...Graded Project Thinking Critically About Ethics By Mike Wilson, Esq. Reviewed by Brian Bastyr, Esq. All terms mentioned in this text that are known to be trademarks or service marks have been appropriately capitalized. Use of a term in this text should not be regarded as affecting the validity of any trademark or service mark. About the Author Mike Wilson is a freelance writer and college instructor who has had wide legal and educational experience. He graduated with his Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Kentucky in 1976, and three years later received his law degree from the same school. He has been a partner in a law firm, a solo practitioner, and has done work in General and Family Mediation. He has also been a fulltime instructor in Paralegal Studies at Sullivan College, Kentucky. He was given the “Teacher of the Year” award in 1997. Mr. Wilson has published a number of papers on law-related topics in scholarly and popular journals. About the Reviewer Brian Bastyr is a senior attorney editor for West Group, a legal publishing company. He earned a bachelor’s degree at the University of Illinois, and a Juris Doctor from the University of Illinois College of Law. He is currently a member of the Illinois bar, and has published a number of articles in legal journals. Copyright © 2000 by Penn Foster, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of the material protected by this copyright may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any...
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...Thinking Critically about Ethics MONDAY Carl was in violation of the following model rules at various times throughout the day. He appears to be in violation of Model rules 1.8, 1.5 as well as the Ethical Considerations that apply being EC- 1.5 (a), EC- 1.7(a), EC 1.6(a) TUESDAY Carl didn’t do much better on Tuesday when he managed to violate Model Rules 1.8, 1.5 and the accompanying Ethical Considerations EC-1.5 (e), EC-1.6 (a) WEDNESDAY Carl appears to have disregard ABA Model rules 1.8, 7.1, 7.3 and EC-1.8 (a) THURSDAY The ABA Model Rules that were disregarded on this day were 1.5 (c), 1.1 and the Ethical Considerations for these were EC-1.1 (a), EC-1.1 (b), and EC-1.5 (f) FRIDAY Carl did not follow ABA Model Rules 1.7 (a), EC-1.7 (a). In addition to the model rules that were broken the attorney that was supervising Carl was commingling funds from the client trust account to pay Carl his paycheck 2. I have reviewed all of the comments I had made pertaining to the 5 days that Carl had spent at the law office and I believe that one of the most serious events that had taken place was when Carl had asked for his paycheck on Friday and Attorney Howe did not have the cash resources on hand to pay him the paycheck so he took the money out of the client trust account which is also referred to as commingling which is not only unethical but is also a criminal...
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...Model Rule 1.3 by not acting with reasonable diligence and promptness in representing the clients because he was not present. He also violated ABA Model Rule 5.5(b) after Carl told him they had a new case and did not respond correctly to Carl's actions. Carl failed to present himself and his position as a paralegal which violates EC-1.7(a). Carl also accepted the case, set fees and gave legal advice to the clients, which demonstrates Unauthorized Practice of Law violating EC-1.8(a). Carl inadvertently disclosed other client’s information by letting Zeke use the phone where documents were in sight. This violates EC-1.5(a) because Carl was aware of the confidential information. Carl violated ABA Model Rule 1.6 by telling Jane not to forget about the alimony in the reception area. He also learned that Jane has a small business that the government is unaware of and pays no taxes. He did not disclose this fraudulent activity to Attorney Howe which violates EC-1.3(f), ABA Model Rule 1.6 (b2) and 4.1(b). TUESDAY: Carl continues to avoid the income issue with Jane again violating EC-1.3(f), ABA Model Rule 1.6 (b2) and 4.1(b). He is also letting her fill out the interrogatories with false statements thus violating ABA Model Rule 4.1(a). Carl answered the phone and began to repeat the client’s information while Jane was still present which violates EC-1.5(a) and (f). Carl recorded his meeting as two hours when it should have been one hour and twenty minutes. His dishonesty in timekeeping...
