Building an Ethical Organization

Building an Ethical Organization
Jennifer Robertson
05/10/2011
HSM/230
Vickie J. Grant

Introduction
Ethics is a very important aspect not only in human service organizations, but in everyday life. Ethics is the branch of study dealing with what is the proper course of action for man. It is the study of what is right and wrong, and a method that categorizes personal values and how they are pursued. However, ethical leadership has never been more important to human service organizations. Leaders in human services are surrounded by the dimensions of ethics in leadership on several levels. First, they must develop a critical self-awareness of their own values and the moral vision that guides their leadership. Leaders have a public responsibility to provide leadership with a moral purpose, leadership that contributes to the public good in society (Manning, 2003). Leaders must integrate the values and vision into a leadership approach guided by theory that can accommodate this ethical dimension. Having the ability to shape the organizations’ culture and structure so that the architecture of the organization promotes ethical decisions and behaviors on the part of all employees, is essential in building a successful ethical organization.

Description of Organization
The organization is a behavioral health clinic called I.V. Behavioral Health and Substance Abuse. I.V. Behavioral Health and Substance Abuse provides confidential individual, group and family counseling for children, adolescents, and adults. The clinic will offer a full range of programs and services specializing in counseling for: anxiety and depression, marriage and family concerns, child behavior and school issues, grief, life transitions, work problems, low self-esteem, attention deficit disorder, stress, insomnia, anger management, and health issues including substance abuse treatment. The clients will first meet with an intake counselor to determine the need, what the problem is, the severity...