Karina Nilson

OGL 481 Pro-Seminar I:

PCA-Ethical Communities Worksheet
Worksheet Objectives:
1. Describe the four ethical communities
2. Apply the ethical communities to your personal case situation

Complete the following making sure to support your ideas and cite from the textbook and other
course materials per APA guidelines. After the peer review, you have a chance to update this and
format for your Electronic Portfolio due in Module 6.
• Briefly restate your situation from Module 1 and your role.

I’m a Corporal of Marines, an noncommissioned officer. I work with the family advocacy
program directly supporting all units that fall under 2nd Marine Division. The goal of family
advocacy program is to provide resources that address child and domestic abuse within the
Marine corps (Family Advocacy). It’s a broad spectrum of resources — we provide classes for
relationships, anger management, stress management, & parenting. Our goal is to better equip
Marines to handle life at home so they can feel fully present at work. The family advocacy
program does not have any required training for Marines, it's a completely voluntary resource for
anyone interested. An experimental program called Marine 360 would provide a broad array of
skills related to stress management that is conductive to NCO’s in the Marine Corps. Marine 360
is a more holistic approach to dealing with triggers and stressors. Ideas included in the training
involve yoga, acupuncture, hypnosis, therapy dogs, meditation, lecture and training with licensed
therapists to cover communication techniques, coping mechanisms, connecting with others to
name a few topics. If the experimental phase goes well and Marines in attendance can find these
skills useful, it has potential to become a permanent program for Non-commissioned officers in
the USMC.

• Describe how the ethics of the organization influenced the situation.

The Marine Corps makes legally binding contracts for each of their members from 6 months up
to 6 years. The organization has to provide some pretty enticing benefits and standard of care in
order to enlist and retain Marines. There are many resources out there for active duty Marines
and their families - almost anything you could need, there’s a program or resource available to
you. There is a deep sense of community in the military community off base as well - Marines
and their families are very well taken care of in my opinion.

There are many programs and resources to help military members and their families but Marine
leadership is always looking for improvements in order to provide the best standard of care.
Marine 360 utilizes holistic methods of care that are not widely known or experienced amongst
the military community. These methods have been proven to be effective at reducing stress,
frustration, and anxiety in a healthy manner. The USMC needs their Marines to be in top mental
and physical shape at any point in time. If they are unfit mentally, they could make a decision
that reflects negatively on themselves or the organization as a whole. It’s in the organizations
best interest to invest in a program such as Marine 360 because it will give them the tools they
need to make good decisions under stress.
 • Recommend how you would apply one of the ethical communities for
an alternative course of action regarding your case.

There are a couple of ethical communities I feel my scenario could be reframed but I feel
the most relevant is the factory: Excellence and Authorship. In this frame, it’s all about “ensuring
work is done as effectively and efficiently as possible to product high-quality yields” (Bolman &
Deal 2017). It focuses on giving your employees the skills and environment they need to make
the right decisions. This is relevant to the Marine Corps because in hasty situations, leadership
has to trust that their Marines will be able to make quick decisions without much guidance.
Marines have to make decisions thinking about both the safety of themselves, their Marines,
others as well as the legalities of the USMC and local community. There is a lot of pressure that
happens in these situations and there may be times when leaders make mistakes that can be
deadly to themselves or others. Recovering from these stressful situations is a feat to say the
least.

“Leading is giving. Leadership is an ethic, a gift of oneself” (Bolman and Deal, 2017).
This is very true for the Marines as the organization is massive and it relies on strong leaders
who are effective and can feel fully present in their daily work. Marines find themselves in
dangerous situations all the time - it’s what we train for. There is a standard for Marines to
maintain - they have continuous testing in order to ensure they are combat ready. Why wouldn’t
the organization do this for mental health as well? It’s necessary for the organization to give
these junior leaders the tools they need to overcome stressful situations in which many Marines
find themselves. Marine 360 is an investment in their combat readiness and ability to overcome
many situations on and off the battlefield.

• Reflect on what you would do or not do differently given what you

have learned about ethics.

Given what I have learned about ethics, I would emphasize the importance of taking care of our
Marines. The marines contract is a big sacrifice for the individual - we are prepared and expected
to give our lives for the organization. It’s important and ethically right for the organization to do
their part in the exchange. This means providing its members with any resource they might need
to get the job done. Marines are often young coming from their childhood home straight into the
organization - this means they have only the skills they have been taught from birth. Not
everyone’s experiences are the same so the knowledge base varies greatly. It’s up to the
organization to provide clear, proper training if they want a positive outcome. The organization
needs to equip Marines with the tools necessary to take on and recover from situations they may
find themselves.

This program would be beneficial and align with the Marine Corps values in ethics because it is
such a unique situation for all Marines in that we face highly stressful and uncertain situations
that require plenty of ethical thought. Making these quick decisions can mean life or death - it’s
incredibly important that Marines have tools that will help them in the moment to stay calm and
clear headed. Marine 360’s training encompasses many methods that have been scientifically
proven to aid in stress reduction, communication, and recovery; It’s directly related to the
mission. Therefore, Marine 360 aligns with the ethical standards in the Marine Corps and is a
necessary addition to the mission readiness plan. Ultimately, it would be a massive win if these
methods could be implemented United States Department of Defense wide. This relates and is
conducive to such an environment that all military members find themselves.
 Reference or References
(Choose appropriate Title if Applicable and Delete the Rest)