Ways of Handling Ethical Issues - Essay Example

Ethical Assignment Portfolio Piece D Introduction People face ethical dilemmas on a daily basis, and they have to devise ways of handling such ethical issues. They come in many forms, such as cheating on a test, breaking the confidence of the client, and not giving proper credit to individuals whom the writer may have cited when writing an academic paper. Often, a person can use a number of ways when dealing with these ethical issues, but they most often come with ramifications. This paper will use a particular scenario regarding plagiarism in order to explore whole topic of ‘ethical issues,’ and how to resolve ethical issues. Summary of Ethical Issue The chosen ethical issue for the focus of this paper refers to a part-time college professor who teaches American History. The source of the article was Capella University (n.d.) multimedia website. In one of the professors courses, he notices that an international student has turned in her first term paper with the majority of the material testing positive for plagiarism. He has addressed the student about the situation and has explained to her that the university policies state that she should receive a failing grade for the assignment. The professor also informed her that he would think about possible alternatives over the weekend and that he would let her know of his decision the following week. Because the university has strict policies regarding plagiarism, the professor has found himself in an ethical situation. He believes in the policies upheld by the school, yet he also understands that a cultural misunderstanding may have taken place. He wants to be just and firm in his dealings with the situation, but he also wishes to be understanding and show mercy. The professor feels that he would be right in giving her a failing grade and removing her from his class. The rules were clear in the course syllabus for anyone to miss. The professor also believes though that if she truly did not comprehend the policies regarding plagiarism, then she should get a chance to rewrite the paper. Application of Psychological Principles and Concepts The focus of the psychological principle of cognition can apply to the given ethical scenario. The manner in which people comprehend information, perceive situations/actions/behaviors of others, and how they reason to resolve problems, are all psychological concepts and theories that are part of ones cognitive abilities. Here, focus will be on four specific concepts for the purpose of this paper. These concepts are the social learning theory, the constructivist theory, Kohlbergs Theory, and self-defeating behavior. The Social Learning Theory Social learning theory has its basis on the construct that individuals learn from one another by observing and mimicking the behaviors of others. They may do so through cognitive functions of encoding, retraining, and retrieving of the knowledge gained from others. Such knowledge enables individuals to perform the behaviors that have observed (ODonnell, Reeve, & Smith, 2012). Students ought to observe their teachers conduct continually and peers in order to comprehend and gain confidence needed to become more independent. This theory can apply when placing focus on why students plagiarize material for academic assignments. According to Scanlon and Neuman (2002), one factor that is a vital part of the reasoning behind student plagiarism is the perception of peer behavior. If an individual believes that fellow learners participate in this act, then he or she will be more likely to join the cause and follow suit. Because the international student in the scenario believed it to be an accepted practice back in her home country, she may have felt that her fellow students in America participated in this training as well. The Constructivist Theory The constructivist theory may also have applied when students construct understanding of what they had learnt in addition to creating knowledge gained from continuous interaction with ones social world and environment (ODonnell, Reeve, & Smith, 2012). This theory can apply to the autonomy structure in a given scenario because the structure centers on the clarity of information provided by the professor to his students. By giving clear-cut information concerning expectations at the beginning of the course, teachers help their students learn how to comprehend the material while effectively achieving goals in the classroom. They, however, ought to be careful not to provide too much information at any one time that may possibly overwhelm students, (Jang, Reeve, & Deci, 2010). When applying this theory to a given scenario, the professor may have been able to avoid possible plagiarism incidents by providing the information in a manner that would be easy for all students to understand. Kohlbergs Theory When it comes to looking at moral development, Kohlbergs theory can apply appropriately. Kohlberg believed that individuals go through several stages of moral development as they grow and develop (ODonnell, Reeve, & Smith, 2012). Kohlberg also found that ones highest achievement of moral logic mirrored the persons position of cognitive development. It would manifest through the individuals dedication to principles such as lawfulness and the ability to be fair (ODonnell, Reeve, & Smith, 2012). This particular theory can apply to a given scenario when looking at the professor and his predicament. Because he has a high level of moral logic, he struggles with his situation. He knows the policies of the university, but he also does not want to ignore a possible cultural misunderstanding if one truly has occurred. The professor wants to be firm and just, yet he also wants to be fair and understanding. Self-defeating Behavior A self-defeating behavior includes an action that people purposes to participate in that causes adverse effects, such as pain and hardship (Baumeister & Bushman, 2011). Most people strive for success, happiness, and security. Nonetheless, it seems that those who indulge in self-defeating behaviors may still want these things, yet they choose to attain them by means of tradeoffs, self-handicapping, and/or faulty game plans. Leith and Baumeister (1996) conducted several studies that proved there are connections to "adverse effect, risk taking, and self-defeating behavior.” Once the studies concluded, and the data was calculated, the results were nothing less than what the prediction had been. Individuals who provided accounts of regret and self-defeating actions tend to participate in risky behavior when compared with those who did not have many accounts of grief and self-defeating behavior. This scenario, for them, led to more acts with positive results (Leith & Baumeister, 1996). It can apply to a given scenario if the student truly did understand that she was plagiarizing materials in her term paper. By participating purposely in the act of plagiarism and lying about it, she was behaving in a self-defeating manner. This behavior would result in adverse effects, such as a failing grade, ejection from the class, and a negative mark on her student file. Alternative