Building an Ethical Organization

Building an Ethical Organization Part One

HSM 230 June 5, 2011 Terry Jorgenson

Building an Ethical Organization Building an Ethical Organization Part One The new human service organization, Womens Retreat for Victims of Domestic Violence (WRVDC), is a safe place for women to come and grow into a more positive person. The program is available to any woman who is a victim of domestic violence and sexual assault. The womens retreat is a nonprofit organization that offers services through education classes, counseling, and self-defense classes. The organization strives to challenge society to gain beliefs that do not condone domestic violence.

The organization provides counseling services to help victims regain self-esteem and recover from the trauma. Self-defense classes will equip victims with a tool to protect themselves. Group discussion groups will enable victims to speak about the incident with other victims who have experienced the same type of ordeal. Public education awareness programs arm the community with knowledge to handle a domestic violence situation should it occur in their home. The community must know that someone is aware of the violence going on, and it is intolerable. The organization supports the ethical system by abiding by the law and imposing moral values and beliefs within the organization. The organization reassures its stakeholders that the organization lives up to societys standard of ethics for a nonprofit agency. Leaders behave ethically by doing the right thing. Observing a leader leading by example indicates the leader is abiding by the ethical leadership others expect. Ethical leaders make ethical decisions visible so others are confident the leaders decisions are moral and ethical. Ethical leaders not only lead by example, they also encourage and expect others to practice ethical conduct. A leader can implement this by asking others how he or she arrived at a conclusion. How one realizes the conclusion is just as important as arriving at the conclusion. Meetings are held to discuss ethics within the organization. An employee needs to know what ethics he or she is to

Building an Ethical Organization uphold and the ramifications of his or her actions. Although ethical leadership leads to an ethical workplace, an ethical leader is not enough. Ethical leadership requires an ethical support system. A mission statement explains why an organization operates. Values define the principles the organization bases the mission on and the ethical standards for the organization. A code of ethics is an organizations written standards of expectation of its employees and leaders. A code of ethics guides decisions. A code of ethics

explains ethical reasoning and decision making. A code of ethics describes ways to address ethical issues. A code explains how to seek guidance when confrontation regarding an ethical gray area arises. A code of ethics creates an understanding of doing the right thing. The Womens Retreats mission statement is to reduce trauma, empower survivors, and improve the quality of life through services provided. The mission statement sends the message to the community that domestic violence is unacceptable and intolerable. Society will not continue to allow this kind of behavior to continue. This is a cruel, violent act from one individual on another. Victims of domestic violence undergo a long healing process, and sometimes victims fail to recover completely. Domestic violence changes a person from the inside out. This damage is hard to erase and overcome. The Womens Retreat hopes to alleviate the pain and suffering, and encourages a better life for the victims of domestic violence. The Womens Retreat upholds honesty and integrity between and among employees and clients, respect for all, compassion for improving the lives of all involved, courage to endeavor in such tasks, and honor and fairness to all. These values will inspire action and influence behavior by building ones confidence in the organization and its leaders. The values guide decisions within the organization. The Womens Retreats values statement is to value lifetime changes to promote

Building an Ethical Organization successful lives, dignity, individuality, and excellence in service quality. The values relate to the organizations mission to empower individuals and improve the quality of life.

When one is honest in the workplace, he documents everything and shows accountability for all actions. The organization expects open communication in the workplace. Each employee supplies clients with accurate descriptions of services the organization provides and the benefits the client will receive. An employee respects and honors all those around him or her and respects privacy with the clients. An employee of the Womens Retreat will instill in oneself the desire to help everyone around him or her. An employee will be fair to all employees, leaders, and clients. The organization has consequences for discrimination, harassment, and any other unfair treatment. Everyone is knowledgeable of the mission statement, the value statement, and the code of ethics upon hire date and before assisting clients. Moral ethics and values within an organization will encourage the community to trust the organization to continue providing services to the community. Clients are confident they will receive fair and honest services in times of need. The Womens Retreat for Victims of Domestic Violence does empower survivors, and does improve the quality of life through the services it provides to the community and to individuals.