Disseminating Ethical Applied Behavior Analysis within a Human-Service Organization: A Tutorial.

Area of Science:

• Behavior Analysis
• Organizational Ethics
• Professional Responsibility

Background:

• The Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB) Ethics Code guides practice, but conflicts can arise between ethical conduct and organizational policies.
• Existing structures like ethics coordinators, committees, or networks can help mitigate these ethical dilemmas.
• Previous research highlights the utility of ethics networks in professional settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the formation of a novel organizational ethics network.
• To report on the initial year of operation of an ethics hotline within this network.
• To provide insights for establishing similar ethics networks in other organizations.

Main Methods:

• Formation of an organizational ethics network, adapted from LeBlanc et al. (2020).
• Implementation and monitoring of an ethics hotline for reporting concerns.
• Analysis of hotline usage, collaboration patterns, and organizational changes.

Main Results:

• The ethics hotline facilitated cross-level and cross-departmental collaboration.
• Situations submitted to the hotline led to occasional organizational changes.
• The network provided a structured approach to addressing ethical conflicts.

Conclusions:

• Establishing an organizational ethics network and hotline can effectively address ethical conflicts.
• Such networks promote collaboration and can drive positive organizational change.
• Recommendations are provided for practitioners and organizations interested in implementing ethics networks.