Question #4: Ethics
*Being the captain, my main objective responsibilities in the correctional facility are the expectations of attainment and accountability. These are, for instance, the responsibility of ensuring that I carry out the obligations of ensuring that the facility is safe during the absence of the commander. As the captain, I am also responsible for the activities that go on in the jail. This is an objective responsibility since I am expected to ensure that everything runs smoothly. Moreover, I also have the responsibility of analyzing the upper-level supervisors annually ensuring that they are carrying out their duties satisfactorily.
*On the other hand, as the captain, I have some subjective responsibilities. These are the responsibilities that are as a result of personal experiences and the belief systems that one has acquired over a certain period. In this case, being an efficient captain who has had a long time experience, there are some values, which I am very strict with, for example, discipline, hard work, consistency, and time management just to mention a few. Therefore, my subjective responsibilities are always geared towards ensuring that the values that I have are taken into consideration. In addition, I have to ensure that everything is done properly at the right time, and the people involved are consistent and effective.
*An ethical authority conflict that I might experience in this position is where I may have two or more executive personalities having a difference of opinion about something and they could decide to take different actions since both are in power. This can be dangerous as it may lead to the situation getting out of hand due to the divergences in decisions. As the captain, I would be a crucial member of the leadership team in the facility; therefore, I have to work in harmony with the commander who may have different opinions from mine on certain subjects. However, we may sometimes experience ethical authority conflicts since our beliefs and ethical values could at times differ (Beeri, Dayan, Vigoda-Gadot, & Werner, 2013).
*An ethical role conflict that I might experience in this position would be due to the dilemma of the loyalty towards the staff or devotion toward the management. As the captain, I am superior to most of the other employees who expect my guidance. Hence, I have to be flexible in that I have to be able to know how to handle the situations to ensure the welfare of the employees and that of the management. This may bring about a conflict in the roles that I have to perform as a captain; hence, I may be left trying to find out where my loyalty lies (Cooper, 2012).
*Internal controls are the controls may come in handy when trying to ensure that one maintains a very strong ethical position in his performance in the area that he has been given. Responsiveness is one of the internal controls that could help me uphold a strong ethical position in carrying out my duties as Captain. Responsiveness is crucial as it could ensure the internalization of knowledge and the ability to be sensitive to the sentiments of the public. *The external controls that could help me sustain a strong ethical performance in this position include the ability to pay attention to the counsel that I receive. Moreover, training is also an essential part of the external controls that I should seek while practicing professional codes of conduct (Beeri et al., 2013).
References
Beeri, I., Dayan, R., Vigoda-Gadot, E., & Werner, S. B. (2013). Advancing ethics in public organizations: The impact of an ethics program on employees’ perceptions and behaviors in a regional council. Journal of Business Ethics, 112(1), 59-78.
Cooper, T. L. (2012). The responsible administrator: An approach to ethics for the administrative role. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.