Application: What Went Wrong at Abu Ghraib?

Noone would question that the events that took place in Abu Ghraib in2004 (Gilman & Lewis, 2005) were unethical, but when it comes toidentifying the causes, opinions vary greatly. While individuals areultimately responsible for their own ethical behavior, institutional andsituational causes provide the breeding ground for ethical breaches tooccur. It is important to explore historical situations that provideinsight into how the abuse of power leads to unethical decision making.

To prepare for this assignment:

• Review Chapter 3 of the course text The Ethics Challenges in Public Service and focus on institutional challenges to ethical leadership.
• Review Chapters 5 and 6 of the Frontlinedocumentary "The Torture Question" and think about the institutionalchallenges and possible underlying causes of unethical conduct of theguards at Abu Ghraib.
• Reviewthe Stanford Prison Experiment slides. Think about what Zimbardo calledthe "power of the situation" and how preconceived notions contributedto the behaviors of both the student guards and the student prisoners.
• Considerthe institutional challenges and possible causes of unethical behaviorthat contributed to the guards' ethical breaches at Abu Ghraib.
• Identify two underlying causes or institutional challenges that led to the ethical breaches at Abu Ghraib.

The assignment (1–2 pages):

• Identify one individual, one institutional, and one situational ethical breach that took place at Abu Ghraib.
• For each identified ethical breach, suggest an underlying cause or institutional challenge.
• Explain how insights gained from the Stanford Prison Experiment might apply to each underlying cause or institutional challenge.

Supportyour Application Assignment with specific references to all resourcesused in its preparation. You are asked to provide a reference list forall resources, including those in the Learning Resources for thiscourse.