2010). This information follows along with several of the Ethical Standards for Human Service Professionals that deals with accepting clients, knowing ourselves, and cultural differences.

            Professional objectivity is important, because it helps to play a responsible role in the world. The concept of objectivity shows that there is the potential for individuals to demonstrate that there is no distinction to be drawn between duties to others. Transformational leadership encourages empowerment; and that, it is possible to make ethically sound decisions that will benefit not only the individual, but also those around the individual. In this case, sound decisions will benefit the client, the organization, and in the end the community.

Reference

Council for Standards in Human Service Education adopted 1996. Ethical Standards for Human Service Professionals. Retrieved September 4, 2012, from http://www.nationalhumanservices.org/ethical-standards-for-hs-professionals .

Lewin, C., & Colley, H. (2011). Professional capacity for 14-19 career guidance in England: some baseline data. British Journal Of Guidance & Counselling, 39(1), 1-24. doi:10.1080/03069885.2010.531381

Longhin, L. (2011). Thirteen: Psychoanalysis and social and political conflicts. Contemporary Psychoanalytic Studies, 13307-329.

Manning, Susan. (2003). Ethical Leadership in Human Services: A Multi-Dimensional Approach. Pearson, Allyn and Beacon, New York.

Nash, R. J. (2010). “What is the best way to be a social justice advocate?”: Communication strategies for effective social justice advocacy. About Campus, 15(2), 11-19. doi:10.1002/abc.20017

Van Hooft, S. (2011). Caring, objectivity and justice: An integrative view. Nursing Ethics, 18(2), 149-60. doi: 10.1177/0969733010388927