Ethics and Social Work: A Critical Analysis

The provided document is an annotated bibliography for an assignment on ethics and social work. It presents a collection of sources that critically examine the intersection of ethics and social welfare, values and ethics in social work practice, media ethics and accountability systems, law for social workers, business ethics, bioethical approaches to occupational therapy, utilitarian and deontological approaches to criminal justice ethics, human behavior theory and professional social work practice, empowerment series, research methods for social work, and multicultural social work practice. The sources include books, articles, and journals that offer diverse perspectives on ethics in social work, providing a comprehensive understanding of the subject.

Ethics, Values and Legal
Context of Social Work

Table of Contents
1. What are personal values, what are professional values, and what is the relationship
between the two? How could these issues impact upon the chosen case study?...................1
2. How do philosophical ideas and concepts help us to resolve ethical conflicts /dilemmas
within Social Work Practice? What is the link between values and ethics and the professional
codes of practice? How might these debates impact upon the case study?...........................3
3. What is the contextual link between legislation and ethical social work practice, how do
Social workers use and apply the Legislation to intervene e.g. Human Rights Act 1998, the
Children Act 1989 / 2004, Mental Health Act 1983/2007, the Care Act 2014 or the Mental
Capacity Act 2005. How might legislation and ethical interventions apply to the chosen case
study?......................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................10

1. What are personal values, what are professional values, and what is the relationship between
the two? How could these issues impact upon the chosen case study?
According to Bank, (2012) values signifies those beliefs which are from a religious and
moral point of view. Values refers to the degree of importance of something or action with the
purpose of determining what actions are right to perform something. Social workers are the
people who stand for human rights and justice and give voice to unheard marginalised
populations. They give their contribution for better individual's life. There are 5 major values in
social work, such as service; which states that their primary aim is to provide public service by
helping vulnerable. Next is values which means they value the dignity and worth of each person
and they need to treat each service user in respectful way. Other values are social justice, human
relation and integrity (Banks, 2016).
Personal values refers to the reflection of our needs, wants, and what people care about
the most in life. In other words, they are general expression of what is most crucial for an
individual. Some examples of personal values are achievement, integrity, intelligence, etc. These
are considered vital because values inform people's thoughts, words and actions, further they
help to grow and develop.
Professional values is a generic term for the principles that key for practising a profession
such as for medicines, involve integrity, altruism, excellence, and capability to partner with
members of broader healthcare team. These values include a strong work ethic, honesty,
adaptability, etc. (Vitell, 2015).
Professional ethics and code of conduct outlines the ethical principles that regulate
decisions and behaviour of an individual. Rules are provided by values and professional ethics
on how a person should act towards other people and institutions. Professional values are found
in professional codes of conduct, as codes of professional ethics tend to have components which
assist to mitigate the power gradient between professionals and others. Code of ethics and code
of conduct can be combined because in most situations businesses combine both as there is
significant overlap between them (Beckett, Maynard and Jordan, 2017).
A professional code of conduct is a guide of principles created to assist professionals
conduct business honestly and with wholeness. In other words, a code of conduct is a set of rules
outlining the social norms, religious rules and obligations of an individual. Following are the key
principles:
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 respect for laws and regulations
 respect for people
 respect the environment
 transparency and integrity
Professional codes of conduct support personal values, as professional ethics encompass the
personal and corporate standards of behaviour expected by professionals. There exists enforced
codes of practice internally that members of the profession must follow to prevent exploitation of
the service user. Professional values and ethics understanding by social workers has matured
considerably. Through codes of conduct, social workers have developed comprehensive ethical
standards to direct practitioners and decision making frameworks that are useful when
practitioners experience tough ethical dilemmas (Bertrand, 2018).
Personal and professional values are different in some or the other way. Some people use
the term personal ethics to explain their own moral code, which means the values and standards
through which they run their daily life. Hence, values of a social worker are important because as
it makes them aware that they are simultaneously accountable for their clients, also conflicts can
be resolved between service user and society in ways that are respectful (Weber, 2017).
It has been observed that social work practice raises ethical dilemmas on a regular basis.
