Applied Ethics in Criminal Justice Management - Research Paper Example

Applied Ethics in Criminal Justice Management Abstract Ethics entails what is right and what is wrong in regard to a certain practice or behavior. It is an aspect that is extremely essential in different life issues as long as human beings are being involved. Ethics in criminal justice management has been deemed to be incredibly crucial and should be the driving force in making judgment in regard to different criminal justice related situations. There are different ethical and leadership theories that could enhance our understanding on the importance of ethics in criminal justice management. This piece of paper will look at the issue of ethics in leadership and more focus will be given to applied ethics in the field of criminal justice. The current issues in criminal justice management and the values and culture in organizations and how they relate to ethical issues in criminal justice will also be highlighted. Introduction Ethics is an incredibly critical aspect in our day to day life. It entails rules of conduct that are recognized in connection to a certain class of human actions or rather a particular group of individuals. It is an aspect that stipulates what is wrong or right with respect to a certain practice or field for instance in psychology, medicine, law, teaching among others. Ethics is of great concern when it comes to processes and practices involved in criminal justice management. This piece of work gives an in depth discussion of the issue of ethics as it relates to criminal justice and its management. Among the concepts that will be discussed include the theories that have been put forth in regard to ethics and leadership, the current and emerging issues in the criminal justice field, the development of ethics and professional codes of conduct and justice in criminal justice organizations and their significance as well as values and culture in organizations and how they relate to ethical issues in criminal justice. Ethical and Leadership Theories Leadership is closely related to management. In carrying out activities and practices that pertain to leadership or rather making things done by others, there is a necessity to follow some ethical guidelines in an effort to ensure that things are done in the right way for the benefit of the majority rather than in favor of few individuals. The concept of ethics in relation to criminal justice and leadership has attracted a lot of concern from different angles. This has led to formulation of a variety of ethical and leadership theories, all aimed at bringing up different issues related to this field. The development of ethical theory dates back to Aristotle and Plato time when a need to act in the correct manner was seen necessary. In regard to leadership, ethics is extremely important in dictating how some practices ought to be carried out by people who are being led. For instance, the choices made by leaders and the manner in which they act in response to a given circumstance are directly influenced by their ethics. Here are some of the theories that have been put forth with respect to leadership ethics. According to Nielsen (1989), Ethical leadership theories could be divided into two categories namely leader’s conduct- based on their actions and leader’s character – based on who they are. Theological theories are based on consequences and they emphasize on what is right and what is wrong. They include ethical egoism. Here an individual acts in a way that creates the greatest good for him or herself. This necessitates that leaders should engage in careers that they would enjoy without having to compromise much. For example, a leader could have the desire to excel and through ethical egoism, he or she may work hard to ensure their team is best in the organization. Utilitarianism is another leadership ethical theory. It works under the principle that people should act in a manner that creates the greatest good for the greatest number of people at a given time. In carrying out their activities, leaders should ensure that they maximize social benefits while at the same time minimizing the social costs involved. Altruism is the other very essential leadership ethical theory that is worth discussing. In reality, altruism theory is the opposite of ethical egoism theory. It is works under the principle of showing the best interest for others even in cases where doing so is contrary to one’s self interest. It is a theory that is utilized in authentic transformational leadership where altruism behavior among individuals is encouraged. Apart from consequences, there are theories that are based on duty, that is, deontological theories. These theories entails doing what is considered to be right irrespective of the consequences that could be experienced. This could be achieved through telling the truth, acting fairly as well as keeping promises. In carrying out their duties, leaders should see to it that their actions or those they lead do not in any way violate other individuals’ rights. They should also not further the moral or ethical rights of other people. With respect to leader’s character, there exist virtue-based theories. The virtues are usually acquired rather than being inborn. These theories emphasize on telling “what to be” rather than “what to do”. It is mainly about being a worthy human being in the eyes of others. Some of the virtues that a leader should embrace include justice and fairness, self control, courage, generosity, honesty, temperance and modesty among others. From research done in regard to leadership and ethics and the above theories, it is evident that ethics play a great role in leadership and management. The fact that leaders are meant to influence other people is enough justification that they impact greatly on the lives of the people they lead. This therefore dictates that the leaders carry a lot of ethical burden and responsibility in their effort to make desired changes in other people. Leaders are also entitled with the responsibility of treating people with respect