Journal of Social Research & Policy, Vol. 6, Issue 2, December 2015

Ethics Expertise Instruments in Social Work Institutions ANA FRUNZĂ1 LUMEN Research Center in Social and Humanistic Sciences, Iasi, Romania

ANTONIO SANDU “Stefan cel Mare” University of Suceava, Romania LUMEN Research Center in Social and Humanistic Sciences, Iasi, Romania Romanian Unit of UNESCO Chair in Bioethics, Iasi, Romania

Abstract This paper aims to reveal the results of the mixed quantitative and qualitative research in the field of ethics expertise in social services as part of public administration. The purpose of this research is to identify the particularities of the management of institutional ethics and the social construction of ethics, as derived from the constitutive and operational values acknowledged in the organisational culture. Our interest is centered on the context that is specific to the counselling of ethics, developed at an institutional level from north-east Romania (N-E), under the consideration of the existence of ethical values, internalized at the organizational level, and assumed by the personnel of the institutions involved in the research.

Ke ywords: Ethics Expertise; Ethical Instruments; Social Work; Welfare Practice; Ethical Audit; Supervision of Ethics; Counselling of Ethics; Ethical Principles; Ethical Values.

Introduction The concerns for the counselling of ethics come into close contact with those for bioethics and, in general, for applied ethics. Counselling of ethics targets the strategies for solving ethical dilemmas that confront the individual or institutional subject. We consider the counselling of ethics, and therefore the entire ethics expertise, as being a transdisciplinary field between philosophical practice and social practice. In Romania, the practice of the counselling of ethics is compulsory, required by law, for public servants . The position of a counsellor of ethics is assigned to a specialist in human resources, without requiring ethical training from a counsellor of ethics. Thus, counselling of ethics is reduced to an administrative practice, without application on the reflexive function of ethics. The purpose of this research is to identify the particularities of the management of institutional ethics and the social construction of ethics, as derived from the constitutive and operational values acknowledged in organisational culture. Our interest is centred on the context that is specific to the counselling of ethics developed at an institutional level from N-E Romania, under the considerations of the existence of ethical values, internalized at the organizational level, and assumed by the personnel of the institutions involved in the research. The paper targets an audit of institutional ethics (as it is understood by the s ocial workers in the counties of N-E Romania), the practices of achieving ethical conformity being implement ed and acknowledged by the personnel, and the status of the normative frameworks with regard to the counselling of ethics in public institutions and so on. 1

Postal Address: Str. Tepes Voda, nr. 2, bl. V1, sc. F, et. 3, ap.14, Iasi, Romania, 700310. E-mail Address: [email protected]

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The need for ethics expertise in social practice The organizational practices of professional formations and ethics can contribute to the development of the individual as an autonomous moral agent through the awareness and promoting of relationships based on ethical principles. Organizational culture (Copoeru & Szabo, 2008) appeals to respecting professional obligations that can turn into individual responsibility throug h means of ethics expertise , especially in institutional responsibility. Ethics expertise targets organizational responsibility and its forms of collective action. In the context of organizations, one of the most frequently debated issues in moral and ethical planning is the way in which the personnel are prepared to face certain moral issues, or to identify and solve ethical dilemmas. The issue of effective training in ethics is approached by ethicists by indicating methods or tools to facilitate ethical decisions . This finally leads to its professionalization by going beyond the intuitive level of common ethics that currently characterizes social practice (Muresan, 2009). We concur on the idea that social work profession should be characterized by a reflectiv e equilibrium based theory, the professional experiences being triggered by the values that give the nature of this profession (Gheţău & Rădulescu, 2002). In our opinion, the professional values are operational ones, which correlate the organizational constitutive values and the effective practice of the professionals. Professionalization in social work implies a powerful adherence of the professionals to the values that are deeply human (Roth & Rebeleanu, 2007) and internalize them, thus bringing their contribution to the development of the profession, in the spirit of constitutive values of justice and the public good. Ethical decisions are the result or ability built by the context of previous moral development, the interest for ethics inside organizations being determined by a series of social factors. The models of the ethical decision were developed at a generic organisational level (Trevino, 1986), in the ethics of marketing (Ferrell & Gresham, 1985), or at the level of individual ethics , which can be easily generalized to the organizational specific. Concerns regarding the issues of ethics in the public domain have become inc reasingly fierce. The ethical behaviour of public servants, the responsibility of professions , and the transparency of organizational processes are only a few of the most intensely approached issues socially, economically, and ethically (Frunză, 2016; Bishop & Preston, 2000). We concur to the idea that professional organizations can no longer ignore the ethical aspects involved in all actions and activities of their members (Cioară, 2014), as moral agents and communicative actors, involved in the well-functioning of the organization and of society. The sociological community, but also the social work practitioners who are involved in interaction with human subjects, are responsible for respecting dignity, for treating them with respect and consideration. There is an abundance of ethical regulations for the public service and policies, such as requests for codes of ethics, which imply a respect for the standards, obligations, ethical practices, and so on (Caras (Frunză), 2014). The public sphere is scrutinised for alerts of violation of ethical practices and the lack of transparency in public decisions. In Romanian society, there is an excess of normativity and institutional practices (Frunză, 2016). In relation to the given context, the counselling of ethics - regulated by Law 7/2004, regarding the Code of Conduct for Public Servants republished in M.O, Part 1, n o. 525/2007 introduces the obligation of naming a public servant, usually from the human resources department, for the counselling of ethics and monitoring the adherence to the conduct norms. Although the law limits the counselling of ethics to a process of monitoring and controlling the compliance of the code of conduct, we understand the counselling of ethics (Frunză, 2016), (Sandu & Caras Frunză, 2013a) as a process with a role in facilitating the identification of ethical dilemmas, which the individuals and organizations may face. It also identifies certain ways out of such dilemmas, which are congruent with the shared vision of the subject or the organization (Sandu & Caras, 2013b).