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...Ethics and Critical Thinking Kali Lane Gen/201 6/15/2015 Cynthia Waddill Ethics and Critical Thinking Every person in the world learns ethics and critical thinking at some point in their lives. Ethics are taught as a moral principle that direct an individual’s behavior. Critical thinking means to make choices with enlightenment and direction. Ethics play a major role in everyday critical thinking by using methods like the critical thinking process and the ethical lens inventory. This flood of appeals leaves us with hundreds of choices about what to buy, where to go, and who to be. It's easy to lose our heads in the crosscurrent of competing ideas—unless we develop skills in critical thinking. When we think critically, we can make choices with open eyes (Ellis, 2014, pg. 203). The critical thinking process is a method used with six individual steps. These steps go as follows: remembering, understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating. The first step helps you remember the issue and summarize it. To understand the issue means to read and listen while suspending any judgement you have against the matter. The step to apply means to take the information you know, and ask yourself, can I get a result? From there you have to analyze the situation. Divide the situation into steps to make it easier. Evaluate the quality of this idea, but make sure to give valuable reasons for your rating. Lastly, create something new! We all have a personal learning style that...
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...Critical Thinking and Ethics, Relatable? Even though Ethics is the study of the foundational values of a community, critical thinking and ethics are relatable to each other because, both involve the process of evaluation. When practicing good ethics, one must know which behaviors are best for themselves and others, this involves thinking critically. In a statement by Michael Scriven and Richard Paul, “Critical thinking is the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action” (Critical Thinking as Defined by the National Council for Excellence in Critical Thinking, 1987). The steps within the critical thinking process are: Remembering - Can you recall the key terms facts or events? Understanding – Are you able to explain the idea in your own words? Applying – Can you use this idea to produce a desired result? Analyzing – Are you able to divide the idea into parts, groups or steps? Evaluating – Can you rate the truth, usefulness, or quality of this idea and give reasons for your rating? Creating – Can you invent something new based on this idea? (Becoming a Master Student Chpt. 1). When making ethical decisions in life, one must use the critical thinking process to evaluate which behaviors are acceptable for themselves as well as others. In my opinion...
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...critical thinking and ethics Brittney Cox 16 June 2015 critical thinking and ethics Brittney Cox 16 June 2015 Rita Nicely Eth/316 Rita Nicely Eth/316 Is it ethical to clone human organisms? This is one of the many questionable practices of science. Critical thinking can help justify or invalidate one of many situations that could possibly be considered inhumane in accordance of ethics. “Critical thinking is the systematic process of communication, problem solving, evaluation, analysis, synthesis, and reflection, both individually and in community, to foster understanding, support sound decision making, and guide action.” (Ethics Applied, 7th Edition, 2013, p. 75) Ethics and critical has a direct connection when determining ethical decisions. Ethics is basically determining what is right and wrong. Ethics will vary based on one’s culture and simple moral and values. Critical thinking can be applied with ethics to make the best possible to decision to what is right with the use of logic. For example, a doctor allegedly took a couple’s frozen embryo and gave it to another couple. Years later the couple found out and sued the doctor. Critically thinking about the situation the doctor was clearly ethically wrong. (Thinking Critical about Ethical Issues, 9th Edition, 2015, p. 181) He may have been thinking he was helping this couple that could not conceive but clearly stole from another couple whether they were going to use the embryo or not. To get more...
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...Critical Thinking and Ethics Critical Thinking and Ethics Critical Thinking and Ethics go hand in hand. A person’s thoughts and ideas, what allows them to think critically are shaped by their beliefs, values, and experiences. Those personal beliefs, values, and experiences form a person's ethics. Their ethics affect their thought process at all levels. Critical Thinking When defining critical thinking, finding an agreed upon definition was not a cut and dry task. “Librarians acknowledge that there is little agreement concerning the definition of critical,” (Cody, 2006) Robert Weissberg defines critical thinking as "The ability to use reason to move beyond the acquisition of facts to uncover deeper meaning." (Weissberg, 2013) I agree this is an accurate definition of critical thinking. The critical thinking process uses these three strategies, Check your attitudes, Check for logic, and Check the evidence to allow you to use all six types of thinking types to look at the question from more than one answer. Ethical Lens When using the Ethical Lens Inventory, I found that my preferred lens is the Results Lens. The results lens maintains that I listen to my intuition to determine the greatest good for each individual. My Core Values are Autonomy and Sensibility. These values state my belief that protecting the rights of an individual is the best way to assure that everyone is treated fairly. I believe the best results are achieved by examining each situation. Rather...
