Ethics and Moral Duties, Case Study Example

Part 1: Connection Between Ethics and Moral Duties

To note, morality is often understood through the difference of what is good from what is bad.  It is often decided upon based on a person’s religious and cultural beliefs. There are also instances when such a condition of thinking becomes dependent on the norms that the society recognizes to be acceptable and not. However, in a way, morality is often mistaken with the principles of ethics. It could be realized though that even though both aspects of goodness and proper conduct have a close relationship, they too have specific differences. Ethics is often related to a defined process by which one follows the moral policies stipulated by an institution to be a part of the values that their employees must recognize. On the other hand, morality is often dependent on one’s personal understanding and decision with regards a certain situation.

Part 2: Case Scenario Analysis

• Situation A: For the first case scenario, it is relatively important to note that the person driving any particular vehicle has a responsibility to the people he encounters on the road. Assuring their safety is important. The life of the hostage can still be saved if another call is to be made to call for another SWAT response. Given that the case does not involve anyone else but the driver and the child, it would be best to avoid the child and be in a disastrous situation. However, before doing so, it is important for a call to be passed on immediately to make sure that the hostage taking situation could be responded to accordingly.
• Situation B: Since there are 20 men in the van, the responsibility of the driver is then passed on towards the passengers and the passers-by as well. In this case though, it is essential that the lives of the 20 people be saved compared to the life of one. Setting aside the issues of age, this case calls for a quantity based ratio definition. True, the driver would still incur cases due for punishment such as reckless driving resulting to homicide, but at least, he would be the only one to pay for the price of the mistake he has made.
• Situation C: although there is only one passenger in the van, the ratio still remains the same, this time involving the life of the one held as hostage. While it is important that the life of the child is saved, risking the life of the other who did not make any mistakes in deciding to go through the narrow path is simply unfair for the other individual in the van.

Part 2: Goal Setting

• Difference between real and stated goals / Real goals are stipulated according to established policies while on the other end, stated goals are simply those that are hoped to be accomplished. For instance, it is the real goal of the law enforcement agency to reach at least 30 crime-reports solved in a month, while it is a stated goal of the organization to hopefully lower down the rate of crimes within a certain community based on a certain span of time.
• Three things to do after 11 months in law enforcement
  • 1 more week before end
• Find better ways of arranging files of crime-reports that were presented at my desk that are still considered opened for future references
• Fix the papers and documents that are under my command to make sure that they are easy to access ice I leave my post
• Make sure that the one replacing me in my position is properly trained in relation to the tasks that I do through a one-week training process.
  • 48 hours before end of duty
• Final checking of the files in my desks and making sure that they are properly sorted out especially in relation to the connection they have on the crimes that are still to be investigated upon.
• Making sure that the data stored in my computer are accurate and up to date so that the future holders of my post would be able to utilize the information I have in a much beneficial

Personal Reflection

Examine what you have written. Do your lists include activities you are not currently pursuing? What is stopping you from pursuing them now? What can you do to get on track?

As seen from the lists I have made, they are more related to better information keeping. It is, to me, an utmost importance of giving attention to since the files that are kept properly could define the work that I do for the society that I am aiming to serve. Keeping files properly would make it easier for crime-notes to be accessed thus creating more extensive procedures that could improve the way I will handle my tasks as an enforcer. Nevertheless, perhaps what is keeping me from putting focus on this matter is the fact that I do not have enough computer skills to establish an effective database that would efficiently keep the data I have for future references.

Relatively, in relation to my application of both personal and professional ethics, I see that I still do have the need to familiarize myself with specific cases that will involve the contradiction of the said aspects of ethical condition. My desire to become a good law enforcer would only be fulfilled if I would be willing to make adjustments both on my personal and professional understanding on some crucial matters.

Reference

Whisenand, P. M. (2011). Supervising police personnel: The fifteen responsibilities (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Learning.

Kelling, George L., Mary A. Wycoff (December 2002). Evolving Strategy of Policing: Case Studies of Strategic Change. National Institute of Justice.

Neocleous, Mark (2004). Fabricating Social Order: A Critical History of Police Power. Pluto Press. pp. 93–94.

Walker, Samuel (1977). A Critical History of Police Reform: The Emergence of Professionalism. Lexington, MT: Lexington Books. p. 143.