Managerial attitudes and ethical practice in social care organisations

Abstract

This research focuses on the managerial attitudes of people leading social care organisations. The correlation between ethical leadership, job satisfaction and organisational commitment is explored. The literature review identifies various studies which focus on ethical practice, ethical leadership, values, principles, and morality. Alongside these managerial attitudes, another important factor that is focused upon in this study is the ethical practice found throughout the organization. In this research, the focus is twofold. Managerial attitudes which encourage and inhibit ethical practice in social care organizations are investigated through individual interviews with managers of social care organisations and individual interviews with social workers from different social care services. This study takes a deductive approach based on qualitative research with a thematic analysis. In-depth semi-structured interviews with six managers and six social workers were conducted. Five main themes emerged from this study which are leading by example; communication and supervision; ethical standards and ethics training; work agreements, career progression and motivation; and the ethical decision-making process. These themes were further analysed, discussed, and led to the final recommendations, both regarding managerial attitudes and ethical practice as well as identifying areas for future research.