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Empowering research organizations to confidently navigate ethical grey areas
Demonstrating a culture of compliance–including effective ethical decision-making training–can be crucial in helping an organization reduce liability and lower instances of misconduct. During the research process, individuals are faced with complex, ethical decisions on a regular basis. Some are quite straightforward, but many are not. This training identifies features of ethical reasoning that go far deeper than conventional approaches to ethical violations in research fields. In the end, participants walk away with tools, models, and a framework which will give them the knowledge and personal understanding to help navigate the often-turbulent waters of ethical decision-making. |
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What makes MeRTEC Ethical
Decision-Making training unique?
Personalized
Traditional ethics training relies on generic case studies that may not reflect the unique needs of each organization. Our team of experts in ethical decision-making will partner with you to understand the specific needs of your organization, creating tailored case studies based on the exact situations that it faces. We know ethics training, but you know your organization. We will partner with you to build an effective training program that helps create a culture of open communication and appreciation for the importance of ethical decision-making. From large, established facilities to small start-ups, we’ll shape the training specifically to your organization's size, current ethical issues, and budget. An example of our personalized training videos.
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Innovative
Conventional, rules-based training programs often fall short as they fail to recognize the complexity and ambiguity inherent in many real-world situations. Stressful situations can completely shift thinking and behavior, based on “hard-wired” features of the human mind. Grounded in established principles within human metacognition and social-developmental psychology, our ethical decision making training provides a personal inventory to help participants understand and recognize the personal and cultural biases which unconsciously shape their thinking–particularly during times of stress. Our training draws on nationally recognized subject matter experts within the law, psychology, Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) training and regulatory compliance. Our experts assist in case-scenario development, and in the design and evaluation of educational interventions to promote evidence based training. |
Introspective
We focus on more than simply changing surface behaviors. We dive deeper to explore individual beliefs and biases that affect decision making. In research settings, individuals are often working with colleagues from different backgrounds with different ideas of right and wrong, and different ways of resolving ethical issues. Participants will work closely to understand their own ways of thinking as well as that of their peers. It’s never been harder to have conversations about opposing points of view, but we challenge people to do the work required to come out with a deeper understanding of their own thought processes and blind spots, and an appreciation for the thought processes of others. |
How Our Training Process Works
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We partner with key subject matter experts within your organization to plan the structure of the workshop modules and to pose key questions to identify relevant content, RCR-related themes, as well as the timing and duration of the workshop. Based on those interviews, we develop personalized scenarios which address the issues that are important to your organization. These modules are designed to help participants understand their tendencies and how they respond to stressful situations. |
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Next, we will ask participants to complete the Ethical Lens Inventory™, an interactive tool which helps each participant gain a deeper understanding of the values and ethical beliefs that influence their thinking. Working with their peers, they will gain an understanding of how people can differ on what values they find important while still being ethical. This will help them minimize conflict, elevate the quality of their ethical decisions, and feel confident that they are living their values. |
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During the training session, our instructors will work with participants–both as a group and in smaller breakout teams–to explore each module and gain an understanding of the complex thought processes that go into making ethical decisions. |
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At the end of the session, participants will leave with confidence and a greater sense of understanding of how to navigate the many grey areas of ethical decision-making. Your organization will be confident in its ability to foster a culture of compliance and participants will leave with a set of tools and protocols to guide future decision-making, with insights applicable to both professional and personal lives. This deep understanding of their own decision-making process provides ethical resilience for responding to future ethical challenges. |