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...of social feeling for others was present (Adler, n.d.)”. These feelings in society guide the professional behavior that makes up the theory of criminal justice is a crucial part of criminal justice system, and the ethics that make up moral principles of right and wrong, administration that distributes burden and stresses common good in our legal system. We are, faced with ethical issues every day and must deal with components that make up our involved system in a professional manner. The administration of criminal justice, especially the policing of society and individual rights requires professional behavior in certain situations and may often for those on the outside looking in to find it difficult to handle. The criminal justice system has obligations of making moral judgments of what is right or wrong and must be done professionally and with the use of critical thinking. Because law enforcement its successes and failures are often judged by society vise right and wrong the system is under great scrutiny even from those that manage the system, and understand the stresses involved. The relationship between theories, and how they are defined like the principles of utilitarianism, and the manner in which agencies are defined through professional behavior and ethics of professional behavior is part of the analysis. What are some of the principles of justice theories? Explain how the principles of these theories differ from traditional...
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...Critical Thinking in the Workplace Critical Thinking in the Workplace There is an art and craft to critical thinking and understanding the process can be very overwhelming. According to Paul & Edler, “Critical thinking is the art of analyzing and evaluating thinking with a view to improving” (p. 4). Retaining employees who use critical thinking skills in the workplace is vital for an organization to be successful. Critical thinking helps to improve the decision making process that occurs in the workplace. When staff use critical thinking skills they are better equipped to rationalize the situation presented and deal with it accordingly. When a person can identify, analyze, and evaluate a problem before creating a solution they are thinking critically. This paper will explore critical thinking in the workplace and how thinking challenges can obscure the process of critical thinking. Most people process their thinking based on how and where they were raised, their religious beliefs, values, and ethics. Critical thinking involves analyzing and evaluating ones thoughts while eliminating all the biases one may have acquired overtime. When critical thinking skills are practiced in the workplace mistakes are normally at a minimal. Critical thinking allows employees to make decisions in a clear and concise manner. In the workplace today, most organizations are successful as a result of employing personnel who possess critical thinking skills or by training staff on...
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...Critical Thinking and Ethics Amy Allen Critical Thinking and Ethics Critical thinking is such an important part of everyday life that many people do not even realize they use it as a tool. Critical thinking is a concept in which a person thinks on a higher level and evaluates options to help make a more informed and wise decision. It is reflecting on the issue at hand and requires a little effort in the thought process. Ethics are concepts that identify what is right and wrong. Using ethics when critically thinking can help you make an unbiased or unprejudiced decision. There are several steps involved in critical thinking. They are remembering, understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating (Krathwohl, 2001). When remembering, ask yourself “Can I recall the key terms, facts, or events?” When making sure you understand, ask yourself “Can I explain this idea in my own words?” When applying, ask yourself “Can I use this idea to produce a desired result?” When analyzing, ask yourself “Can I divide this idea into parts, groups, or steps?” When evaluating, ask yourself “Can I rate the truth, usefulness, or quality of this idea—and give reasons for my rating?” And finally, when creating, you ask yourself “Can I invent something new based on this idea?” If you follow all of these steps, you will be successful while thinking critically. Another thing to remember about critical thinking, is that no two people are going to have the same outcome when using the above-mentioned...
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...Critical Thinking and Ethics John F Kennedy once said "Too often we... enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought."1 He like other successful leaders possessed an abundance of both critical thinking skills and ethics. Their ability to assess a problem, challenge a topic think clearly about it and reflect, independent of their beliefs and personal values to make a rational decision or come to a logical conclusion. These characteristics helped them achieve and rise to the pinnacles of success. The ability to apply critical thinking to your everyday life and in turn your professional life is one of the cornerstones for achieving success. The critical thinking process has a set of defined steps that are part of the Levels of Thinking. These levels help explain the process of how critical thinking is achieved. The first steps are used to remember, understand and apply information that we are learning. The first three steps in the Levels of Thinking include gathering data on a topic, comprehending the key terms, facts or events of that topic. Then defining that information in your words and then finally applying that to a situation in your life. In its simplest form, this could be like the time your parent taught you or you taught yourself to change a tire. As you progress higher into the Levels of Thinking, critical tasks are done to further breakdown information coupled with an assessment of all the data. These levels culminate in our ability to...
