Paper Assignment

One of the most beneficial exercises in a course exploring ethics is to develop a paper that allows you the opportunity to create connections between your personal view of ethics and the theory under discussion. The nature of ethical decision making is recognition, analysis and resolution. We often don't make a decision because it's ethical, but rather, because it makes sense from our personal view of the situation. That is, ethical decisions happen "after the fact" as we begin to see the actual implications of the decision.

With this in mind, your paper should explore current ethical issues in the workplace that are relevant to your current career or the career that you are preparing to pursue. Your task is to begin to explore the possible issues within your workplace and choose one to focus on throughout the course as you begin to build your final paper. Please consider the following as possible approaches for this final paper:

• Illustrate the impact of organizational goals and objectives, structure, culture, environment, ethics policies, and incentive systems on ethical behavior within an organization.

• Evaluate and revise an ethics program to increase ethical behavior within an organizational environment.

• Create and systematically apply a defensible ethical moral framework to a contemporary ethics issue. To systematically apply the ethical moral framework, you must use the framework consistently as you describe the ethics issue. Explore the issue using the framework you create. HINT: This is done through the application of an ethical theory.

This final paper is your opportunity to delve into a topic within the framework of ethics that you find interesting, based on your approved topic and thesis statement.

• Focus your paper on the connection between your topic and ethics theory. You must use your approved topic.

• You must support your views. While your opinions are important, they are not sufficient for a discussion for this type of paper. The academic connections are crucial.

• Use your full-sentence outline to build the paper. This creates the blueprint for the final paper.

• Your paper must include the following three sections:

o Introduction: State what you are going to tell me in the body of the paper. This is a synopsis of the point of the paper. The thesis statement resides here.

o Body: This is the place where you pull your research together and develop your points. The body should include:

- An overview of the ethics theory you are using.
- A connection of the theory to your topic.
- A discussion about the impact of the topic and theory.

o Conclusion: Emphasize important aspects of your research project. This is your opportunity to highlight key points, answer your question, argue a perspective, and/or make recommendations.

• Don't forget the importance of using transitions between paragraphs and sections. By reading the last sentence of one paragraph and the first sentence of the next paragraph, your reader should see the connection. HINT: This is a good way to test whether you have effective transitions.

• Your paper should be 5-7 pages in length (not including title and reference pages) and must follow APA 6th edition guidelines, use Time New Roman, 12-point font, double spacing, with one inch margins.

• Grammar, spelling, punctuation, sentence/paragraph structure do matter; spend time editing your paper. Suggest giving yourself a three-day cooling off period between finishing the paper and editing the paper; this approach can make a difference in what you catch and correct.

Individual Research Project: Outline

Kelly Privatte

Excelsior College

Thesis Statement: Sexual Harassment among Female and Male Soldiers in the US Army

I. Sexual assault is a persistent problem in the US militaryand the general population. In 2014, at least there were 20000 reported cases of unwanted sexual contact. The data on sexual assaults on the army service ranges between 9.5% to 43% among female soldiers and 1-12% among men.

A. In a recent survey of sexual assault in the military, the men and women that reported to have been sexually harassed are 4.9% and 1.0% respectively.

B. In the general population, the estimates of sexual assault include 28-33% for women and 12-18% for the men.

C. The problem of sexual assault in the military reflects the problem of sexual assault in the entire US population and worldwide.

A. Numerous theories and ideas have been offered as to the cause of sexual assault in the military and the general population.

B. Gender stereotyping is a major issue since the military is defined by a patriarchal structure heavily dominated by men.

C. Historical and religious influences impact heavily on sexual assault where women are considered as a reward to the winning side.

D. Entitlement where men feel that they are entitled to regular sex.

E. Alcohol which is pervasive in the military is linked to increased risks of sexual violence.

II. The impact of sexual assault on the victims is a devastating experience.

A. The experiences affect the victim's physical and psychological health, career, and success even after leaving the military.

B. Studies have shown that one of the most contributing factors to PTSD among veterans and female service members is sexual assault.

C. Other adverse outcomes as a result of sexual harassment are, depression, substance abuse, and eating disorders.

A. The US government, unlike other governments, is open about the rates of sexual assault among its military personnel.

B. The transparency on the issue enables the government to work towards identifying solutions.

C. The focus to address the problem is important since it recognizes that there is a need to protect the safety and health of its service members.

D. Ending sexual assault in the military is paramount to safeguarding human rights, addressing health care concerns, and promoting military readiness.