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Ethical audit This paper targets an audit of institutional ethics - as it is understood by the s ocial workers in the counties of N-E Romania - the practices of achieving ethical conformity being implemented and acknowledged by the personnel, and the status of the normative frameworks with regard to the counselling of ethics in public institutions and so on. The ethics audit helps identify and solve the issues of ethical organizational culture. The ethics audit should be conducted in order to understand the level of conformity between the organizational values and the practices, which are meant to highlight these values. At the same time, the ethics audit aims to highlight the ethical institutional climate. Any issues that may arise in the implementation of the policies of ethics will also be highlighted, following their cause, and formulating possible solutions of improving or solving them (Hofmann, 2006; Sandu, 2014). The ethics audit can be conducted at an organisational level, in which case we analyse the general ethical climate in the organization, either at the level of a department or service offered by the organization, or at the level of a group of organizations from a c ertain branch of activity. In this case, we are interested in an audit of policies of ethics imposed by Law no. 7/2004, regarding the Code of Conduct for Public Servants , republished in M.O, Part 1, no. 525/2007. This law requests the public servants to adhere to a series of values, such as transparency, integrity, benevolence, loyalty towards the public office (Corodeanu-Agheorghesei, 2013), and so on. In order to implement these values, the law introduces the counselling of ethics as a practice meant to ensure support to the public servant experiencing issues and ethical dilemmas and , at the same time, to ensure ethical training for the employees and to combat malpractice. All these constitute a policy of ethics regarding the public position that the Romanian state aims to implement in all sectors of activity. In our research, we aim to audit the implementation of these policies at the level of the services of social work, as part of public administration. In the functioning of the Romanian social work services there are both, public and private bidders, and in the public services there are both public servants and contractual staff with the function of social workers. From our point of view, for the success of policies of ethics in the system of social work, the ethical practices should be similar both, in the public and private sectors, and the ethical standards should be uniform. This is why we considered the status of the public servant and the deontological code (Tompea, 2003), namely the one of the College of Social Workers (CNASR) as a bidder for policies of ethics that would govern the field. Methodology The paradigm assumed on the research is a constructionist one; the study focuses on the social context of the experience of internalizing the organizational ethical values by the specialists from their framework on the level of public services. The general research design will use mixed research methods, both qualitative and quantitative, but in this paper we will refer mainly to the quantitative method. The qualitative research was based on focus group interviews. The focus group was attended by a total of 20 social workers, with various practical and management functions in both , public and private organizations. The central criterion of particip ants’ selection: experience in the field , between 10 and 20 years. Following the first data analysis, we identified the saturation of data. Data collection was conducted from August 2012 to November 2013, in Iasi County, Romania. In order to triangulate the methods of research used, we also made a content analysis of the Code of Ethics of National Association of Social Workers from Romania (Colegiul National al Asistenților Sociali din România) and, based on the results of the interviews and the content analysis, we developed a questionnaire that was applied in social work institutions in N-E Romania. The quantitative research was developed between February and July 2015. The participants were recruited through the snowball method, starting from the institutions whose component implicates the existence of certain public servants responsible for the counselling of ethics of professionals from the field.

