Professional Decision Making: A Case Study on Ethical Issues in Social Work

Running Head: PROFESSIONAL DECISION MAKING
PROFESSIONAL DECISION MAKING
Name of the student:
Name of the University:
Author Note

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PROFESSIONAL DECISION MAKING
Case study one:
Primary Ethical issue:
In the given set of circumstances the primary ethical issue is to identify whether Mona
should tell the police that the fire which had burned the house was actually her fault. The
counselor in this given scenario is also faced with an ethical dilemma. The counselor must decide
whether to assure Mona that the she was not the one who was responsible for the fire that burned
down the house or whether to make her realize her fault.
Professional ethical principles of AASW Code of Ethics
The Code of Ethics (AASW) lays down the responsibilities and the values which are
essential and integral to the profession of social work. The aforementioned code is intended is to
provide assistance to all the social workers individually and collectively (Almeida et al. p.182
2017). The purpose of this code is to provide assistance to the social workers so that they can act
ethically in the pursuit of the aims of the professions. The constitution of the AASW mandates it
to adopt a code of ethics which contains the set of principles that are agreed upon by the
members of the AASW. The ethical principles which are relevant to the given case study are:
 Respect for persons
 Social Justice
 Professional integrity ( AASW's Code of Ethics 2010 p. 12-13)
Respect for persons: It is worth mentioning that the social work profession regards every
individual has an inherent and unique personality and that every person has the right to his self-
determination, self fulfillment and well being which is consistent with the rights and culture of

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PROFESSIONAL DECISION MAKING
others (Congress p. 1909 2017). It can be further said that the social work profession mandates
the social workers:
 to respect the dignity, autonomy and worth of every individual
 to respect the human rights of individuals and the groups
 to respect and recognize group independence, identity and reciprocity of the collective
needs of the group.
It can be stated that the counselor in this given scenario must respect the dignity and
individuality of Mona.
Social Justice:
It can be stated that the profession of social work regards social justice as a core obligation of
the profession which the societies should be called upon to uphold. For the purpose of upholding
social justice:
 The social work profession promotes justice and social fairness by reducing social
barriers and expanding potential and the choices of persons (Edwards and Addae p. 90
2015). The code of ethics mandates the social workers to have special regards for the
needs of those who are unfortunate, disadvantaged, oppressed and vulnerable.
 The code mandates the social work profession to advocate change to the social structures
and systems and which preserve injustice and inequalities
 Social work profession aims to eliminate and oppose any kind of violation of human
rights and also aims to affirm the political, civil, cultural and economic rights of the
individuals ( AASW's Code of Ethics 2010 p.13)