and dignity and recognize the fact that individuals possess unique identities and ought to be accorded due respect. To do this, it necessitates that leaders be sensitive to other people’s interests and concerns. Current Issues in Criminal Justice The field of criminal justice has been faced with a variety of issues and others are still emerging. Some of them occur naturally while others are facilitated in an aim to enhance understanding of the various concepts related to criminal justice. It is has been observed that the field of criminal justice is being faced with a lot of challenges as presented by the emerging issues among individuals as well as in organizations. Currently, various professionals such as administrators, executives, law enforcers and social scientists perceive unethical behavior as a more stubborn disease that is experienced in organizations. Employees at all levels of an organization have been identified to be involved with unethical behavior at a relatively high rate that it was observed in the recent past. Theft is one unethical issue that employees get involved with much. With regard to criminal justice management, theft perpetrated by any individual is not only unethical but also illegal. Employees are expected to be involved in ethical practices and protect their companies in the best way possible by taking appropriate actions when faced with different situations (Conklin 1977). Other current issues that can be discussed with respect to criminal justice include social responsibility, ethical management and leadership, sustainability, social enterprise, globalization and its effects among others. Other notable issues include excessive leniency toward lawbreakers, the high cost of crime, excessive permissiveness associated with leniency and erosion of discipline, favoring of the welfare and rights of lawbreakers over the welfare and rights of the victims involved as well as that of the citizens who abide by the law and the law enforcement personnel. There is also the issue of attrition of discipline and respect among individuals, for constitutes authority (Sherman 2002). The above named issues could be related to different leadership and ethical theories but most of them can be looked at with respect to Utilitarianism theory. According to this theory, activities should be done based on the good they ought to bring to the majority of people rather than being based on personal interests. All in all, it is worth to note that irrespective of the changes that have been experienced in the criminal justice field, leaders ought to respect others, be just and honest, serve others while upholding dignity, and engage in community building. People should have an understanding of the various ethical and leadership theories as discussed above and uphold the positive aspects that are advocated by the theories. The Development and Importance of Ethics, Professional Codes of Conduct and Leadership In Criminal Justice Organizations Ethical and professional standards and codes are usually the principles that are advocated for in a particular setting or discipline and when they are adhered to, they act as instruments or tools for promoting good values for instance trust, fairness and equality and general good conduct or behavior in the process of carrying out various duties and responsibilities in an individual’s day to day life. They advocate for maintenance of morals in all practices. There exist various ethical standards and codes that govern the practices and activities of various professions for instance teaching, medicine, law and psychology among other disciplines. There has been significant development in terms of ethics, professional codes of conduct and leadership in criminal justice organizations. Although there exists some drawbacks, the benefits greatly surpass them. Ethics is deemed to be extremely important in the field of criminal justice. This is more so because the different professionals in this field for instance the police officers, prosecutors and the lawyers are faced with a lot of compromising situations that really requires making of ethical decisions and choices rather that just acting in favor or against an individual based on personal prejudices. This therefore stipulates that criminal justice professionals ought to be more sensitive when it comes to ethical issues. Different professionals in the criminal justice system irrespective of their position for instance in the courts, in the law enforcement sector or the correctional department, are faced with various situations in which they are required to make choices that in one way or the other affect people lives. This therefore dictates the importance of development and implementation of ethics and professional codes of conduct and leadership in criminal justice organizations. Although there is usually a tendency of looking at the criminal justice system in other perspectives such as political, sociological and organizational, it can easily be examined through an ethics perspective. This is through looking at what should be considered to be either right or wrong in carrying out the various law enforcement related practices. All the criminal justice professionals from the prosecutor to the correctional officers should strictly adhere to ethical standards in their practices despite the situations they may come across (even if some may be contentious) In an effort to come up with an ethical decision in regard to a certain situation, the following steps should be followed as a guide. One should first identify the available facts related to a situation. After this, there should be an identification of relevant values and concepts. An individual’s values of loyalty, duty, self-preservation and friendship have a take to play in influencing professional ethical dilemmas. The next step entails identifying all possible moral dilemmas for all the parties involved. This will help in making the right decision and actions bearing in mind that an individual’s own moral or ethical dilemma could be associated with other people’s actions and behavior. Having