Also, these occur due to a conflict of personal and professional values. The work of social
worker is safeguarding vulnerable individuals. Therefore, this states that social worker will
always reflect values and will frequently be disputed because society may not essentially agree
with the aim of social work. Based on case of Sally's and my personal values as a social worker,
states that respecting the client's right to self determination and confidentiality, can be difficult
procedure. The reason behind this is that there are particular situations where breaking privacy is
legal by the law and professional values (Braye and Preston-Shoot, 2016). As stated by learning
disability partnership professionals that two children Jasmine and Lottie are loved but at times
they are cared in haphazard way, which means unsystematic-ally. Therefore, here my
professional values says that a social worker must discuss this topic to my senior members and
also Sally regarding her two children. Also, her friends who spend their time at Sally's flat and
smoking, having beer, using marijuana among those two children is not right. Since, it was
examined by the hospital staff that, Jasmine was in smelly wet clothes and her body was
ingrained with dirt, which means that the lady does not take care of her children properly. My
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personal values in my are inbuilt into me since a young age, therefore, acquiring new
professional values as a social worker that a social worker have to consider, give rise to conflict.
Hence, as per the code of conduct, which clearly describes that all social workers are
supposed to protect the rights and encourage the interests of clients, therefore, it is crucial to
recognise that the appropriate action is to access in Sally's needs while performing at a
professional level (Brayne, Carr and Goosey, 2015). My personal values in regard to Sally's and
her children's case can be changed and alter through life experience, but my professional values
on the other hand are not personal and which aims to make a professional culture that makes
practice better. A social worker have observed that, a Sally's concerns are complex and have
many aspects, hence, a social worker need to develop more knowledge and understanding in her
case to make effective decisions. A social worker know that there are still some areas which I
need to strengthen such as the ability to talk to Sally that she is not properly taking care for her
children, as a social worker have always concentrated on the areas which they would like to
work. Here a social worker found a potential conflict in my personal and professional values in
relation to looking after Sally's children.
2. How do philosophical ideas and concepts help us to resolve ethical conflicts /dilemmas within
Social Work Practice? What is the link between values and ethics and the professional
codes of practice? How might these debates impact upon the case study?
Philosophical ideas: It helps in perceived deviant behaviour. While the dispute is most
evident in specific explanation of general social work values, differences in foundational
assumptions of competing philosophical perspectives make such conflict inevitable. (Crane and
Matten, 2016). Set of directing principles is The National Association of Social Workers Code
of Ethics, to help social workers in making decisions in the best interest of the clients. However,
these decisions are not always easy to make, particularly when two guiding principles come into
conflict. Hence, these conflicts are known as ethical dilemmas (Crane and Matten, 2016). Social
worker also faces some issue regarding ethical dilemmas in their daily routine such as when user
did not accept medication then at that time they did not know what to do against it. As a result,
they face some conflicts against it for further improvements (Golightley, 2011).
Ethical dilemmas: Social worker also faces some issue regarding ethical dilemmas in
their daily routine such as when user did not accept medication then at that time they did not
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know what to do against it. As a result, they face some conflicts and takes high initiatives for
bringing improvements (Golightley, 2011).
Philosophies within social work practice refers to a profession concerned with helping
individuals, their families, groups and communities to improve their well-being. Social work as a
discipline which mainly concentrates on theoretical and philosophical positions like social
justice, equality and empowerment. Ethical dilemma is when a person has two options for
achieving desirable or undesirable results.
Deontological approaches: This is an approach that is focus on the right or wrong action
which is taken to solve the issues for them. In philosophy, ethical theories that lays emphasizes
on importance on the relationship between duty and the morality of individual actions. In
contrast to this, another philosophical ethics i.e. teleological ethics also known as
consequentialism, holds the basic standard of quality is exactly the value of what an action brings
into being. In other words, it is a class of standard ethical theories keeping that the consequences
of one's conduct are the final basis for any opinion about the morality or immorality of that
conduct. Furthermore, virtue ethics those normative theories which focuses on virtues of mind
and character (Figueiredo, Gratão and Fachin-Martins, 2017).
Consequentialist approaches: it is an approach that have focus on analysing the
consequences of one's conduct. Consequentialist approach evaluate the moral values on the basis
of an individual contribution towards the welfare of state. This approach states that actions taken
by person should be judged on the basis of consequences.
Virtue and ethics: This is quite different with deontology and Consequentialism because
it focuses on overdoing. This also describe the nature and definition of virtues and some other
problems. Or it is a character trait like a habitual action or settled sentiments. It is also related to
professional code of conduct which helps to maintain the standards for every person and
profession has to adhere it. Virtues and ethics are also brought accountability and trust to each
other in order to make the relation better at working area (Maynard and Beckett, 2013).
