Ethics in volunteerism

what are ethics?

moral principles that govern a person’s behaviour or the conducting of an activity and synonyms include morals.

Then we have Civic volunteerism AKA Civic engagement

Civic engagement can take many forms—from individual volunteerism, community engagement efforts, organizational involvement and government work such as electoral participation. These engagements may include directly addressing a problem through personal work, community based, or work through the institutions of representative democracy.^[6] Many individuals feel a sense personal responsibility to actively engage as a sense of obligation to their community. “Youth civic engagement” has similar aims to develop the community environment and cultivate relationships, although youth civic engagement places an emphasis on empowering youth.

OK Let me now tell you a little story

There was a man who lived with his sick wife in their poverty stricken'” house”‘. The situation was deteriorating drastically and the wife was so near to kicking the bucket. He had taken her to the doctor with the little money he had and the doctor had prescribed certain medication for her. that was better because we now know that she had chances of survival but there was a problem .The man had no money and the medication was needed ASAP. So one day he decided to break into a nearby pharmacy and stole the required medication for his lover. He was arrested the following morning though ,what a shame . So my question is was he supposed to be arrested or what?

Let me tell you what we use when it comes to THE LAW

1.The harm principle

• we look at who has been affected by your actions.

2.Intention based principle

• for every crime committed by an individual we look at the intentions behind .Some people commit crimes un intentionally and out of self defence(and one must prove that first)

3.Human rights principle

• for the crime committed we look at humans rights. If one infringes another humans right he/she must face the music behind bars.

I have did my research and here is what I have found but first do know that it is not my idea and would like to acknowledge the publishers of the info!!!

ETHICAL DECISION MAKING PROCESS

Step 1 Identify the primary stakeholders in this situation, based on the mission of your organization and its primary clients. Record on the worksheet on the following page.

Step 2 Identify the core ethical values or principles being violated in your ethical dilemma. Consider each stakeholder. Record your thoughts on the worksheet.

Step 3 Generate a list of possible courses of action. Do this for each stakeholder; always consider the option of doing nothing at all.

Step 4 Decide on the most ethical course of action by: • Considering the interests of all stakeholders. Use the results on the worksheet to pick the course of action that produces the most positive consequences and the fewest negative consequences.

• Choosing a course of action based on core ethical values rather than those based on non-ethical values.

• Only violating a core ethical value if it is clearly necessary in order to advance another core ethical value that will produce a greater balance of good in the long run.

Step 5 Weigh positive and negative consequences. Implement your decision.

Step 6 Monitor and modify the decision as necessary.

© Council for Certification in Volunteer Administration, 2006

I have even done the honours of looking for a table for you. You can thank me later

STAKEHOLDER	CORE ETHICAL VALUE OR PRINCIPLE	POSSIBLE ACTIONS	POSITIVE CONSEQUENCES	NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES

What I could say is there are 6 core ethical values and here they are

1. TRUSTWORTHINESS
   Trustworthiness concerns a variety of behavioural qualities — honesty, integrity, reliability and loyalty.

2.RESPECT
Respect is about honouring the essential worth and dignity of all people, including oneself. We
are morally obligated to treat everyone with respect, regardless of who they are and what they
have done. We have a responsibility to be the best we can be in all situations, even when
dealing with unpleasant people.

3. RESPONSIBILITY
   Life is full of choices. Being responsible means being in charge of our choices and therefore our
   lives. It means being accountable for what we do and who we are. It also means recognizing
   that what we do, and what we don’t do, matters.

4.FAIRNESSairness is a tricky concept. Disagreeing parties tend to maintain that there is only one fair
position – their own. But while some situations and decisions are clearly unfair, fairness usually
refers to a range of morally justifiable outcomes rather than discovery of one fair answer.

5. CARING
   Caring is the heart of ethics. It is scarcely possible to be truly ethical and not genuinely
   concerned with the welfare others. That is because ethics is ultimately about our
   responsibilities toward other people.

6. CITIZENSHIP
   The concept of citizenship includes how we ought to behave as part of a community. The good
   citizen knows the laws and obeys them – but they also volunteer and stay informed on the
   issues of the day.
   Citizens do more than their “fair” share to make society work, now and for future generations.
   Citizenship can have many expressions, such as conserving resources, recycling, using public
   transportation and cleaning up litter.
   Based on Making Ethical Decisions – Josephson Institute of Ethics