Conversation Hour
TITLE
Ethical Dilemmas in Organizational Psychology: Discussion of Circumstances,
Impact, Outcomes
ABSTRACT
This conversation hour provides opportunities to discuss real-life ethical dilemmas in the
practice of I/O Psychology: what is salient and the reasons they occur. This session will
examine case studies submitted by psychologists working in three work contexts: internal
/ organization, independent practitioners, and consultants in consulting firms.
PRESS PARAGRAPH
The purpose of this session is to discuss real life ethical dilemmas in the practice of I/O
Psychology: what is most salient, the most challenging, and the common reasons behind
the dilemmas. This session will provide the opportunity to examine case studies
submitted by Georgia organizational psychologists working in three contexts: internal to
an organization (not headed by psychologists), independent practitioners, and consultants
working for consulting firms. Additionally, we will provide information on the influence
of demographics (tenure, licensure, membership in one of three consulting groups, etc.)
to frame the discussion.
Background:
We all know that ethics are important to psychologists and their clients. In this day and
time an increased emphasis on ethical practice is called for, particularly in the wake of
the scandals that have impacted American business and our society. Yet beyond graduate
school, how much time and thought is really put into this topic for the day-to-day
practitioner or the internal or external consultant? Often, our ethical judgments are
influenced by the culture and leadership of the organization in which we practice. This
can be especially difficult when colleagues are non-psychologists or when practicing
solo.
For licensed psychologists, most states do have continuing education requirements on
Ethics. However, many states still do not license I/O psychologists and many I/O
psychologists practice without the requirement of licensure or continuing education.
Talk to the ethics experts, and they’ll tell you the best defense against an ethical problem
is a good offense (Smith, 2003). The 2002 Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code
of Conduct became effective on June 1, 2003. While full of changes from the 1992
version, many I/O psychologists would probably still view it as most relevant to Clinical
psychologists.
I/O psychologists have an interest in ethical practice, evidenced by the recent addition of
a column devoted to ethical practice concerns in TIP. However, that is one of the few
outlets that is specifically devoted to the ethical issues and concerns faced by I/O
psychologists.
Purpose:
The purpose of this session is to discuss real life ethical dilemmas in the practice of I/O
Psychology: what impacts us the most, what are the most common dilemmas / violations,
what are most common reasons behind the dilemmas / violations, where do they most
commonly occur and how are they usually resolved. Further, we will discuss the
opportunities that we as psychologists have to avoid these dilemmas or the steps we can
take that will mitigate the impact.
As practitioners, if we can be more aware of the types and severity of the ethical
dilemmas to which we are often exposed, we can plan and take steps to avoid or mitigate
the results. Continued dialogue around the standards and the dilemmas we face is helpful
in bringing the standards to mind, helping practitioners understand what others have done
to either avoid or deal with a presenting dilemma, and general agreement on what a good
solution is can be very helpful.
Method:
In advance of the session, we will do pre-conference surveying within our local
(Georgia) I/O psychology groups to gather real world ethical dilemmas that are being
faced by I/O psychologists in this area. The case studies for discussion in this session
will be submitted by Georgia organizational psychologists working in three contexts:
internal to an organization (not headed by psychologists), independent practitioners, and
consultants working for consulting firms. We will be able to determine the frequency of
the various types of dilemmas and the level of importance they have to practitioners in
terms of what they really deal with and how they are usually resolved.
Each Case Study will cover the following:
1) Explanation of the situation.
2) The context / position this occurred.
3) The broad category that most accurately fits the ethical dilemma topic.
4) The factors that contributed to making this a “dilemma”.
6) The factors (ethical guidelines, standards, etc.) that contributed to the decision or
resolution of this dilemma.
7) Looking back, were there things that could have/should have been done differently?
The outcome of this survey will be to determine which issues cause us the most angst in
our practices and what steps we could take that would prevent these dilemmas from
occurring in the future. We will examine the case studies to determine if there are unique
pressures faced by individuals in each of the three areas where organizational
psychologists most often work: as independent consultants, as internal consultants, and as
consultants working for consulting firms.
We will present the findings of our survey to give some context for the audience to frame
the discussion. Additionally, we will provide information on the influence of
demographics (tenure, licensure, membership in one of three consulting groups, etc.); we
will facilitate a group discussion to determine if our findings mirror the audience’s
experience as well.
Questions to those attending the session:
1) How often do you find yourself facing an ethical dilemma?
2) Which ethical dilemmas do you encounter most often?
3) What is your most common path to resolution, i.e., how do you determine the best
way to handle/resolve an ethical dilemma?
4) Do you feel there is sufficient support or adequate guidelines to guide you in
resolving those dilemmas?
References
Smith, D. (2003). 10 ways practitioners can avoid frequent ethical pitfalls. Monitor on
psychology, 34(1), p. 50.
American Psychological Association. (2002). Ethical Principles of Psychologists and
Code of Conduct, American Psychologist, 57(12).
Leaders:
Dr. Welyne M. Thomas – Welyne Thomas is a licensed psychologist who works as a
senior consultant for Personnel Decisions International. She works with individuals and
organizations to improve their business results by increasing their effectiveness. She has
nearly fifteen years of experience in her areas of practice, which include leadership
development and succession planning, high-potential identification and development, and
executive assessment and coaching. Welyne received her master’s and doctoral degrees
in organizational psychology from Georgia State University.
Dr. Joy McCarthy – Joy E. McCarthy is a licensed psychologist with over eighteen years
of experience consulting in a wide range of organizational settings and with people at all
organization levels. As an independent practitioner, Joy works with organizations, teams,
and individuals to achieve improved performance. Her areas of focus include leadership
assessment and coaching, organization and team development, and conflict identification
and management. Joy earned her master's and doctoral degree in organizational
psychology from Georgia State University.
Dr. Jaci Jarrett Masztal – Jaci is a licensed psychologist who heads Burke, Inc.’s
Practice for Employee Engagement and Retention Management. She works with
organizations to improve their business results by increasing the effectiveness of its
employees. She has nearly 20 years’ applied experience providing services to improve
individual and organizational performance. Jaci has worked internally as a researcher/
consultant in employee selection and development. She has been working as an external
consultant for the past 12 years. Jaci received her doctoral degrees in organizational
psychology from Illinois Institute of Technology.