Cultural
Diversity: client vs organizational interests
At
times an organization’s policies may conflict with a particular client’s best
interest, due to cultural differences. Situations
as such require the practitioner to choose between principle ethics and virtue
ethics, causing them to consider justice, autonomy, beneficence, and fairness
along with professional ethical standards and codes (Corey, Corey, &
Callanan, 2011). A couple examples of
these scenarios are as follows:
- Within your client’s culture, it is customary to invite leaders, counselors, and elders into the home for dinner, fellowship, and blessings within the preliminary stages of the relationship or process. Failure to accept the invitation is considered offensive and may impede establishing rapport. However, the practitioner’s organizational policy clearly states that each meeting or face-to-face client-clinician interaction must take place exclusively on company premises.
- As a student advisor at a high school Christian academy, a senior class student whom you have been advising since her freshman year becomes impregnated and desires to have an immediate abortion. Although the school offers assistance, programs, and advising to students and families affected by teen pregnancy, they do not advocate pro-choice. However this particular young lady is an honor-roll student athlete anticipating playing division one athletics in college next fall on full scholarship.
Both scenarios require the
practitioner to consider their client’s interest versus organizational policy. Yet choosing to support or cater to the
client’s need directly causes them to abort the company’s or school’s code of
ethics. However, these types of
situations may present themselves throughout the practitioner’s professional
career. Therefore the practitioner must
regard these issues and act accordingly on a case-by-case basis. In addition, it should be duly noted that an
organization operating through the lens of cultural tunnel vision is bound to conflict
with varying attitudes, customs, and beliefs of a culturally diverse society
(Corey et al., 2011).
References:
Corey, G., Corey, M. S., &
Callanan, P. (2011) Issues and ethics in the helping
professions (8th ed.). Belmont,
CA: Thomson Brooks/Cole.
