Running Head: MORAL REASONING VALUES PAPER

Moral Reasoning Values Paper

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Moral reasoning is the basis for moral behavior (Barsky, 2010). More specifically, this
means that moral reasoning is how an individual comes to a conclusion about what decisions
they feel are morally just in various situations. It is evident that moral reasoning is in fact present
and has a significant impact on the decisions that individuals choose to make. According to
developmental theorists, this reasoning develops through stages that individuals go through from
childhood to adulthood (Barsky, 2010). Through these various stages an individual begins to
make decisions based on different reasoning than they previously have beem. As an individual
ages, their moral reasoning seems to progress and become more focused on making decisions for
the betterment of society rather than for the benefit of the individual (Barsky, 2010). I do not
believe that this is always accurate however. It does not seem that all individuals progress
through these stages the same. In my opinion, some individuals never progress past the preconventional reasoning stage described by Kohlberg (Barsky, 2010). According to Kohlberg,
most individuals never make it to the post-conventional reasoning stage, but rather continue to
operate at the conventional reasoning stage, making decisions based on conformity and the desire
to maintain social order (Barsky, 2010). I feel that this is a good theory and that it does hold true
for many individuals, despite the fact that most remain at the second level, never progressing to
level three as Kohlberg suggests (Barsky, 2010). Despite this, I feel that this theory is helpful in
assisting individuals to understand how others come to the reasoning they do and what factors
might be driving individuals to make such decisions.
Ethics includes societal guidelines regarding what is right and wrong. These guidelines
dictate how groups of individuals should and should not act when they are presented with
varying situations as well as what types of behaviors are considered inappropriate. Thus, ethical
decision making is when an individual bases their decision on these guidelines and reacts in a
way that is expected of them by society and/or their profession.

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Morals involve an individuals personal beliefs regarding what is right and wrong. These
personal beliefs may not always coincide with the ethics that are laid out for certain individuals
by their profession. Therefore, moral decision making would involve making a decision based
upon an individuals personal beliefs and values rather than those that have been established by
society.
It is important for social workers to fully understand and be aware of both types of
decision making. As a social worker, individuals are expected to uphold the ethical guidelines set
forth by the NASW. Therefore, workers may have to disregard their moral beliefs at various
times in order to uphold these ethical guidelines and act in a manner that will most effectively
help their client to reach his or her goals. For example, a worker may be asked to help assist a
client in obtaining an abortion. This may be against the workers moral beliefs; however, she
would be expected to assist the client as workers are expected to remain committed to clients and
put clients interest first whenever possible as stated by Section 1.01: Commitment to Clients
(NASW, 2008).
Often times a worker may feel a desire to make certain decisions based on personal
factors; however, these decisions may not follow with the NASW guidelines laid out for workers
in the Code of Ethics (2008). Some of these other factors that may affect a workers decision
making process include: biological, psychological, social, and spiritual factors. I may also find
myself being affected by these various factors and may feel a strong desire to react based on
these factors rather than the guidelines that I am expected to follow. Biological factors that may
be likely to affect my decision making process could include: feelings of hunger, thirst, or
fatigue. As is mentioned in the text, these feelings can often times affect the decisions being
made by a worker and could also lead the worker to make decisions that would most benefit his
or her current biological desires rather than leading the individual to make decisions that would

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be most beneficial to the client and his relationships with the worker (Barsky, 2010). I feel that
these biological factors of hunger, thirst and fatigue would be the biological factors most likely
to pose a threat to my work with clients. One social factor that may be a possible influence to my
decision making process could be social learning. This suggests that my decision making process
could possibly be influenced by the behaviors and views that I have gained from those around
me. Along with this, my social identity has been shaped and influenced by the way that I have
been brought up and the groups that I have associated with throughout my life. This could also
significantly affect my decision making process. Spiritual factors are also a strong influence that
can possibly affect the decision making process of an individual. Often times, individuals hold
very strong views on certain subjects due to their spiritual beliefs. Despite all of these factors and
various influences, social workers have to be willing to set their own views and beliefs aside and
make the decision that will most closely follow with the ethical guidelines laid out for them by
the NASW Code of Ethics (2008).
Every individual has their own personal views that guide their decision making process.
When entering a field such as social work; however, individuals need to understand that they
may often find themselves in a situation that requires that they disregard their personal views in
order to best serve their client. Based on this I feel that a decision made by a worker may still be
valid even if it does not conform to the students conception of what is morally right. In my
opinion, a decision can still be just and valid as long as it follows the ethical guidelines that the
worker is expected to follow. In a profession such as social work, professionals need to be sure
that they are upholding these ethical guidelines, even if it means making a decision that they
personally may not believe to be morally right. As long as a worker is making decisions based on
their professions ethical guidelines, then I feel that their decision is valid.

