Example Of Social
Work Ethical Dilemmas
The primary objective of social work
is to improve the living conditions of human beings and help them in
meeting basic human needs, with special focus on people who are
oppressed or those living in poverty. Social workers relentlessly
work towards ending various form of social injustice such as
discrimination, oppression and poverty through a coordinated effort
that includes consultation, administration, policy advocacy, social
and political action, policy development and implementation,
education, research and evaluation. Ethical dilemmas are quite
commonly encountered by social workers during their interactions
with clients, agency policies, procedures, colleagues,
administrators, and organizational systems.
An ethical dilemma is a predicament
where a person must decide between two viable solutions that seem to
have similar ethical value. An ethical dilemma can occur when a
social worker has to take a moral course of action depending upon
two different moral philosophies that conflict with each other. In
another situation, a decision has to be made from the available
choices without even knowing in advance the outcome of the decision.
The result can either be beneficial or harmful. In the third
instance, a social worker has to make a choice that might be best
only for a certain section of individuals involved in the conflict
and is harmful for the other party.
Ethical dilemmas of social workers
can be resolved in consultation with social work organization’s
ethical committee or a regulatory body or a legal counsel. However,
the most accepted method for dealing with ethical dilemmas is to
develop and implement a professional code of ethics.
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