Ethical Decision Making

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Ethical Decision Making

Introduction

Ethical codes are formed and practiced by organization for the sake of drawing a line between appreciable and unappreciable actions by society. In an organizational setting, ethical codes obliged employees to follow a set of patterns in decision making. The ethical codes are generally documented and contain code for business ethics, codes for the conduct of employees, codes for professional practice which ultimately guide to make ethical decisions for business. The ethical codes in any organization contain general guidelines on various elements such as mission, quality and privacy (Ferrell, Fraedrich & Ferrell, 2005). The ethical codes also help in explaining various methods and procedures to adopt in case of violation of rules. The ethical codes can only be made effective if the management of the company supports the principles with various kinds of sanctions and rewards. To incorporate comprehension and objectivity in the paper, a fictional company's ethical practices will be formulated and evaluated so that better understanding of ethical decision making can prevail.

Background of the Company

This following discussion will review Smith Urgent Care Centre's ethical code and how it influence the overall practices and decision making process of the company. Smith Urgent Care Centre is the company responsible for the delivery of ambulatory care to patients across the region of the United States. Smith Urgent Care Centre primary objective is to treat patients who are sick, ill or injured. Moreover, Smith Urgent Care Centre aims to provide high quality of treatments and health care services to patients suffering from minor illness and injuries in their medical facility. The Smith Urgent Care Centre will be operating twenty four hours outside the hospital emergency based room. Smith Urgent Care Centre will be offering various kinds of services such as medical care, medicines, x rays and many on site prescriptions.

Guiding principles

Smith Urgent Care Centre and all the employees working in the care centre should guide their actions ethically and they should follow the rules and regulations as set out by the federal, state and local laws which are related to health care. The ethical principles of Smith Urgent Care Centre are stated below:

To treat all individuals whether patients, families, colleagues, trainee nurses and students fairly. They should give respect, care, dignity and courtesy to every patient in the care centre. They should also take into account the sensitivity needs of patients belonging to diverse backgrounds.

Openly communicate with all the team members, doctors and nurses in order to promote mutual understanding and to provide high quality health care to patients.

Teach and provide care to patients with integrity and honesty and high ethical principles.

To encourage and support the roles and responsibilities of health care professionals so that they can provide safety and high care to patients.

To strive hard to resolve conflicts in the most optimal way with colleagues.

To report any violation of laws and hazards to the management and advice fellow colleagues to behave in the same ...