Resolutions and Possible Ramifications for the Ethical Dilemma For the given scenario of the international student that plagiarized the majority of her term paper, there are several resolutions that the professor may take. Below are three examples of such recommendations, including possible ramifications for each alternative: Alternative Resolution 1 The first possible resolution to the ethical dilemma would be to fail the student and eject her from the course. According to the university policies, the professor would be completely just in this course of action if he knew for sure that she purposely plagiarized the material in her term paper. He would have to report this to the department heads and the dean of the college and have this information placed in her student file. He would have to submit a large amount of paperwork. It seems like such a drastic course of action, and without all of the evidence, it could have severe ramifications. If he does not provide sufficient proof of her plagiarism, and does not investigate her claim of misunderstanding the requirements due to her culture, his actions could attract lawsuit that could damage his reputation and the colleges reputation. If this occurred, he could lose his job. Alternative Resolution 2 The second resolution is simple. He could do nothing, and let it slide. The problem with this alternative is that if others in his department found out about his actions he could suffer from being reported as not following university policy. This could result in his suspension or possible job loss. He would also be letting the student off the hook, which would only show her that plagiarism is an accepted action. This would in no way be an affirmative action for her. She should either have reprimand for her actions, or shown leniency with proper education on how to avoid plagiarism in future. Alternative Resolution 3 The third resolution lets the professor be firm, yet he may also show mercy and understanding. If he were able to investigate her claim, and came to the realization that she truly did not understand the policy regarding plagiarism, he could give the student the opportunity to rewrite the paper. Though he is showing leniency, he would more than likely still need to report her actions to the dean of the college for future reference. It would be placed in her student records and be shown that the professor decided to give her a second chance by allowing her to rewrite her term paper. This way, if she has been found to plagiarize material again by a different professor, he or she will now have enough evidence to support their actions in giving her a failing grade and ejecting her from his or her course. If the professor allows her to rewrite her paper, it will be best to provide her with more instruction on how to avoid plagiarism. By doing this, and by allowing her to revise her paper, she will possibly gain a better understanding of how to reference material and use proper citations in her assignments. A Course of Action Technology has made it much easier for students, currently, to plagiarize their assignments and take credit for ideas that are not their own. Davis, Grover, Becker, and McGregor (1992) have provided information stating that more than 75% of students have admitted to cheating while they were in high school and/or college. However, this information is over a decade old, it is an alarming statistic, and, unfortunately, it seems to be continuing. There have been many studies that point to reasons why an individual might cheat, such as low self-esteem, a lack of self-control, cynicism, and high rates of regret (Baumeister & Bushman, 2011). These can all lead to self-defeating behaviors such as cheating. To help avoid this, one of the first things that the professor should do is talk to others within his department. Maybe they have dealt with similar situations and can offer up valuable insights on how to handle the situation properly. It would also be wise to see if this student has had similar incidents occur previously in other courses or other schools. If so, then it is a clear case of plagiarism, and a failing grade would warrant. If she truly did not understand the policy regarding plagiarism, the best course of action to follow would be to allow the student the opportunity to rewrite the paper. If it truly was a matter of cultural misunderstanding, then she should have had a clear understanding of expectations within this course as well as other courses she will be taking in the future, especially after providing her with a thorough explanation of the university policies regarding plagiarism,. This will help her to cite and reference material accurately within her academic papers in order to avoid future cases of plagiarism. Recommended Action for Future Courses Part of a positive course of action for the future would include the professor taking time out, during the first class in each of his courses. It would help him in covering the syllabus as well as the meanings of plagiarism and other aspects of the universitys academic honesty policies. One of the recommendations would also be that he gives a short quiz on the subject of academic honesty in order to gauge each student’s understanding of the requirements for the course and policies of the university. This would allow him to see who may need further help with understanding policies that he could address, with students who need this extra attention, during his office hours. The professor could also provide an informative multimedia video that can be mandatory for all students to watch at their own time. The video may cover these topics using both audio and visual constructs to provide a greater opportunity for optimal memory use. Another way that can help make plagiarism hard for students is to provide specific topics for assignments and change them often. This method will make it much harder for students to find usable papers from online sources that provide documents for payment. In addition, he should use a service that helps to detect plagiarism, and make sure to clarify his use of this service to his students. Conclusion Though the student in this scenario has technically cheated, a cultural misunderstanding may have taken place. When communication occurs with a member outside of our culture, misunderstandings can occur. To avoid possible miscommunications mindfulness and respect are required. Matsumoto and Juang (2013) explain intercultural language as deciphering coded language that comes in two steps. The first one involves reducing uncertainty or cracking the code, and then interpreting and responding to its content. More often than not, it is a baffling task, but if one takes the time to understand, better other cultures the chances of miscommunication can be highly reduced. This would be a beneficial undertaking for both the student and the professor in this scenario and would provide them with a definite goal to reach. As Baumeister and Bushman (2011) state, an individual who has an arranged classification of objectives that involves many steps needed to achieve the objective, has a higher probability of becoming successful. Read More