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The results were analysed exclusively from a statistical point of view, allowing anonymity through not requesting personal information from the respondents. None of the questions raised aspects that were defamatory for the respondents or their working environment. Neither did it raise situations of introspection that would require reflection, which may lead to negative emotions. The operators collected the data. The analysis was applied on 80 questionnaires, the data having the nature of partial results. Based on the analysis of the results, we cannot draw conclusions that are statistically representative, but we can propose a model of analysis , the conclusions of which have a high degree of probability. Results of Qualitative analysis The results of the qualitative analysis of the focus groups led to the establishment of a certain series of interpretative categories, among which were: “Social work practice focused on ethical values”, “Responsibility for the welfare of the client”, “Welfare as a manifestation of relational autonomy”, and “Professional autonomy of the social worker”. The key to the interpretation of the categories obtained in the qualitative analysis was the understanding of social practices as subject to ethical expertise. The respondents have emphasized the specifics of social practice as a practice centered on ethical values. The customization of the interviews was achieved by including values such as autonomy, fairness, and responsibility within the thematic axes, from which respondents were free to refer to any other values they considered as justifying their own practice 2 . The generated thematic axes focused on the perspective of social work centered on ethical values: the legislative perspective – which leads to a model of social work centered on the rights of the beneficiary; the idealized perspective on practice – the social workers insisting on the need for vocation in exercising the profession; the perspective of placing the professional in the system of social services – where the social worker reflects on the relationship between the professional standards and their own moral values; the perspective of efficiency of practice – which aims to gain balance between the practice centred on the rights of the beneficiary, the principles of good will in literature and the specific context of practice. In this article, we are specifically interested in a secondary data analysis, referring to the normative ethical framework of social work’s function, as a fundament of the professionalization of ethical expertise in social work. Of interest for the current paper is the reference to the need for an ethical expertise, which derives from the positioning, both for and against, of the social workers towards the legislative framework. This is mentioned both as a limitation of professional autonomy of the social worker, the “constriction” being mainly associated to the practice in public services, but also as a facilitator of the addiction of beneficiaries to the system. Moreover, the contradiction between the personal values of the professionals and the values of the organization is seen as ambivalent. The discourse of the two respondents is contradictory. “It is a conflict, it’s one thing to be a professional at work, in an organization with own values, and another to work after a legislation that constricts you, as we all know what it’s like to work at […]” (social worker 10, 2013) n.n. (nominated certain public institution). “Regarding the conflict of values, I couldn’t give you an examp le of values that are contrary, I personally don’t see a conflict” (social worker 11, 2013). “I don’t see my values as interfering with those of the organization, it is true that we cannot select our clients, but there are measures and solutions to individualize the services; not all that come to us need protection” (social worker 11, 2013). 2

An extensive approach of the results of qualitative research is handled in “Ethical Values in Social Work Practice. Qualitative Study in North – Eastern Romania”, in a different publication.

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We can sense an opposition between the values imposed in the legislative framework, specific for Romanian social work, and the values of the professionals, which vary from an ethics of justice, towards an ethics of promoting the autonomy of the individual. The respondents have highlighted the difference between the position of the professionals towards the values of social work, as effective professional practice and the position of literature (Reamer, 2006) refers to good practice. We notice the desire to manifest the autonomy towards the system through the intervention of the professionals in amending the legislative framework, but also references to the heteronomous position of the profes sional: “Yes, indeed there can be contradictions between your opinions as human, the personal ones, and the context of the workplace […]you should respect the law, you are not there to comment on it and the situation of the client” (social worker 12, 2013). “My specific values conflicted with these specific situations in which I personally considered that those persons need a personal assistant and that specific care; that didn’t stop me, as a professional, to take all the necessary steps towards the decider, to help this category of persons. This involved the legislative proposals, lobby, advocacy, besides the political persons and representatives of the system, and not least, this year in the summer, there were a few regulations that tried to cover these needs” (social worker 12, 2013). The potential conflict of values between the normative framework of the profession and the personal values of the professional, emphasize the need for ethical expertise at the level of functioning of social services. Regulation of institutional ethics through codes of ethics We developed a content analysis of the Code of Ethics of National Association of Social Wo rkers from Romania (Colegiul Național al Asistenților Sociali din România) in order to identify the ethical background of the code, its values, principles, ethical strategies, and the subjects who benefit from its implementation and so on. The Deontological Code of the profession of social workers from December 14, 2007, (published in the Official Gazette, Part 1, no. 173 from March 06, 2008) was adopted by the National Council of the National College of Social Workers (CNASR), based on the dispositions art. 27, lit. a) of Law no. 466/2004 on the Status of social workers and art. 7, paragraph (2), lit. g) from the Regulation of organization and functioning of the National College of Social Workers. The current code supports the ethical principles , such as the principle of autonomy, the principle of beneficence, the principle of non-maleficence, the principle of non-discrimination , which come to respect both the beneficiary of social work and the professional. We will present part of the content of the current code in order to illustrate a series of principles based on which the social worker should act. The principle of professional independence is the principle based on which the social worker is called to act, a principle which offers him the right to initiative and decision in express ing the professional act, with full assumption of responsibility for the other’s quality. 3 The principle of justice is implied by art. 9, which argues that the social worker advocates for the life conditions that would lead to meeting the basic human needs and the promotion of social, economic, political, and cultural values, compatible with the principles of social justice. The social worker has the following social responsibilities, the components of which merg e with the ethical principles mentioned above: 3

Article 8, paragraph 1 of the Deontological Code of the National College of Social Workers from Romania, available online at: http://www.euroavocatura.ro/print2.php?print2=lege&idItem=17.

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    

Ana Frunză, Antonio Sandu

To advocate for the improvement of the social conditions in order to satisfy the basic human needs and the promotion of social justice; To act in order to facilitate access to specific services and the possibility to choose for vulnerable, disadvantaged, or distressed persons; To promote the policies and practices , which encourage the awareness and respect for human diversity; To acknowledge the fundamental importance of the inter-human relationships and to promote them in the professional practice, encouraging the relationships between persons with the purpose to promote, restore, maintain, and/or improve the quality of life; To ensure the compliance of the human fundamental rights and the application of the international legislation that Romania adheres to.

