Values and Ethics Resources

• Dangerously invasive or needless worry by Lillian, 3/23/99
  
  

Greetings,

In my opinion, it is always wise to raise these issues when you are seeing things that cause you to question the appropriateness of what is going on. The importance of this is outlined in the Institutional Review Board processes for approving research - a Federal government requirement in the US for all of those who do research with government support.

A more general approach in the field of organization development is the book by Gellermann, Frankel and Ladenson intitled Values and Ethics in Organization and Human Systems Development. Jossey-Bass, 1990 (San Francisco, Oxford)

The abuse of the responsibilities when we are in our professional roles and functions is not an uncommon occurance. Any of us who believe we are not capable of abusing others in the course of our practice is simply adding to the vulnerability that all of us share. In my experience, open discussion, suggested by anyone from clients to observers to colleagues should always be welcomed and generally leads to professional development as well as providing an opportunity to redirect those practices which are potentially dangerous and harmful to those we serve and to ourselves.

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