Boy Scouts of America Profile Overview
Henry Green
Ethics/316
July 25, 2013
. Richard Nardello

Boy Scouts of America Profile Overview
The Boy Scouts of America’s reputation as a superior organization for the development of young men is indisputable. The organization has influenced most participants in positive ways by building strong leadership, and character traits in boys, and young men. The paper tonight will profile the organization in the following ways: 1. Do an evaluation of the Boy Scout’s involvement and responsibility to the community. 2. Summarize what factors have influenced the Boy Scout’s social responsibility strategies. 3. Describe the social initiatives for Boy Scouts of America. 4. Elaborate upon the potential ethical or moral effects of the organization’s social initiatives.
Boy Scouts Involvement and Responsibility to Community According to "Boy Scouts of America," (2012) "The mission of the Boy Scouts of America is to prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Scout Law The foundation which this organization established over a 100 years ago speak to a responsibility to build moral and ethical principles while developing future leaders for the world. The character and good citizenship emphasis support community building blocks and faith traditions. The Boy Scouts support community service for members and volunteer in many facets of the community.
Summarize what factors have influenced the social responsibilities strategies. The Boy Scouts of America recently lifted their life-time ban on gay membership causing a firestorm among many Conservative supporters. The most influential, the Southern Baptist National Convention threaten to withdraw support for the organization in wake of this decision (Hennessy-Fiske, 2013). The societal influences and the rapid changing moral culture of the new millennium threatens the conservative values and traditions that the Boy Scouts have functioned under since the organization’s existence.
Boy Scouts Social Initiatives The Boy Scouts in recent years have faced inclusion challenges. The many lawsuits that arose from not including Gays in membership and staff inflicted unwanted publicity and financial concerns. The organization as a part of its strategic plan has made efforts to open the membership to boys regardless of sexual orientation, and create an atmosphere of ethnic diversity ("Boy Scouts of America", 2012). The Boy Scouts efforts to address Health issues for boys caused controversy in their recent Jamboree. Boys with a BMI index that exceeded 40 were excluded from participating in the National Jamboree held in West Virginia ("Obese Boy Scouts: Dealing with Health Related Issues", 2013). The problem for many critics with this long standing policy is that it impacted the self-esteem of teenage boys who face those concerns in school ("Obese Boy Scouts: Dealing with Health Related Issues", 2013). The opportunity for more inclusion based on sexual orientation and ethnic diversity was met with exclusion based on physical limitations of obesity. The potential moral and ethical effects. The ethical and moral dilemma for the Boy Scouts rests with the dichotomy of trying to build character in boys, while creating an atmosphere of prejudice and exclusion in the process. Though the efforts of the organization on the surface appear sincere and well intentioned, in the eyes of the groups who have experienced exclusion the organizational initiatives project hypocrisy ("Obese Boy Scouts: Dealing with Health Related Issues", 2013). The conservative nature of the organization slowly is catching up with the changing trends of a fast moving society. The normality a hundred years ago when the organization was founded does not exist for the millennium generation. The ethical challenge for the organization rest in remaining true to the core values of the organization while balancing diversity and inclusion.
Conclusion
Tonight’s paper profiled the Boy Scout’s organization addressing the questions included in the introduction of the paper. The organization though challenged with ethical and moral concerns continues to have a relevant and peerless impact upon the lives of young men in America and the world. My experiences with the Boy Scouts of America have been positive and life impacting.

References
Boy Scouts of America. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.scouting.org/About/AnnualReports.aspx

Hennessy-Fiske, M. (2013, Month 12). Southern Baptists considering abandoning Boy Scouts. Los Angeles Times, p.

Obese Boy Scouts: Dealing with Health related issues. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.belgeinfo.com/obese-boy-scouts-dealing-with-obesity-and-related-health-issues-27564-2013/