In the National College of Social Workers, aside from other operative committees, there is the Committee of Professional Deontology, which has attributions such as:  Participating in the elaboration of the project of the Deontological Code of the social worker, as well as drafting the proposals to amend or supplement it;  Receiving and analysing the complaints regarding the disputes that arise between the social workers, or between the independent forms of exercising the profession;  Performing the procedure of conciliations or, if appropriate, formulating a motivated answer in the situations in which the complaints referring to the situations with a nature of dispute between the social workers are not the competence of the Colleg e or do not need conciliation;  Applying the dispositions of the rules of the College regarding the instrumentation of the complaints on disciplinary/professional offenses of the social workers, and those regarding the implementation of disciplinary/ professional prior research;  Applying the sanctions provided in the regulation;  Keeping track of applied sanctions and the documentations prepared during the complaints targeted at the disciplinary/professional complaints of social workers or, if necessary, the persons with attributions of social work and persons with attributions of social work, taken over by the College 4 . We stated these administrative characteristics of CNASR, by mentioning the responsibilities of the Committee of Professional Deontology, in order to bring attention to the fact that we discuss values and ethical principles whose presence should be the basis of the social practice regardless of context - national or international. In the organizations outside Romania, we can identify codes of ethics, even ethics committees, which direct the ethical compliance of the social worker’s practice, which come to help the practice through a well-established management of ethics. We notice how the CNASR code of ethics supports aspects with administrative and monitoring functions, rather than support and counselling of ethics. Whilst organizations in the USA or Great Britain act in order to promote respect for ethical principles , CNASR operates under a deontological code, whose equivalent may be that of code of conduct, which aims to establish minimal standards of acceptability in the professional conduct. For this reason, CNASR’s deontological code is oriented towards the administrative aspects and punitive measures which can be taken in case of malpractice in social work. We find it necessary to develop certain codes of ethics for specific organisations and the Romanian social context, as well as to establish ethics committees that would supervise the compliance of ethical principles and the conformity of an ethical welfare practice. We express a series of doubts regarding the efficiency of a system of management of ethics based solely on normative ethics and the strategies of avoiding malpractice. Ethical expertise should be able to generate principles of good practice that wou ld gradually be integrated into the codes of ethics and the policies of ethics of the organisations in the field of 4

T he Professional Committee of Deontology of the National College of Social Workers. Available online at: http://www.cnasr.ro/parteneri-10-0-ro-Comisia-de-deontologie-profesionala.

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social work. Ethics cannot be considered a simple instrument of controlling malpractice. The supervision of ethics as a new form of ethical expertise should be developed as an instance of mediation between the operational values of the institution and the values of the professional. This mediation should have a nature of ethical empowerment, being an instance of constructing professional responsibility. For the implementation of the management of ethics in social work institutions to be successful, it should start by auditing the perceived dimension of ethics among professionals and the way in which they relate to different instruments that are specific to the management of ethics: codes of ethics, ethics audit, counselling of ethics, ethics committees , and so on. The purpose of the quantitative research was to audit the impact of the instruments of ethics management on professionals, analysing their way of reporting their understanding, acceptance and utility perceived by the professionals for the servicing of the audience of their own profession in an ethical framework. The structure of the quantitative research sample: From the 80 subjects interviewed, 71 were female, representing 89% of the sample, and 9 were male, representing 11%. The gender structure of the sample is correlated with the gender structure of the professionals in the field of social work in the region studied, where there are predominantly more women. The age structure of the subjects is divided into groups aged between 18 and 25, where 4 of the respondents were placed – 5% of the sample, between 25 and 35 years old – 21 subjects, with a representation of 26% of the sample, between 35 and 55 years old – 50 subjects – 63% of the sample, and over 55 years old – 5 subjects – 6% of the sample. 70 subjects from the public environment – 87% of the sample, and 10 subjects from the private environment – 13% of the sample, represent the organisational environment of the respondents. 77 respondents work in rural areas, representing 91% of the sample, and 8 respondents in the urban area – 9%. The respondents’ activity field varies as follows: county council – 8 subjects, local council – 6 subjects, medical centre – 1 subject, placement centre – 3 subjects, social work NGOs – 7 subjects, department of Social Work and Protection – 54 subjects, and public services of social work – 1 subject. Partial Results of the Analysis of Quantitative Data

Practices known within organisations 1%

ethics regulating the professional activity under a code of ethics counselling of ethics

1% 7% 47%

24%

20%

functioning of ethics committees audit of organizational ethics

Figure 1: Ethical Practices known and implemented in organizations

The best-known instrument of management of ethics is represented by the code of ethics, as a regulating instrument of the professional conduct chosen by 47% of the respondents . The next

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option is ethics committees, 24% of the respondents opted for it. The ethics committees’ work is based on the codes of ethics, having their implementation as main purpose . The correlation between the two options can suggest a share of 71% in favour of normative ethics as being the best known within the organisations.