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...Ethics in Criminal Justice Administration Analysis CJHS/484 March 23, 2015 In this paper I will discuss and “analyze the relationship between ethics and professional behavior in the administration of the criminal justice system. Also discuss the role of critical thinking with the regards to the relationship to ethics and professional behavior” (The University of Phoenix, 2015). And a proposal a seminar on due process and how there are several steps that fall into the classification of the professional standards and values that have to do with the criminal justice system. The due process model meets the criteria for professional and ethical standards that are within the criminal justice system. The model goes to show that those in the criminal justice system is conducting themselves in a professional and ethical manor that uphold the rights of all those involved from inmates to co-workers within the criminal justice system. Due process model “is a type of justice system which is based on the principle that a citizen has some absolute rights and cannot be deprived of life liberty or property without appropriate legal procedures and safeguards” ("USLegal: Due Process Model Law & Legal Definition", 2001-2015). “The due process generally requires fairness in government proceedings” ("USLegal: Due Process Model Law & Legal Definition", 2001-2015). In example a person that is charged with a crime has the right to counsel, “right to a speedy trial and to be heard and...
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...Windows®, and Windows NT® are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. All other company and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks or their respective companies. Use of these marks is not intended to imply endorsement, sponsorship, or affiliation. Edited in accordance with University of Phoenix® editorial standards and practices. Course Syllabus Course Title: GEN 480 Interdisciplinary Capstone Course BSBM.04-08.BSMB0533A Course Schedule: 04/08/08 to 05/12/08 Required Text: Paul, R., & Elder, L., (2002), Critical thinking: Tools for taking charge of your professional and personal life. Upper Saddle River, NJ, Prentice Hall. Paul, R., & Elder, L., (2003), The Miniature guide to understanding the foundations of ethical reasoning, The Foundation for Critical Thinking, Dillon Beach, CA. Ruggiero, V., (2004), Thinking critically about ethical issues 6th edition, Burr Ridge, IL, McGraw-Hill. Electronic Resources: Note: All required text materials can be found on the GEN/480 course page. The page can be accessed through the University of Phoenix Student and Faculty Website at...
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...processes have in common? They are all skills related to critical thinking. Critical thinking is defined as the objective analysis and evaluation of an issue in order to form a judgment (Lau 1). Without critical thinking individuals would struggle to see beyond the media bias and political propaganda they encounters daily. When emotions drive decisions, those decisions are not thought about critically. Feelings can confuse one’s ability to think critically and instead of basing decisions on sound consistent logic, decisions are based on instinct and lack of information. In order to think critically an individual must learn to become self-aware and...
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...Stepping Up To Critical Thinking Gen 201 Stepping Up to Critical Thinking While critical thinking is often obscured by our ethical lens blind pot , if we are willing to take the steps to opening up to other possibilities we allow for greater possibilities in learning and leading. According to Merriam-Webster (n.d) critical is defined as “using or involving careful judgment about the good and bad parts of something.” ("Critical," n.d ) and thinking as "the action of using your mind to produce ideas, decisions, memories: the activity of thinking about something: opinion or judgment” ("thinking," n.d) If we were to meld these two words, the logical conclusion would be to define critical thinking as an effort to understand interactions with the eye for seeing all sides and with judgment. This definition seems counter intuitive to what critical thinking actually requires, which is being open to all sides without judgment. In the process of critical thinking, we are asked to process information in six steps. As we climb the six step staircase, our first step is remembering. My experience is that this step is the tripper step, the one we miss or skip most. Remembering what we have learned is key, but often we are in a hurry and skip this step which leads to miscommunication as we don’t have full understanding of the issue. Like most experiences the first step of remembering is the most important to achieve the vista we seek in at the top. Step 2, understanding is a mirror...
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