| Course | IOP 455 Professional Ethics (IOP/455) |
|---|---|
| Week | 1 |
| Paper type | Ethical frameworks and codes paper |
| Length | about 1,018 words, 4 double-spaced pages plus title page and references |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | University of Phoenix |
| Program | BS in Psychology |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for IOP 455 Week 1
The Survey Promised Confidentiality: Ethical Frameworks and Codes for an Internal I-O Psychologist
[Student Name]
University of Phoenix
IOP/455: Professional Ethics
Week 1 Assignment
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
The hospital system, staff and request are composites written for a model paper; ethical standards and research come from the sources listed.
Industrial and organizational psychologists serve organizations, but their work touches employees' livelihoods, privacy and dignity. Ethics in the field means balancing obligations to several parties at once. This paper introduces ethical frameworks and professional codes through a request that tests those obligations.
The Request
Dr. Naomi Reyes is an internal I-O psychologist at a three-hospital system in Tucson, Arizona. Six months ago, she ran an engagement survey for nursing staff. The invitation, signed by the chief nursing officer, promised that individual responses would remain confidential and that results would be shared only as totals for units with at least ten respondents. Response rates were high, and many nurses rated senior leadership poorly. Now nurses at one hospital are preparing for a union election. The chief financial officer asks Naomi for a list of nurses who gave leadership the lowest ratings, "so we know who we need to talk to."
Ethics in Organizational Practice
Lefkowitz (2017) argued that ethics in I-O psychology cannot be reduced to compliance with rules. Practitioners serve organizations that pay them, yet their professional values include respect for individuals, fairness and honesty, and their decisions affect employees who did not hire them. Lefkowitz urged practitioners to recognize that organizational and employee interests sometimes conflict and to reason explicitly about whose interests they are serving and why.
Naomi's dilemma fits this description. Her employer is asking; the people affected are nurses who trusted a promise.
Four Frameworks
A utilitarian analysis weighs consequences. Providing names might help leadership in the short term, but it would harm the identified nurses, destroy trust in all future surveys and likely expose the system to legal risk, a net loss.
A rights and duty analysis asks what obligations exist regardless of consequences. Naomi made a promise of confidentiality, and nurses have a right to rely on it. Breaking it treats them merely as means to the organization's ends.
A justice analysis asks who would bear the costs of disclosure and whether that is fair. Singling out nurses for "conversations" because of anonymous survey answers would impose burdens on a group chosen by their honesty.
A virtue analysis asks which choice an honest, courageous practitioner could live with. Integrity and courage point toward keeping the promise and telling the executive no.
All four frameworks lead to refusal, by different routes, which strengthens the conclusion.
What the APA Code Requires
The APA Ethics Code addresses the situation directly (American Psychological Association, 2017). Standard 4.01, Maintaining Confidentiality, requires psychologists to protect confidential information obtained through their work. Standard 3.11, Psychological Services Delivered to or Through Organizations, requires psychologists to inform those affected about the nature of services, who the clients are and the limits of confidentiality, which Naomi did when she promised group-level reporting. Standard 1.03, Conflicts Between Ethics and Organizational Demands, requires psychologists facing such a conflict to clarify its nature, make known their commitment to the Ethics Code and take reasonable steps to resolve it consistent with the code's principles.
The human resources profession's code similarly emphasizes protecting employee information and acting with integrity, so Naomi's HR colleagues share the same obligation.
The nurses answered honestly because a letter promised them they would not be named; the list the executive wants is a list of people who believed that letter.
Why the Request Is Hard to Refuse
Kish-Gephart et al. (2010) combined studies of unethical decisions at work and found contributions from individual characteristics, such as a manipulative orientation and lower levels of moral development; from features of the moral issue, such as how large and immediate the consequences seemed; and from the organization, where a climate emphasizing self-interest increased unethical choices and a strong ethical climate and enforced codes reduced them.
Naomi faces pressures the research identifies: the request comes from a senior executive, the consequences for individual nurses seem distant to him and the hospital's culture during the union campaign emphasizes loyalty. Recognizing these pressures helps her resist them.
A Decision Process
Ethics texts offer step-by-step models for moments like this. A practical version for Naomi runs as follows: identify the facts and who is affected; name the ethical issues and the code standards involved; list possible actions, including creative alternatives; weigh each action against the frameworks, the code and the law; choose and act; and then reflect on the outcome. Working through the steps in writing, before the meeting, keeps her from improvising under pressure.
Who Is the Client?
Part of Naomi's difficulty is that her client is the organization, not the nurses. The APA code anticipates this situation: psychologists who serve organizations must still protect individuals affected by their work and must be clear from the start about what will and will not be shared. Naomi set those limits in the survey invitation, so the organization itself made the promise she is now being asked to break.