Practices implemented within organization 0%

6%

ethics regulating the professional activity under a code of ethics counselling of ethics

5%

43%

23%

functioning of ethics committees audit of organizational ethics

23%

none of them

Figure 2: Practices implemented within own organization 20% of the respondents know counselling of ethics as a means of implementing the management of ethics, which can lead to the possibility of accepting ethics based on communicative action (Sandu & Caras(Frunză), 2014). Between the known practices and those implemented in the organisation of origin, there is generally a difference smaller than 1%, up until 3%. This allows us to interpret the answer in the meaning of the existence of certain minimal elements of the managements of ethics, based on the implementation of codes of ethics and the functioning of the ethics committees, as well as , partially, on the counselling of ethics. In addition, for the question, “Within your organization, is there a person with competences in counselling of ethics?”, 66% of the respondents claim that there is such a person with competences of counselling of ethics in their organization, while 19% claim that there is no such person, and 15% don’t know or did not want to answer the question. In Romania, the counselling of ethics is mandatory, being regulated by Law 7/2004, regarding the Code of Conduct for Public Servants, republished in M.O, Part 1, no. 525/2007. This law introduces the obligation of naming a public servant, usually from the human resources department, for counselling of ethics and monitoring the adherence to the conduct norms. When comparing the affirmative answers regarding the existence of the counsellor of ethics in the organisation with the number of respondents coming from public institution -where counsellor of ethics is mandatory – it seems to be a slight difference in the number of respondents coming from the public area – 70 subjects – compared to those responding affirmatively to the existence of a counsellor of ethics – only 53 of the subjects. This difference can be explained through three possible situations:  Not all respondents hired as social workers in public organis ations are public servants – a situation in which, even if there is a counsellor of ethics in the organisation, his/her activity doesn’t necessarily address the contractual staff;  Although there are counsellors of ethics, their activity is not visible within the organisation;  The organization – despite the normative act, has not yet appointed a person with attributions of counsellor of ethics.

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Counselor of ethics' tasks in respondent' s organization

13% 40%

advises and assists employees of the institutions in order to comply with the rules of conduct; monitors the implementation of the code of conduct within the institution; prepares reports on compliance with the rules of conduct by employees

47%

Figure 3: Counsellor of ethics’ tasks in respondent’s organization Of the respondents who indicated that in their organisation there is a counsellor of ethics, 47% considered monitoring the implementation of the code of conduct in the organisation as being the main attribution of the counsellor of ethics, and only 40% referred to the compliance with the rules of conduct. 13% of the respondents emphasized the preparation of the reports regarding the compliance of the employees with the rules of conduct. All three dimensions are, in fact, attributions of the counsellor of ethics, and the way in which the members of the organisation perceive these, shows the effect that ethics and the instruments used in the counselling of ethics have on the organisations. The emphasis on monitoring puts an administrative load on the counselling of ethics, while there could be a tendency, at least to some of the employees, to place the management of ethics in the area of dysfunctional bureaucracy. The approximately equal report between monitoring and counselling in time makes a transition from the perception of ethics as an evaluative act ivity to the control over the specifics of the practices of supervision, which encourages us to propose the supervision of ethics as a new form of ethical expertise. For the question regarding ethics training in their organization, “Do you know about the organizing of training courses/training programs in ethics, deontology, and adequate behaviour in your organization/institution?” – 39% indicated that there was no such training, while only 10% said that there is such training, and that they have personally attended. The high rate of nonresponses, 36%, can be connected to the lack of such training in the organization, but the respondents could have reservations in specifying this, either because they don’t want to put their institution in a bad light, even if they were informed about the anonymity and confidentiality of the data. Assuming that some of the non-answers are due to the lack of awareness regarding the training of ethics, and not their complete lack of, we must point to the indirect result, that there is a lack of promoting instruments of management of ethics (Mureșan, 2009).

Knowledge on the organizing of trainings in ethics in organization 10%

36%

15% 39%

Yes, I attended myself Yes, but I did not attended

They were not organized

Figure 4: Knowledge on the organizing of trainings in ethics in organization

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Regarding the existence of a code of ethics as an instrument of ethical organisational regulation, 85% of the respondents answered yes, 1% of the respondents answered no, while 14% didn’t know or didn’t answer. The great number of non -responses can mean, again, a poor promotion of the management of ethics in the organization. Of the respondents wh o answered yes to the existence of a code of ethics, they assigned this instrument a regulatory nature : the content promoting especially the regulatory values (10%), sanctions (16%), professional duty (16%), interdictions (8%), ethical standards (14%). 20% of the respondents identified the code of ethics values as ethical dimension, specific for the organization. The respondents consider that they need additional information, including potential ethics training and/or counselling of ethics, regarding solving ethical dilemmas (34%), where they can get help in solving ethical dilemmas (22%), the rules of conduct that should be respected (18%), which are the penalties in the situation of non-compliance to the rules of ethics established by the organization (15%). 11% of the respondents need additional explanation regarding the importance of respecting the regulations of ethical conduct in the organization.

Areas considered as needing additional information

22%

18% 11%

34%

15%

which are rules of conduct that must be respected? why it is important to respect the rules of conduct? the penalties for non-compliance of conduct? what do I do when identifying an ethical dilemma? Who can help me when I have ethical dilemmas?

