Every day, people are faced with situations where they have to make decisions about what is right and what is wrong.  This shows that ethics is essential at all levels of life. Ethics provides standards for behavior that enable people to decide how they ought to act when faced with different situations. In general, ethics regards making decisions and providing reasons behind making such decisions.
Audi (2009) asserts that making good decisions requires exercising sensitivity to ethical issues as well as the use of a proven approach of exploring ethical aspects of a particular decision.  Ethical theories act as frameworks that guide decision-making. It is crucial to have a style for ethical decision making. Such an approach should be practiced regularly to ensure individuals work through it habitually. Thus, theories offer a platform for guiding the decision-making process. The more complex a decision is, the more an individual needs to use a decision-making framework that guides the decision-making process.
Pasternak (2012) argues that there are only three broad theories that help enhance ethical decision-making which suggest three broad frameworks that guide people in making ethical decisions, these are the consequentialist model, the duty model, and the virtual framework. These frameworks are supported by theories. However, none of the theories is completely perfect. If there were a perfect theory to guide ethical decision-making, it would have discredited all other theories. It is thus important for an individual to understand the advantages and disadvantages of each of the models to enable him/her to identify the most useful in each situation. Therefore, it is clear that ethical theories have a crucial role in decision-making. Ethical theories help guide individuals to make informed decisions regarding particular situations; these theories thus help ensure an individual practices ethical decision-making.

 

In what ways have you experienced changes as a result of the material in this course?  What areas did you not connect with or make progress on?
What will be your next steps in continuing your education on helping? On cultural diversity?
Interview someone from a different cultural—-a friend, co-worker, professor, relative.  Discuss at least 3 of the following, and share what you have learned and how it changes your perspective on that person and culture:
Importance and role of the family
Religion/Spirituality
Gender Issues
Attitudes about mainstream U.S. culture
Social Class
Cultural Values
Language Issues
Ambition and Family Obligations
Adapting to America or to a new region of America

4. How did your self-care project go?  Was it successful?  Why or why not?  Will you continue with this plan or do something different in the future?  Explain.
Requirement: