Running head: SOCIAL ISSUES 1

Ethical and Cultural Issues in Groups

Student

Institution
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Ethical and Cultural Issues in Groups

Ethics Governing Group Leaders

Groups are significant segments of the society. They include the necessary frames that

build up a community. The leader requires that all the needed measures are revisited, and the

primary concerns are eliminated. Ensuring that the ethical issues are considered is fundamental

to the success of any given group. Groups bring together common interests or a goal to achieve.

It includes people that share the same challenges and some issues with them are susceptible. It is

the role of the group leader to ensure that all the interests of the members of the groups are met

and served with ease. The primary concern is the need for providing that the primary goals are

achieved despite the diversity that is a characteristic of the group. The paper will, therefore,

revisit the ethical and cultural issues that need to be explicitly considered in the case of the

substance abuse groups in prison.

Substance Abuse Groups in Prison

A group that consists of people who abuse drugs in prison is one of the most sensitive

organizations that are driven by common interest. Many inmates prefer prohibited goods and the

prison department does not guarantee their provision (Skarbek, 2016). The team, in that case, is a

form of security and continued availability of market. The most significant concern of the group

is to ensure that the marked territory is protected. Any intrusion into the territory is treated as a

crime and is one of the reasons for significant fights among the prisoners in the recent past.

Securing supply is one of the biggest concern of the group leaders.

They need to ensure that the drugs are always available despite the security measures put

by the prison department. The most prominent threat is however from the changes that may
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occur outside the prisons. Most of the substance users in prison are dependent on the drugs,

which implies that the steady supply of the substances is a primary need.

The drugs are very central to the lives of some of the prisoners. Some of them abuse the

drugs to alleviate the pains imprisonment. Substance abuse is also a form of inducing the great

feeling use drugs. The drugs provide a route to the creation of status among the prisoners. It thus

forms the essential path to better social life among the prisoners. The use of the drugs also offers

a challenging way of subverting the institutional rules as well as the expectations placed on them.

The leader needs to ensure that the needs of all the members are, therefore, addressed with the

promptness that it requires.

Skills Necessary for Group Facilitator

The facilitator of such a group needs to possess some skills that would ensure that all the

concerns of the members are addressed. The ethics of the team are one concern that needs to be

discussed by all the members. The leader needs to ensure that the group always remains on

course by meeting the required expectations. The leader of a substance abuse group needs to be

assertive. Leadership influences the whole group as well as the perceptions of the members

(Karadağ, Çiftçi, & Bektaş, 2015).

The purpose of the assertiveness is to ensure that the levels of respect are maintained high

enough for other prisoners. Such a leader is specifically a symbol of power and all things are

done to make the group look like a cartel. The loyalty of the members of such a group is the most

prominent asset that such a leader can have. There are however some ethical guidelines that

govern such relationship between them. One of the significant efforts is to ensure that the loyalty

of the members is always upheld and that the required goals are consistently met.
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Ethical and Cultural Issues

The leader is however faced with the ethical dilemmas that he needs to address for

meeting the expectations of the members. Such a leader needs to demonstrate that they are

dependable and can be relied upon by the members. They need to be in the position of leading by

example. A substance abuse group requires asserting itself within the environment for creating

fear among the other rival groups.

The leader should be in the position of understanding the different needs of the members

and devise the best ways of addressing them. They need to be in the place of meeting the

concerns and address the threats that the group members might be facing. The aspect of

multiculturalism among the prisoners faces most of the prison environments. The leader should,

however, fly above the multiculturalism and address the concerns of the members equally

(Corey, Corey, Corey, & Callanan, 2015).

The capability of the leader to apply the cultural perspective positively is an ethical

question that he needs to provide sufficient answer. The leader should exhibit competence

towards addressing the issues of diversity among the group members. The leader should be in the

position of ensuring that the psychological distance between the groups members is minimized

(Pike, 2017).

Guidelines for Multicultural and Social Justice Competence

Ethical guidelines are essential for the proper health of any given group. A particular

group like the one that abuses drugs in prison is driven by the need for respect and fear among

the other inmates (Corey, Corey, Corey, & Callanan, 2015). The first guideline is to ensure that

the leader provides that the group enjoy that respect. The respect increases the aspect of

acceptance and appreciation among the group members.

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The Second guideline requires the leader to carry out a cultural assessment of the of the

group members (Corey, Corey, Corey, & Callanan, 2015). The guideline ensures that the

diversity of the group members is appreciated. The appreciation leads to the smooth coordination

among the members. The recognition ensures that the goals are met without the exertion of extra

efforts.

The third guideline points to the need for the establishment of norms and ethos that

govern the operations of the group (Corey, Corey, Corey, & Callanan, 2015). The leader is at the

center of the process of ensuring that the norms have adhered. The norms describe the values that

all the members need to possess. The sense of authority bestowed upon the leader is vital in

ensuring that all the given values are observed.

Most Important Guideline

Establishing the norms and values of a group is an activity that requires more training and

experience. The goal is to ensure that all the concerns of the members are met, and the purposes

of the group are still achieved. The most prominent interest of the group is to ensure that they

stand out. The capability to stand out provides that the group gains respect and the members can

meet other goals with ease. In the case of the substance-abusing prisoners, the values ensure that

they get respect from across the board. The values create a sense of organization that works for

the benefit of the facility.

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References

Corey, G., Corey, M. S., Corey, C., & Callanan, P. (2015). Issues and ethics in the helping

professions, updated with 2014 ACA codes (9th ed.). Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning.

Karadağ, E., Çiftçi, Ş. K., & Bektaş, F. (2015). Discussion, limitations and suggestions.

In Leadership and organizational outcomes (pp. 255-267). Springer International

Publishing.

Pike, B. (2017). Mergers: What Ethical Leaders Can Do To Help Ensure Success. The Siegel

Institute Journal of Applied Ethics, 4(1), 1.

Skarbek, D. (2016). Covenants without the Sword? Comparing Prison Self-Governance

Globally. American Political Science Review, 110(4), 845-862.