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As discussed earlier, there are various factors that can be an influence to someones
decision making process. Individuals may feel a strong desire to make certain decisions based
upon their own personal biological feelings, social influences and/or spiritual beliefs. Due to
strong beliefs and desires to react in regards to personal feelings and beliefs, individuals may feel
an intense desire to react in a way that would most closely follow with these personal feelings.
In the profession of social work; however, individuals may have to put their own feelings aside
and ignore the desire to react in response to personal factors. Although there are many factors
that could be influential to the decision making process, workers have to remember that the main
goal as a social worker is to serve clients. In order to fulfill this commitment to clients, workers
need to set personal beliefs and desires aside and allow their decision making to be guided by the
Code of Ethics (2008) that has been laid out by the NASW. Despite all other factors that may
seem to be a strong influence, it is important that workers only allow their decision making
process to be influenced by the ethical guidelines set forth by their profession.
When faced with an ethical dilemma, a worker should consider what choice would be
most likely to promote the well-being of the client. Workers also need to consider the wishes of
the client; however, if these wishes would require the worker to ignore or break any laws, then
they must disregard the clients wish. When facing an ethical dilemma a worker should not
consider his own personal views as this will only further complicate the situation and cloud his
judgment. Workers should consider what the clients wishes entail, whether these wishes allow
the worker to follow the NASW ethical guidelines, and if this decision would be helpful or
harmful to the clients well-being. Although a moral decision often times cannot be made simply
by considering the above items, it is a good start to consider what possible decisions are present
and how they would benefit the client along with whether they would be considered ethically just
by the NASW Code of Ethics (2008).

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I feel that as a worker I will be willing to support clients decisions even if I believe those
decisions to be morally wrong, as long as they are legal and ethically just as determined by the
NASW Code of Ethics (2008). Although my personal beliefs cannot be a prominent influence, I
may still be obligated to object a clients decision if it does not follow the NASW guidelines. For
example, I may suggest that my clients choose a different path if I do not feel that their current
decisions are promoting their personal well-being. It is my duty as a social worker to be sure that
my client is safe and working to accomplish their goals. Therefore, I may feel the need to discuss
with my client the possible disadvantages of certain choices and help them to formulate other
possible solutions. Despite this commitment I will have to promoting my clients well-being, I
also need to respect each clients right to self-determination as stated in Section 1.02: SelfDetermination , and therefore, must support their decisions if they are legal, even if I personally
do not believe them to be morally just (NASW, 2008). I must support these decisions; however, I
can suggest other options as well. I believe that this could be a hard task as a worker due to my
concern over my clients health and safety; however, I understand my commitment to allow my
clients the right to self-determination and therefore, I will do my best to be supportive of every
clients decision.
If I find myself working with a client who is of a different religious, racial, or ethnic
background, I will be willing to respect his or her views and interaction styles. I will do my best
to stay educated and open to the views of my clients. Section 1.05: Cultural Competence and
Social Diversity states the importance of understanding the views of all clients so that a worker
can best help each individual client to achieve his or her goals (NASW, 2008). Due to my
understanding of how important this is, I will be willing to do all that I can to ensure that I am
educated about how best to work with each individual client. I will be willing to take additional
time to read and talk with more experienced colleagues than myself as suggested by Section

