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Unit 1 Foundations and Trends in Family and Consumer Sciences
need for people with her education and skills,
her small town was suffering from plant closures
and high unemployment. Her plan had been to
move from her rural college town to a suburban
area, but after her father’s recent heart attack and
her mother’s struggle with diabetes, she knew
she needed to stay close until things stabilized.
Besides, she felt she owed it to them. She never
would have made it through the last two years of
school without their constant help—financially,
emotionally, and in practical ways such as with
child care and meals.
Kathy has been jobless for a total of
18 months, including the six months since
graduation. Two months ago, she started looking
outside her field, increasingly willing to take any
job. However, even minimum wage positions
were scarce, and they did not pay enough for
one person to live on, much less three. She has
school loans that she needs to begin paying off
and does not want to get into financial trouble
again. Her biggest worry, however, is her lack
of medical coverage for her children. She has
somehow paid her rent for the last six months,
but now that her savings are running out, she
desperately needs a job. She has been trying to
keep a cheerful, hopeful attitude for her children,
who are unaware of the family’s financial
distress.
Now, a job Kathy never applied for has come
up. She received an unsolicited call from a national
lending store that markets “payday loans” through
storefronts at strip malls. The company makes it very
easy for people with poor credit to take out loans.
However, the interest rates are astronomical—
sometimes as high as 500 percent. From her
educational training, she knows that people who
take out these easy loans rarely recover financially.
She is offered a high salary and a benefits package
that covers her whole family, but Kathy believes it is
absurd and hypocritical to encourage people to take
out these easy loans. However, her own financial
situation is worsening and just one unforeseen
event could devastate her family. Should she take
the job to support her family and prevent financial
ruin? As a professional, shouldn’t she guide people
in solid financial decision making? To whom is she
responsible?
Few choices we face are as difficult as
the one Kathy is facing, but being ethical is
often hard. We are surrounded with choices
personally and professionally. Everything we say
and do represents a choice. This makes sense
on a personal level, but in a culturally diverse
environment, how can people come to agreement
on ethical choices? This has been a debated
topic in schools for many years. Ethics entail
values, and in Western culture, values are viewed
as personal. Yet, decisions we make determine
the shape of our lives and the lives of those
around us. Across cultures and belief systems, six
common pillars of ethical decision making emerge
(Josephson, 2002).
• Trustworthiness: This includes honesty,
courage to do the right thing, and loyalty.
• Respect for others: This involves using good
manners and being considerate of the feel-
ings and culture of others.
• Responsibility: A common theme in ethical
behavior, this means not only persevering in
tasks but also doing your best. Self-control,
self-discipline, accountability, and reflective
action all play a part in responsible behavior.
• Fairness: This is not only about playing
by the rules, but also involves being open
minded and using equity as a principle
when dealing with others.
• Caring: This includes being kind and com-
passionate to others, expressing gratitude,
forgiving others, and helping people in
need.
• Citizenship: This involves doing what you
can to make your community a better place.
Sometimes, all that is required is simple
cooperation. Other times, it takes personal
involvement with issues in the community.
The community can be as small as a two-
person friendship or as large as a society.
Citizenship includes obeying laws and
rules and also respecting authority. It means
being a good neighbor to other people and
the environment.
Although the six pillars of ethical behav-
ior may be somewhat universal, beliefs about
whether a specific action is ethical may vary
by cultural group. For example, in the United