A Legal Note
Beyond ethics, using survey answers to identify employees for questioning during a union campaign may raise legal concerns under federal labor law, which protects employees' rights to organize. Naomi is not a lawyer, and she will recommend that the executive consult the system's legal counsel. The ethical obligation stands regardless of the legal answer.
Naomi's Response
Naomi meets with the chief financial officer. She explains the confidentiality promise, cites the APA standards and states that she cannot provide names. She then offers legitimate help: a group-level analysis of what nurses said about leadership, themes from open comments with identifying details removed and a plan for leaders to hold listening sessions open to all nurses. She documents the conversation and informs the chief nursing officer, who signed the original promise.
Conclusion
Naomi's dilemma pits an executive's request against a promise to employees. Utilitarian, rights, justice and virtue frameworks all point toward refusal, and the APA Ethics Code's standards on confidentiality, organizational services and conflicts with organizational demands give specific direction. Research on unethical decisions explains why the request feels hard to refuse, and a firm refusal paired with legitimate alternatives serves both ethics and the organization.
References
American Psychological Association. (2017). Ethical principles of psychologists and code of conduct (2002, amended effective June 1, 2010, and January 1, 2017). https://www.apa.org/ethics/code
Kish-Gephart, J. J., Harrison, D. A., & Treviño, L. K. (2010). Bad apples, bad cases, and bad barrels: Meta-analytic evidence about sources of unethical decisions at work. Journal of Applied Psychology, 95(1), 1-31. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0017103
Lefkowitz, J. (2017). Ethics and values in industrial-organizational psychology (2nd ed.). Routledge.
What the IOP 455 Week 1 instructions ask
The first IOP 455 paper usually introduces ethical theories and professional codes in organizational settings. Students typically describe major ethical frameworks, such as utilitarian, rights and duty, justice and virtue approaches, summarize relevant standards from the APA Ethics Code and the human resources profession's code, explain how individual, situational and organizational factors contribute to unethical behavior and apply these ideas to a workplace dilemma. Some versions ask students to compare two codes directly. Cite specific code standards rather than general principles, show how each framework would analyze the same dilemma and recognize pressures that make ethical action harder. Use the textbook, the codes themselves and peer-reviewed research in APA format.
How this IOP 455 Week 1 example is built
Our worked paper follows Dr. Naomi Reyes, who ran an engagement survey for nursing staff with a written promise that individual answers would stay confidential. Before a union election, the chief financial officer asks her for the names of nurses who rated leadership poorly. A text on ethics and values in I-O psychology frames the problem as a conflict among obligations to the organization, to employees and to the profession. Four ethical frameworks each point toward refusing, for different reasons. The APA Ethics Code's standards on confidentiality, on work for organizations and on conflicts with organizational demands give specific guidance. A meta-analysis of unethical decisions explains why the request feels hard to refuse.
IOP 455 Week 1 grading rubric: where the points go
Ethics framework papers are judged on accurate theory, precise use of professional codes and clear reasoning. Instructors look for each framework to be explained and applied to the same dilemma, for code standards to be cited by number or title rather than in general terms and for the response to address all stakeholders. Credit goes to recognizing organizational pressures, to distinguishing legal from ethical questions and to proposing a response that is firm yet constructive. APA formatting, organized sections and accurate code citations are expected. Strong papers also show that ethical reasoning often leads to the same answer by different routes, which strengthens the conclusion.
IOP 455 Week 1 help: mistakes to avoid
A common weakness is citing "the APA code" in general without naming the standards that apply. Another is presenting ethical frameworks as abstract definitions without applying each one to the case. Students also treat the dilemma as purely legal, missing ethical duties that exist even where the law is silent, or write a response that simply refuses without offering the manager a legitimate alternative. Some papers ignore why the psychologist might be tempted to comply. Name the standards, run the case through each framework, consider pressures and propose a response that protects people while meeting legitimate needs. Quote the standard's title. A tutor can help you match code standards to the facts of a case.
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IOP 455 Week 1 questions, answered
What does IOP 455 Week 1 usually cover?
It usually covers ethical theories, professional codes for psychologists and HR professionals and sources of unethical behavior at work.
Where can I find a free IOP 455 Week 1 sample paper?
The IOP 455 Week 1 paper on a request to break survey confidentiality is above, free.
What are the main ethical frameworks?
Utilitarian reasoning about consequences, rights and duty-based reasoning, justice and fairness and virtue ethics focused on character.
What does the APA code say about conflicts with organizational demands?
Psychologists must clarify the conflict, make known their commitment to the Ethics Code and seek a resolution consistent with it.
Why do good employees make unethical decisions?
Research points to individual traits, features of the issue and organizational climate and pressures, often acting together.
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