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1.05: Cultural Competence and Social Diversity, to ensure that I am able to stay educated in this
way and gain additional knowledge about working with clients that may be different than me
(NASW, 2008).
I do feel that I am able to delineate clear and appropriate professional boundaries with
clients. I feel confident that I have gained enough knowledge through my training these past
semesters to know what behaviors are and are not appropriate when working with clients. I have
learned through my readings and various video lectures that some behaviors may be appropriate
in certain situations and with certain clients, but may not be with others. This new knowledge
will help me to work more effectively with clients and understand how best to act so that I am
remaining professional and doing my best to maintain a professional, helping relationship with
each and every client. I have gained a plethora of additional knowledge through my training and
feel confident that I will be successful in presenting clear and appropriate boundaries with my
clients.
It is important for workers to maintain client confidentiality and demonstrate that they are
trustworthy and committed to the privacy of the client in order to develop a strong relationship
with each client. This confidentiality should be protected in all cases possible except for in cases
correlating to certain professional obligations as mentioned in Section 1.07: Privacy and
Confidentiality (NASW, 2008). I feel confident that I will be successful in maintaining this
confidentiality for all of my clients. I understand the importance of privacy within this profession
and I want my clients to feel comfortable confiding in me and understand that I will protect their
privacy in every way that I can. I do not feel that it will prove difficult for me as I am committed
to my profession and want to have healthy and trusting relationships with my clients. I have also
been quite successful in keeping the confidences of others within my everyday life and therefore,
feel that I will also be successful doing such within my profession.

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If I believe that the rules within my organization or laws within my state violate the
values of this profession, then I do feel that I would be willing to engage in action efforts against
these laws and policies. I am interested in the well-being of my potential clients. I have chosen
the field of social work because I am interested in making a difference and helping others.
Therefore, I feel that I will be willing to take action to promote social justice and the welfare of
society as stated in Section 6.01: Social Welfare (NASW, 2008).
If I suspect that a colleague within my profession is impaired by drugs or alcohol or
engaging in in appropriate behaviors in his or her professional setting, then I will feel obligated
to intervene. As a worker I have an obligation not only to my clients, but to society and my
profession as well. Being aware of an impaired colleague and not intervening would be in
violation of Section 2.09: Impairment of Colleagues which states that workers should consult
with a colleague regarding their impairment and take additional action through his or her
employer or the NASW if they believe that the colleague is not taking appropriate steps to work
through their impairment issues. It is important to be sure that as a worker you first try to discuss
the problem with the colleague and supervisors; however, if the appropriate steps do not seem to
be implemented to overcome the problem, then workers have an obligation to report to the
NASW in order to ensure that the problem is appropriately addressed.
If I received an offer of employment at my dream job and was asked to start by the end of
the week, I do not see how this would pose an ethical dilemma based on the NASW Code of
Ethics (2008). If I was already employed through another agency, it would be important to make
sure that I provided the agency with appropriate notice and that I had sufficient time to talk to my
clients about transferring their services to my new agency or finding a new worker if transferring
was not a possibility. If there was not adequate time to discuss these options with my clients and
ensure that they were able to continue their services, then it could pose a problem; however, I do

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not see any specific codes correlating to such a topic and this example does not explicitly state
whether the worker is already employed. Based on this, I do not see where there would be
possible ethical dilemmas in regards to this situation.
The use of derogatory language and crude descriptions is a violation of the Code of
Ethics (2008). Section 1.12: Derogatory Language states that a worker should not use such
language in either written or verbal encounters to or about clients (NASW, 2008). Therefore, a
worker would be in violation of the NASW Code of Ethics (2008) if they began using derogatory
language to describe clients. Being aware of this, I will try to remain positive about my position
as a worker and remember that my job is to help my clients to better their lives and that I may
not always agree with their situation; however, I must remain positive about helping them. I will
also be sure to take time to myself and talk to my supervisor often to help reduce the chances that
I will face these harmful symptoms of burnout.
Overall, I believe that it is very important for a worker to be fully aware of the
expectations laid out for them in the NASW Code of Ethics (2008). It is important for workers to
be aware of these guidelines and understand how they can use them to best work with and
support their clients. Workers need to understand that while they are committed to clients and
have a duty to serve them, they also have a duty to society; the profession; and other colleagues
as well. Workers need to understand that they will often have to set their personal views aside so
that they can most effectively help their clients while also upholding the NASW Code of Ethics
(2008) and remaining committed to their role as a professional social worker.

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Works Cited
Barsky, A.E. (2010). Ethics and values in social work: An integrated approach for a
comprehensive curriculum. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, Inc.
National Association of Social Workers. (2008). Code of Ethics of the National Association of
Social Workers. Washington, DC. NASW Press.