Figure 5: Areas considered as needing additional information The respondents offered diverse answers regarding the person they turned to for counselling of ethics or consultation in applying the code of ethics. The highest percentage , 39%, indicate the hierarchic superior as the source of such counselling. 7% of the respondents said they turn to other persons in managerial position, 9% of the respondents turn to their colleagues, and 3% turn to people outside the organization. Only 8% of the respondents declare that they have received counselling or consulting from the counsellor of ethics, while a significant 27% never received counselling of ethics. The results to this item show that although it exists institutionally, the role of the counsellor of ethics is minimal and/or minimized in the organizations. Compared to the 8% who received counselling of ethics, the number of those who didn’t receive any kind of counselling of ethics is at least 3 times higher. Even when the professionals need counselling, they turn to friends, people outside the organization, their hierarchic supervisor and less to the counsellor of ethics. There is the possibility of interpreting these answers in the sense that the function of the counsellor of ethics is seen as being a formal one, without a practical effect. The great number of respondents, who turn to their hierarchic supervisor or other persons in the management for ethical counselling, may show a confusion between the norms of ethics in an organization and the professional conduct imposed by the management. Such an approach may lead to conflicts of interest, the inefficiency in the management of ethics, and in the end, the transformation of organizational ethics into an instrument of bureaucratic control.

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Receiving counseling / guidance on the application of the code of ethics the counselor of ethics the hierarchically superior 7% 8%

from another person with managing position from a colleague

27% 39%

3%

9%

from a person outside the institution

I never received ethics advice 7%

DK / NA

Figure 6: Receiving counselling / guidance on the application of the code of ethics To the control question, “Whom do you address when you feel you need advice on the application of ethics in professional practice, in order to solve a problem?” (Multiple answer Q), we identified a higher rate of response from the previous question. The subjects show that in a situation in which they really need counselling in solving an ethical dilemma, or a professional problem which implies ethical decision, they will turn mostly to the hierarchic supervisor (56%), and only 9% to the person responsible with counselling of ethics. Correlating these two answers, the first of which targets a normal situation in the organization, and the second, a situation of ethical organizational stress, we observe a failure in introducing the counselling of ethics as an instrument of the management of ethics and overlap of the management of ethics to the professional one. We draw attention to the distinction between the management of ethics and ethical management. If the management of ethics aims to apply certain instruments that would allow the impleme ntation of an ethical climate in organisations and the construction of an organizational culture based on ethical values, the ethical management takes into account the manager’s behaviour and its compliance to the ethical standards of the organization. We can bring into discussion, at least for some of the organizations, the existence of a paternal leadership, and eventually an overlap of roles between the manager and the leadership. A paternal organizational climate can generate a marginalization of the counsellor of ethics precisely because in the organizational culture there is a discrepancy between the theoretical standards and the organizational practice.

Whom did you address to when you need advice on the application of ethics in professional practice, in order to the chief solve a problem? 1%

a colleague

9% 6%

a relative

9%

a specialist in your professional area

19%

56%

persons responsible for ethics counseling other persons: juridical counseller

Figure 7: Whom did you address to when you need advice on the application of ethics in professional practice, in order to solve a problem?

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The respondents were faced with hypothetical situations in which employees of the organizations of affiliation could have difficulties in solving ethical dilemmas, offering them the possibility to give grades from 1 to 5 for the agreement towards a certain item, but also to select from the 4 items, those they consider most frequent. The items presented to the respondents are: a) Issues of relations between colleagues . b) Issues of relations between employee / customer (beneficiary, public). c) Issues generated by conflicts of interest. d) Hierarchical subordination issues. Issues of employee/customer relationship (beneficiary, public), were considered by 32% of the respondents as being the most frequent generators of ethical difficulties, 26% suggested the conflicts of interest as being the most problematic from the point of view of ethics. 21% of the respondents mentioned the existence of the conflicting relationships between colleagues and the problems generated by the relationships of hierarchic subordination.

Figure 8: Difficulties in ethical dilemma solving The next question addressed to the respondents intended to make the correlation between the term “ethics” and one of the descriptions offered to the subjects. The items subject to correlation were: a) A set of values (e.g. right, truth, responsibility etc.) b) A set of principles for action (e.g. doing good, do not do evil, be correct etc.) c) A set of prohibitions (e.g. the prohibition of being corrupt, of having improper relationships - nepotism etc.) d) A set of rules (codes of ethics, conduct, etc.) e) A conduct guidance system (code of compliance, understanding a set of rules to give them advice) f) A set of standards to avoid corruption g) A system for penalizing non-compliant behaviour The subjects were asked to select the most appropriate description, in accordance with the meaning it attributes to the term “ethics”, but also stating the level of correlation between terms, based on their own understanding of ethics, on a scale of 0 to 5, where 0 = no answer was selected, 1 = not at all correlated, 2 = less correlated, 3 = correlated, 4 = best correlated, 5 = extremely correlated. 43% of the respondents considered the term “ethics” as being extremely correlated to a set of values, while 3% couldn’t identify any correlation between the terms. 30% of the respondents correlated ethics with a set of principles for actions, 2% did not identify any correlation between terms. 29% of the subjects considered there to be an extreme correlation between the meaning of the term “ethics” and a set of prohibitions, 8% were against any association between terms.

