Ethical Decision-Making of Social Welfare Workers in the Transition of Services: The Ethics of Care and Justice Perspectives

While the ethic of care has generally been regarded as an appropriate attitude for nurses, it has not received equal attention as a mode of ethical problem solving. The primary nursing model is expected to be aligned with the ethic of care because it emphases the nurse–patient relationship and enables more independent role for nurses in decision-making. The aim of this study was to examine nurses’ ethical decision-making in the context of primary nursing. Participants were seven nurses, and one physiotherapist from a geriatric rehabilitation unit of a public hospital in Finland. Data were collected through focus group interviews and qualitatively analyzed through Lyons’ coding scheme for moral orientations. The results showed that primary nurses employ empathic understanding and particularistic thinking when building relationships with patients and their families, and when assessing their needs for coping at home after discharge. Most ethical conflicts were related to discharge and were solved through balancing the ethics of care and justice considerations. It is concluded that care and justice are integrated in nurses’ everyday ethical decision-making. The ethic of care nurtures good patient–nurse relationships, while the ethic of justice is needed to address the fair delivery of care in the context of an aging population and diminishing public resources. Both ethics should be acknowledged in clinical practices and included in ethics education.

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Ethics in Organization and Management

International Journal of Business Strategy and Automation ◽

10.4018/ijbsa.20200701.oa1 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 1 (3) ◽

pp. 67-74

Author(s):

Thomas Joseph

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Unethical Behavior ◽

Ethical Decision ◽

Ethical Decision Making ◽

Decision Makers ◽

Global Environment ◽

Organization And Management ◽

Self Sufficiency ◽

Care And Justice ◽

Compare And Contrast

A fundamental challenge for scholars and practitioners of organization and management is the integration of theoretical ethics with practical decision-making. This article discusses the historical evolution of ethics in organization and management through today. Additionally, the article utilizes a compare and contrast approach of three contemporary theories of ethical decision-making, namely ethics of virtue, ethics of care, and ethics of justice, to implicate their applicability to practice under conditions of globalization. Ethics of virtue, care, and justice share common concepts imperative for organizations in a global environment. They address the idea of equality and self-sufficiency and are concerned with the establishment and sustenance of lasting relationships. Organizations can, therefore, succeed in any environment providing that decision makers make the effort to adhere to standards that are moral, fair, caring, and just. Every unethical behavior should be condemned.

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Ethics of justice vs the ethics of care in moral decision making

Curationis ◽

10.4102/curationis.v21i1.603 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

A. Botes

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Decision Making ◽

Ethical Decision ◽

Ethical Decision Making ◽

Ethics Of Care ◽

Health Care Team ◽

Care Team ◽

Moral Decision ◽

Moral Decision Making ◽

Ethical Theories

The question to be addressed in this paper is : How can the ethics of justice and the ethics of care be used complementary to each other in ethical decision making within the health care team? Various arguments are presented that justify the reasons that the ethics of justice and the ethics of care should be used complementary to each other for effective ethical decision making within the health care team. The objective is to explore and describe the compatibility of the ethics of justice and the ethics of care from two perspectives: firstly an analysis of the characteristics of the two ethical theories, and secondly the scientific-philosophical viewpoints of these theories. The two theories are incompatible when viewed from these perspectives. For a probable solution to this incompatibility arguments are presented from the perspectives of reflection and virtue-based ethics.

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An Enquiry into a Combined Approach for Nursing Ethics

Nursing Ethics ◽

10.1177/096973309800500204 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 5 (2) ◽

pp. 122-138 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Allyson Lipp

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Grounded Theory ◽

Ethical Decision ◽

Ethical Decision Making ◽

Nursing Ethics ◽

Combined Approach ◽

Clinical Area ◽

Ethical Decisions ◽

Recommendations For Practice ◽

Care And Justice

A definitive theory for ethical decision making in nursing is still only conjecture. The literature confirms that there have been numerous examinations of ethical decision making in nursing, with most proposing either the justice or the care orientation, or a combination of both. In the absence of a definitive theory, this exploratory work sets out, via grounded theory, to shed some light on the methods used every day by nurses to make ethical decisions in the clinical area. The data show that some factors, such as doctors, colleagues and the organization, profoundly influence ethical decision making. The informants used both care and justice to formulate decisions, which is known as the combined approach. As a result of these findings, this article concludes with tentative suggestions and recommendations for practice.

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