done this, one can now decide on the most immediate moral is or ethical issue that faces an individual at a particular moment based on behavior choice rather than an opinion. An ethical system should also be used to resolve the particular ethical or moral dilemma and making appropriate decision (Caldero and Crank 2011). Ethics and codes of conduct are incredibly essential in criminal justice organizations. Some of the benefits associated with them include the fact that they act as a source of moral beliefs and they are also the underlying premises from which judgments are made. Ethics and codes of conduct are also considered to be beyond argument. This means that even though ethical decisions may become the basis of debate, the decisions are usually based on fundamental truths which are taken as a gauge by the individuals who employ the different ethical systems. Values and Culture in Organizations and How They Relate To Ethical Issues in Criminal Justice Organizations are usually complex institutions surrounded by a variety of issues most of them being related to management. Different organizations are founded upon different values which make them growing day by day. Culture is also an aspect of concern when it comes to organizational management. It entails the attributes that are deemed to form the way of life or how things are carried out in a given organization. The practices involved in an organization are in one way or the other related to ethical issues in criminal justice. As stated earlier, ethics dictates what is wrong or right in regard to carrying out different practices and processes. There could be some organizational values and cultural aspects that in one way or the other could contradict with what is stipulated in the criminal justice system especially with respect to what is ethical and that which is unethical. There is usually great potential for people and organizations to behave in unethical manner. This is more so because organizations tend to concentrate much on creating more profits at the expense of carrying out practices in a standard and ethical manner. In as much as it is every business organization’s desire to achieve the highest possible level of profits, there is a need to consider how ethical or rather how right or wrong some practices are. This could be gauged by looking at how they affect individuals and the society at large. For instance, there are companies that are usually environmental insensitive and therefore carry out their practices in a manner that affect the environment negatively, causing its degradation. Such practices include dumping of dangerous waste products into rivers and ocean. This in turn affects the society as the environment is crucial for sustainability, helping current as well as future generations. For this reason, organizations ought to ensure that public safety and welfare is maintained at the highest possible level as opposed to fighting for their own interests, irrespective of the cost that could be incurred (Cooke 1991). There are some organizational values and cultures that foster unfair competition for instance through over-pricing. A good example is where a Pepsi-Cola bottling franchise was recently found guilty of illegal price fixing. According to criminal justice ethical issues, this is extremely an unethical practice that is founded upon self interest at the expense of affecting other business organizations and the society at large in a negative manner (Pollock 2011). Organizational values and culture affects how activities in the organization are carried out and what is perceived to be right or wrong. For instance there are organizations that consider corporate social responsibility as an extra task or rather a burden while others perceive it as an obligation and a way through which they should give back to the society. As a matter of reality corporate social responsibility ought to be embraced by every organization bearing in mind that the society forms a crucial component of any given business organization and hence it contributes greatly towards the organization’s success and sustainability. When looked at in criminal justice perspective, fulfilling corporate social responsibility is an ethical action while failing to do so is unethical. Organizations ought to take it as an obligation where they also benefit from. Conclusion From the above discussion, it is evident that there is much in regard to ethics when it comes to the issue of criminal justice management. In our day to day lives, we make choices which stand to be judged under ethical standards and we as well judge other people’s behavior to be either wrong or right based on some stipulated rules and regulations. This is the same case when it comes to criminal justice and the issue is even more pronounced here due to the seriousness of the issues that criminal justice professional come across in their day to day practices. For this reason, these professionals ought to more sensitive to the ethical issues which occur in the course of their professional lives. Leaders are also individuals who play a great role in organization including those related to criminal justice. They particularly play a significant role in developing the ethical climate under which their organizations operate. Reference List Caldero, M. A. and Crank, P.J. (2011). Police Ethics: The Corruption of Noble Cause, 3rd Ed. LexisNexis, and Florida Atlantic University: Anderson Publishing. Conklin, J. (1977). Illegal but Not Criminal. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Cooke, R. A. (1991). Danger Signs of Unethical Behavior: How to Determine If Your Firm Is at Ethical Risk. Journal of Business Ethics 10, pp. 249-253. Nielsen, R. P. (1989). Changing Unethical Organizational Behavior. Academy of Management Executive 3(2), pp. 123-130 Pollock, M.J. (2011). Ethical Dilemmas and Decisions in Criminal Justice, 7th Ed. New York: Cengage Learning Sherman, L. (2002). “Learning police ethics.” In Braswell, M., McCarthy, B.R. and McCarthy B.J. (Eds.), Justice, crime and ethics (pp.49-64). Cincinnati: Anderson. Read More