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Regarding the correlation to a set of rules, in the sense of respecting a code of organizational conduct, 43% of the respondents supported the existence of a strong correlation; only 2% were not able to identify any correlation. 47% of the answers regarding associating ethics with a system of guiding the professional behaviour in the organisation referred to a strong correlation of “ethics” to the characteristics of such system which aims to respect a code of compliance, understanding a set of rules offered by counselling or consulting. None of the respondents could identify the inexistence of the correlation between ethics and the system of guidance of conduct. Two other situations submitted to the attention of the respondents are correlated to “ethics” through a set of standards that would prevent corruption, but also to a system of penalty of the non-compliant behaviour to the principles of the organization. 18% of the respondents considered there to be an extreme correlation between the meaning of “ethics” and that of a system of standards meant to prevent corruption, while 5% didn’t agree to such correlation. 20% of the respondents considered there to be an extreme correlation between ethics and the system of penalty of the non-compliant behaviour, while 10% did not accept this correlation. We observe that for the last two items, there is a high rate o f non-response, 28% and 30%, respectively, which we correlate with not accepting the retributive nature of ethics and its limitation to a normative bureaucratic practice, having as main purpose to sanction the malpractice.

Figure 9: Best correlation with the term “ethics” Summarizing the answers of the subject regarding the meaning of the term, “ethics”, in relation to its most usual determinants, the respondents chose to define ethics through a set of rules (21%), through the mandatory compliance of certain codes of ethics and organizational conduct. The results show a failure of the project of implementing the instruments of the management of ethics in the institutions from the area of social services, mostly in the absence of a real counsellor of ethics. The level of ethics in organizations is at the beginning, ethics being seen, especially from its normative side, even with bureaucratic emphasis, like an instrument of control available for the manager, which is often confused with the role of leader. Recommendation for a new model of implementation for ethics expertise Starting from the model of implementing an ethics expertise in the medical field, as it is domain oriented towards the research on human subjects, we support the need for awareness of the development of ethics expertise in the area of social services, whose intervention targets the alteration of quality of life of its beneficiaries, hence the need for ethical reflection. It is desirable

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that the field of ethics expertise is developed at the level of social services in favour of the beneficiaries, hence the need for validating ethical consensus and the practice of ethical gatekeeping (Frunză, 2016; Caras (Frunză), 2014; Caras (Frunză) & Sandu, 2014). In this regard, we show that under Romanian law, the counselling of ethics is compulsory for public servants but, in practice, it is limited to a series of information regarding the professional deontology and, in the best case scenario, training of ethics and conformity, which is minimal in ethical content. What is more, the least ambiguous formulation from legislation contradicts the ethical values of counselling - such as the confidentiality of the counsellor-counselee relationship and the function of the monitoring and the administrative control of the activity of the counselee, doubled by the counsellor’s need for approval of reports from a superior hierarchic position – which is in fact considered a breach of ethics. We consider the definition of a “public servant with attributions of counselling of ethics” as improper since it doesn’t promote the professionalization of the counselling of ethics as a distinct activity, oriented towards supporting ethical practice in the organization, suggesting the idea of hierarchic control in relation to the counselling of ethics, rather than a peer support relationship (Sandu, 2014). These public servants should benefit from training in the field of ethics , given by specialists with acknowledged competences in organizational and professional ethics. We consider it absolutely necessary for the professionalization of the counselling of ethics, which ideally, should be done through hiring specialists trained in ethics. We are aware that this can be unsustainable financially, especially in institutions with few employees and tight budgets. As such, a solution could be the existence of a wide number of external supervisors of ethics, who would offer training, su pport, monitoring, evaluation, and ethical gatekeeping of counsellors of ethics services, based on territorial representativeness (Sandu, 2014). This would transform the counsellor of ethics into an ethics expert, and the counselling of ethics into a part of the ethics expertise (Frunză, 2016). Counsellors of ethics, as ethics experts, are recommended to offer the client (public servant, but also of the contracting personnel) a specific image o f the ethical dilemma that he/she faces. The concept of the audit of ethics is understood as an activity of evaluation with a role in establishing the changes needed in the climate, environment, and code of conduct (or ethics), as well as applying policies of ethics (Wiley, 1995). A prime reason for implementing such practices would be the identification of certain gaps at the level of procedures and policies, and the need for awareness of high potential ethical risk areas (McAuliffe, 2002). Theoretical studies of Frederic Reamer can be considered as the start of an ethical approach in social services, as a major component area of public services – including public social work services. Reamer develops the audit of ethics as an instrument of risk management (Reamer, 2006). The concept of the counselling of ethics, not debated enough in specialized literature, is a concept upon which theoreticians from the field do not lean in precise definition and development, making an association that creates confusion between the ethics of the process of social counselling and the process of the counselling of ethics (Habermas, 1984). In the system of public services, such as the social work services, it involves a series of instances, practices, and actors whose roles are determined and exercised in correlation with the desired result: the welfare of the beneficiary of social services (Caras & Sandu, 2014). The supervisor of ethics should mirror the power reports between the organization and the professional who applies the organizational policies by offering services to the beneficiaries (Frunză, 2016). In these conditions, the supervisor becomes the mediator, translating ethical values from the level of public ethical policies, and that can later fundament social action (Frunză, 2016; Popoveniuc, 2015; Gorghiu, 2015). The role of the supervisor can be that of counsellor of ethics (Caras (Frunză), 2014). The counsellor of ethics would help the professional identify the best solutions, from the perspective of the organization and of public policies in the field. The supervision of ethics does not overlap the professional one, since reflection does not target professional quality, but moral value of practice. The supervisor (Caras (Frunză) & Sandu, 2014) will step in as the supporter of the client’s rights, making the professional aware of them, facilitating the ethical deliberation with regard to the ethical nature of services for the beneficiary. However, it intervenes in the monitoring of the nature and ethical character of practice from the interest of client perspective and the mediation between the particular interests