According to case study, when Jade visited at Sally's place last night, she saw four people
there who left when she arrived. Sally reported that the area was smoky, had empty beer cans
around and it smelt like marijuana had been utilised. She also reported that those friends are not
‘suitable’ for her and that Sally cannot control them in her house. According to Kant and
Deontological ethics, an act can be bad but may unintentionally result in favourable results. The
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deontological theory will allow me to address the case of Sally. It will allow me to have focus on
fundamental dignity of Sally. According to theory, a social worker must do the right thing. A
social worker must respect the way Sally treats her children.
In contrast to this hypothesis, the utilitarian concept also known as consequentialism
based approach. According to Banks (2006), the simple concept of consequentialism is that the
right action is that which produces the greatest balance of good or bad. It has been described that,
this approach is more realistic and have great influence on ethical decisions by an individual.
Using this theory, a social worker will interact with Jasmine's situation to Sally. He will also
advice Sally about how to take care of her children.(Gold, 2014). She should make Jasmine
learns that, she is just 3 years old and is not allowed to touch things in kitchen as she could her
fingers burn. Further, as per virtue ethics a social worker will look at moral character of mine
rather than at ethical duties and rules or consequences of specific actions. The theory states that a
good individual is someone who lives virtuously.
From the case scenario, Sally is facing discriminated as she has been suffering from
mental health issues. In this situation, it is the duty of social health worker to support her and
provide proper care in order to make her feel comfortable.
According to profession and codes of conducts of a social worker, my main aim is to help
Sally in overcoming obstacles to well-being and to help her family in fulfilling basic needs.
However, a social worker will also maintain confidentiality of Sally's case and disclose
information regarding her situation only if she provides written consent. It is the right of Sally to
complain about her friends regarding their behaviour at her flat, as those are influencing
children's mental development (Hepworth, Rooney and Strom-Gottfried, 2016).
3. What is the contextual link between legislation and ethical social work practice, how do Social
workers use and apply the Legislation to intervene e.g. Human Rights Act 1998, the
Children Act 1989 / 2004, Mental Health Act 1983/2007, the Care Act 2014 or the Mental
Capacity Act 2005. How might legislation and ethical interventions apply to the chosen
case study?
Legislation and ethical social work place is link with each other such that they both
provide family a solution in order to cope up with difficult situation. Social work intervention are
measures taken by social workers to support individuals, families and groups which enable to
meet their needs and issues. The aim of the interventions is to care for clients in alleviating issues
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and enhancing their well being. Furthermore, a behavioural intervention plan refers to a plan
based on the results of a functional problem behavioural assessment (Greene, 2017).
Legislations that a social worker will use in a plan will be The Children and Social Work
Act 2017, which was passed by Conservative Government in 2017, having being introduced in
2016. The act was established in the House of Lords by Parliamentary Undersecretary of State.
The aim of this act is to:
 Improve decision making and see after children in England and Wales.
 Enhance combined work at the local and national levels to better practice in Child
prevention.
 Encourage the safeguarding of infants by offering for relationships in schools.
Mental capacity Act 2005: One more act that will be helpful is Mental Capacity Act
2005, by Parliament of the UK. The fundamental purpose of the Act is to give legal structure for
performing and taking decisions on behalf of adults those who does not have potential to make
specific decisions for themselves. As per the case scenario, that Sally does not have ability to
take right decision for her and her children (Ni and Van Wart, 2015). Jade (her sister) is the only
member of her family which is close to her and understands Sally's situation very well. Using
this act of Mental Capacity 2005, a social worker will inform the authority to give Jade the right
to take decision on behalf of Sally.
Children Act 1989/2004:The Children's Act 2004 which amended the Act of 1989 by
Parliament of UK. This legislation provides the measure which can be implemented in order to
protect children for risk. The purpose of children act is to promote welfare of children and young
people. Children Act 1989/2004 also states that service provider involved in the care of children,
needed to work more closely together in order to reduce harm to children.
Mental health Act 1983/2007: This act provide protection to the people have poor
mental health. This act also outline the compulsory detention and treatment in hospital of people
suffering from mental disorders. Therefore, this act also helpful for Slatter to cope up the
situation of Sally.
Care Act 2014 : the Care Act 2014, that outlines a clear and well defined legal frame
work for how local government should protect adults from the risk of abuse.
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Duties and powers that will support your plan will be: legislation provides social workers with
certain powers as well as duties that they are legally bound to fulfil.
 Section 17-provision for services for children in need :- this states that, children in need
comes under section 17, in regard to their special educational needs, disabilities, etc.
Under this the service provided by me will include assistance in kind.
