Unit 3

Deontological Principles of Professional Management

Unit Objective

To analyze the structure of deontological principles.

Content

1. Justification of the principles

2. Application of the principles

2.1. Autonomy principle

2.2. Justice principle

2.3. Nonmaleficence principle

2.4. Beneficence principle

3. Articulation of the principles

1. Justification of the principles

Our ethical guidelines are guided by five moral principles (Kitchener, 1984)

These moral principles can not address all situations; however they are the
foundation to clarify different issues.

The 5 principles are:

Autonomy

Justice

Nonmaleficence

Beneficence

Fidelity

2. Application of the principles

Autonomy

Autonomy comes from two Greek words: auto and nomos, which mean “self-rule”.

It is related with the concept of independence.

An individual should have the freedom of choice and action.

There are two considerations:

a. People’s decisions and their values may or may not be accepted within the
society and these decisions can infringe the rights of others.

b. A person must have the ability to make sound and rational decisions.

Example: Client’s legal right and Client’s cognitive ability.

Although a client has a legal right to behave in a particular way, it may be difficult to
honor this right if the individual is acting foolishly or irrationally.

Justice

“Treating equals equally and unequals unequally but in proportion to their relevant
differences” (Kitchener, 1984)

If an individual is treated differently, it must be a necessity and appropriateness for

this different treating.

Equal and fair distribution of resources, taking into account benefits and troubles of
a decision.

Example: When a non-profit organization wishes to donate low or non-cost pediatric

dental services to a community; but, they can give services to only 40 children per
month. Justice requires a fair and unbiased method to select those children who will
be receive this attention.

Beneficence

This means to do good, to be proactive and to prevent harm when it is possible.

Taking positive action to help others.

Example: A case manager from a Healthcare Insurance must take active steps to
promote and benefit the welfare of the client; for example, evaluating the quality of
a medical attention when it is not covered by the insurance.

Nonmaleficence

Not causing harm to others.

“Above all do no harm”.

This principle involves the idea of not causing intentional harm and not participating in
actions that can cause harm others.
Example: Doctors in a hospital must comply with the relevant standards to provide
quality service to their patients in order to heal them.

Fidelity

It involves loyalty, faithfulness and honoring commitments.

This principle obligates to tell the truth.

It has three main benefits:

 Promotes: accountability and professionalism.

 Enhances: the quality of relationships.
 Facilitates: the building of trust.

Example: A bank practices veracity when the institution communicates honestly,

sharing relevant, accurate, clear and understandable information with their clients.

3. Articulation of the principles

An ethical professional acts according to all the ethical principles and to the extent
that situations allow him to do it.

It is required to unify, classify or articulate the different perspectives and criteria

related with the ethical principles.

The variety of principles causes problems only when they collide against each other.

Beneficence attack autonomy and it may fall into paternalism.

A person who follows autonomy may conflict with nonmaleficence.

A person who prioritizes nonmaleficence, at some point he will have to put limits on
autonomy, beneficence and even justice.

Think about a doctor who knows one of his patients has a severe contagious disease;
however, this patient doesn’t take the necessary measures to prevent the spreading
of the disease to those who are around him.

On the one hand, the doctor is obliged to respect his patient’s privacy and autonomy.
On the other hand, the doctor is also obliged to avoid damages to third parties and to
follow the nonmaleficence principle. Therefore, the doctor could interfere with his
patient’s privacy in order to avoid a greater damage.

There is not a steady order among the different principles rather their relationship
is constantly changing.
Each principle tries to give different ideas and to guide through different situations,
considering what each of them is trying to protect, safeguard and promote.

Therefore, according to the situations some ethical principles can overcome others.

Articulation of the principles should be a constant conversation among perspectives

of professionals, clients, users and people who are in charge of different institutions.

Professionals are the experts who know what to do and how to do it.

Clients and users are the main affected with the services and products they get, as
they are who need, wish, ask for and receive the professional services.

People who are in charge of different institutions, are also in charge of set up
priorities and give resources according to criteria of justice.

A professional must act looking for the benefit of his clients or users.

A good professional will be ethical and he also will care about others trying to respect
his clients’ dignity and rights.

Bibliography

• A Practitioner's Guide to Ethical Decision Making. (2017). Retrieved from

http://alabamacounseling.org/pdf/ACAguide.pdf

• Ethical Principles and the Case Manager | CCMC’s Case Management Body of
Knowledge (CMBOK). (2015). Cmbodyofknowledge.com. Retrieved 10 June 2017,
from https://www.cmbodyofknowledge.com/content/ethical-principles-and-
case-manager