Making Ethical Decisions - Tennis Canada

1- An Introduction to Solving Ethical Situations1.1- General ConsiderationsAs a coach, you will deal with a wide range of issues. Depending on the type ofissue with which you are faced, you may experience a variety of emotions/feelings andthoughts.Sometimes, you may feel that an action/behaviour is wrong. At other times, youmay suspect or even know that a behaviour is illegal. In other instances, you may feelunsure about a situation and a decision, since there seems to be a number ofalternatives that could be acceptable. If you ask yourself this type of question, the issuemost likely has ethical implications.Often, a conversation with the person(s) involved is all that is necessary toadequately deal with the situation. However, at other times this will not be sufficient, andyou may have to make a more formal intervention or refer the matter to some other levelof authority.1.2- Values and Ethics: What Are They?Our values represent a set of deeply held beliefs upon which our thoughts andactions are based; we refer to our values in evaluating our own actions as well as theactions and decisions of others. In coaching, our core values are expressed as a seriesof principles defined by the NCCP Code of Ethics. A code of ethics defines what isconsidered good and right behaviour.Ethical issues arise when our values and the corresponding ethical principles arecompromised in some way. When this happens, the decisions are often sensitive anddifficult to make. In these situations, the quality of the decisions made by the coachdepends on a number of factors including: an understanding of the facts of the situation an awareness of his/her own values, and of the various factors that caninfluence his/her decision the use of appropriate benchmarks to analyze the situation and understandwhat is involved the ability to apply a rigorous decision-making framework to the situation athandThis module deals with each of these factors as part of an ethical decision-makingprocess.© Coaching Association of Canada, 2003 1