 Section 47- Duty to investigate :- a statutory duty is placed by Children Act 1989 on
health, education and other services. Hence, all agencies are responsible to provide
information in support of child protection interrogation.
 Section 44- emergency protection powers :- according to Children Act 1989, the court
has created an emergency protection order. This gives the right to remove child and place
the child under the protection of applicant i.e. local authority (Parrott, 2014).
Balance the parent rights and the need to protect the child: A Social worker needs to
create balance between the parent rights and the need to protect the child in such a way that
rights of parents are not violated. It is the right of the parents to educate their children properly
and also take care of all members in family. In the case of Sally, it is the duty of their parents that
in her critical situation, they have to support her and also meet out the basic needs of their child
as she is ill. As per the human rights, it is the duty of their parent to carry out balance between
the all situations.
Social workers ethical principles that will help me to support my practice are:
 A unique value is held by every human being, which justifies moral consideration for that
person.
 Each person has the right to self-fulfilment to the extent that it does not advance upon the
similar right of others, and has a responsibility to contribute to the well-being of society.
 Social workers identifies and respect the inbuilt dignity and worth of all human beings in
attitude. All individuals are supposed to be given respect by social workers (Rubin and
Babbie, 2016).
 Social workers are committed to principles of social justice.
 They are supposed to make ethically justified decisions, and stand by them, paying due
regard to the IFS W International Declaration of Ethical Principles.
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According to Banks (2006), values are specific types of beliefs that individuals hold regarding
what is termed as worthy. Moreover, there has been a belief that, personal and professional
values may conflict and the worker as a person has a moral responsibility to make decisions
about these conflicts (Sorokin, 2017). A social worker will protect the rights and promote the
interests of Sally and maintain the trust and confidence. Also, encourage the independence of her
while preventing her from harm. Between my duty as a social worker and Sally's right to
autonomy, will choose what is right for her and her children.
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REFERENCES
Banks, S., 2016. Everyday ethics in professional life: social work as ethics work. Ethics and
social welfare, 10(1), pp.35-52.
Beckett, C., Maynard, A. and Jordan, P., 2017. Values and ethics in social work. Sage.
Bertrand, C. J., 2018. Media ethics and accountability systems. Rout ledge.
Braye, S. and Preston-Shoot, M., 2016. Practising social work law. Macmillan International
Higher Education.
Brayne, H., Carr, H. and Goosey, D., 2015. Law for social workers. Oxford University Press,
USA.
Crane, A. and Matten, D., 2016. Business ethics: Managing corporate citizenship and
sustainability in the age of globalization. Oxford University Press.
Figueiredo, L. C., Gratão, A. C. M. and Fachin-Martins, E., 2017. Abordagens bioétic as e
deontological do Novo código de ética professional para temperas occupational no
Brasil/Bioethical and deontological approaches of the new occupational therapy code of
ethics in Brazil. Cadernos Brasileiros de Terapia Occupational. 25(1).
Gold, J., 2014. Utilitarian and deontological approaches to criminal justice ethics. In Justice,
Crime, and Ethics (pp. 29-44). Rutledge.
Greene, R. R., 2017. Human Behaviour Theory and Professional Social Work Practice.
In Human Behaviour Theory and Social Work Practice (pp. 31-62). Rout ledge.
Hepworth, D. H., Rooney, R. H. and Strom-Gottfried, K., 2016. Empowerment series: Direct
social work practice: Theory and skills. Nelson Education.
Maynard, A. and Beckett, C., 2013. Values and Ethics in Social Work. 2nd ed. London: SAGE
Publications.
Ni, A. and Van Wart, M., 2015. Corporate Social Responsibility: Doing Well and Doing Good.
In Building Business-Government Relations (pp. 175-196). Routledge.
Parrott, L., 2014. Values and ethics in social work practice. Learning Matters.
Rubin, A. and Babbie, E. R., 2016. Empowerment series: Research methods for social work.
Cengage Learning.
Banks, S., 2012. Ethics and values in social work. Macmillan International Higher Education.
Sorokin, P., 2017. Social and cultural dynamics: A study of change in major systems of art,
truth, ethics, law and social relationships. Routledge.
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Sue, D. W., Rasheed, M. N. and Rasheed, J. M., 2015. Multicultural social work practice: A
competency-based approach to diversity and social justice. John Wiley & Sons.
Vitell, S. J., 2015. A case for consumer social responsibility (CnSR): Including a selected review
of consumer ethics/social responsibility research. Journal of Business Ethics. 130(4).
Pp.767-774.
Weber, M., 2017. Methodology of social sciences. Routledge.
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