Informal approaches are used by individual evaluators operating as autonomous professionals and can include an informal thinking strategy or a format such as a checklist or a set of questions. By working through these elements, the evaluator can obtain a clear, comprehensive picture of the situation, generate a number of alternatives and possible consequences or impacts of those alternatives, and make an ethically sound choice or decision. The process starts with the definition of the problem which is then filtered through the series of screens to provide a comprehensive, reflective review of the problem, and an effective response. Formal models such as these are useful in the planning and conducting program reviews to minimize ethical dilemmas, eliminate harmful consequences, and maximize positive benefits. The fourth and final element in the framework is professional development.
Ethical training supports ethical action in the daily work life of practitioners.
It is not simply a matter of having a good character. First, there needs to be a conscious awareness that our actions do have an ethical implication both for ourselves and for those we deal with. Second, there is a level of competence that can be developed in our language, in our reasoning processes, in predicting consequences to actions, in analyzing situations from an ethical perspective, and in acting with humility while we do it. Finally, a person makes a pre-determined commitment to act in an ethical manner. All three of these aspects can be developed through educational activities, including case study analysis, dilemma discussions, and personal reflection or journal writing, as well as academic content in courses or workshops.