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of clients and service providers. We take into account the function of gatekeeping in the construction of public policies. Ethical gatekeeping steps in when we discuss public policies, the supervisor shows the ethical characteristics of each option. The gatekeeping function becomes instrumental, to the extent to which the supervisor participates in the very ethical decision through facilitating the deliberation on transposing instrument s of ethical values from the level of public policies of the organization to one of effective practices. Conclusions We conclude the existence of a deep paternalism in the organisations in which the research was conducted and the ethical compliance being circumstantial. For a voluntary compliance to the ethical principles derived from constitutive and operational values contained in the organizational culture, we need to move the emphasis from the administrative side of ethics, to the prescriptive one, namely from the minimal acceptable standards, to the construction of desirable standards, centered on the individual and collective responsibility. Transforming the compliant organization into an organization that adheres to ethical values can be done by switching from the perception of norms contained in the code of ethics as constrictive exterior standards to the organization’s own values. It is necessary to organize certain training of ethics that go beyond simple informing of the obligations of the employees, according to the codes of ethics whos e implementation leads to the achievement of the organization’s mission. Focusing on the ethical mission of the organization, especially in the situation of social workers, whose reason to be, is represented by the implementation of such ethical values as social solidarity, respect for the individual, supporting the autonomous development, and the empowerment for responsibility. We consider the professionalization of ethics as being necessary ; by developing an ethics centred on values, at a superior level, and by combining the management of quality with the management of ethics. Acknowledgement Project “Implementation of the ethical expertise in public services. Audit of the management of organisational ethics”, is implemented by LUMEN Research Centre for Social and Humanistic Sciences and Faculty of Economical Sciences and Public Administration of Stefan cel Mare University from Suceava. References 1.

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Caras, A., & Sandu, A. (2014). The Role of Supervision in Professional Development of Social Work Specialists . Journal of Social Work Practice: Psychotherapeutic Approaches in Health, Welfare and the Community, 28(1), pp. 75- 94. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02650533.2012.763024

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21. Professional Committee of Deontology of the National College of Social Workers. Available online at: http://www.cnasr.ro/parteneri-10-0-ro-Co misia-de-deontolo g ie profesionala. 22. Reamer, F.G. (2006). Social Work Values and Ethics (3rd ed.), New York: Columb ia University Press. 23. Roth M., & Rebeleanu, A. (2007). Asistenţa socială. Cadru conceptual şi aplicaţii practice [Social Work. Conceptual framework and applications] . Cluj-Napoca: Presa Universitară Clujeană. 24. Sandu A., & Caras (Frunză), A. (2014). Some Considerations on the Construction of Ethics Policies. Shared Ethics and Communicative Action. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 149, pp. 846-854. doi:10.1016/ j.sbspro.2014.08.325 25. Sandu, A. (2014). Etică profesională și transparență în administrația publică [Professional ethics and transparency in public administration] , Bucharest, Romania: Editura Didactică și Pedagogică. 26. Sandu, A., & Caras, A. (2013a). Deconstruction of Charity. Postmodern Ethical Approaches. Journal for the Study of Religions and Ideologies, 12(36), pp. 72-99. 27. Sandu, A., & Caras, A. (2013b). Philosophical Practice and Social Welfare Counselling and Supervision of Ethics . Journal of the APPA, Philosophical Practice, 8(3), pp. 1287- 1296. 28. Tompea, D. (2003). Deontologia asistenţei sociale şi construcţia paradigmei profesionale [Deontology of social work and the construction of professional paradigm]. In G. Neamţu (Ed.), Tratat de asistenţă socială [Treaty of Social Work ] (pp. 401 - 464.), Iaşi: Editura Polirom. 29. Trevino, L.K. (1986). Ethical Decision Making in Organizations: A Person -Situation Interactionist Model, Academy of Management Review, 11, pp. 601-617. doi:10.5465/AMR.1986.4306235 30. Wiley, C. (1995). The ABC's of Busines s Ethics: Definitions, Philosophies and Implementation. Industrial Management, 37 (1), pp. 22-27.