Ethical Case Analysis Template: Learning to Develop Ethical Values Through Practice

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 ◽  
pp. 183-210
Author(s):  
Malavika Sundararajan ◽  

Ethical behaviors are taught in business classrooms using multiple methods, among which case studies are a standard method. However, when introduced at the undergraduate level, until students have developed a strong foundation in moral philosophy, a prescriptive case analysis template may help them build constructive mental models towards that foundation. The paper thus proposes a case analysis method template based on critical components identified in the Ethics literature that lead to ethical decision-making that can be used as a tool by teachers in Ethics in Business classrooms. The critical components entail the development of moral awareness by training the students to develop ethical values through practice. Students learn how to identify an ethical dilemma, analyze various stakeholder characteristics, explore ethical principles, and make moral judgments before recommending moral actions in each context. A sample case analysis is also provided for classroom use. The implications and value to educators, students, and managers are discussed.

2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 497-513 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark S. Schwartz

To better understand the ethical decision-making process and why individuals fail to act ethically, the aim of this article is to explore what are seen as the key impediments to ethical behavior and their pedagogical implications. Using the ethical decision-making process proposed by Rest as an overarching framework, the article examines the following barriers to ethical decision making: improper framing, which can preclude moral awareness; cognitive biases and psychological tendencies, which can hinder reaching proper moral judgments; and moral rationalizations, which can obstruct moral judgments from being translated into moral intentions or ethical behavior. Next, pedagogical exercises and tools for teaching behavioral ethics and ethical decision making are provided. The article concludes with its implications.


2012 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 479-490 ◽  
Author(s):  
Trisha A Iacobucci ◽  
Barbara J Daly ◽  
Debbie Lindell ◽  
Mary Quinn Griffin

Professional identity and competent ethical behaviors of nursing students are commonly developed through curricular inclusion of professional nursing values education. Despite the enactment of this approach, nursing students continue to express difficulty in managing ethical conflicts encountered in their practice. This descriptive correlational study explores the relationships between professional nursing values, self-esteem, and ethical decision making among senior baccalaureate nursing students. A convenience sample of 47 senior nursing students from the United States were surveyed for their level of internalized professional nursing values (Revised Professional Nursing Values Scale), level of self-esteem (Rosenberg’s Self-Esteem Scale), and perceived level of confidence in ethical decision making. A significant positive relationship (p < 0.05) was found between nursing students’ professional nursing values and levels of self-esteem. The results of this study can be useful to nursing educators whose efforts are focused on promoting professional identity development and competent ethical behaviors of future nurses.


2015 ◽  
pp. 145-162
Author(s):  
Ben Tran

Ethics in business ethics and law in business law are not as ambiguous, rhetorical, and esoteric as practitioners portray. Excuses as such have subconsciously become a habitus platinum safeguard against all wrongdoing. The usage of the habitus platinum safeguard is to defuse the unethical and malpractice of practitioners due to the ambiguous, rhetorical, and esoteric factors of and related to ethics in business ethics and law in business law. The ethical decision-making process, from ethics to law, involves five basic steps: moral awareness, moral judgment, ethical behavior, ethical behavior theorizing, and (business) law.


Author(s):  
Diana Presadă

In an increasingly violent world, reading literary works and the teaching of literature in school may play an important part in shaping students' personality as human beings. Turning literature classes into an effective way of cultivating ethical values in learners should be an educational goal of the curriculum irrespective of the level of study. Starting from the data provided by a focus group organized with Philology students within the Petroleum-Gas University of Ploiesti, the present chapter aims to highlight how literature classes may increase their moral awareness and develop their ethical skills. More precisely, the study investigates students' perceptions of literature and its role in developing mutual respect and non-violent behavior inside and outside the academic environment.


2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 335-357 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabrielle Appleby ◽  
Suzanne Le Mire

The ethical conduct of judicial officers has been traditionally seen as a matter for individual judges to determine for themselves. Today, judges are still frequently left to consider ethical dilemmas with little formal institutional support. They must rely on their own resources or informal advice and counsel from colleagues and the head of jurisdiction. This article will explore whether this arrangement continues to be appropriate. We consider a hypothesis that a number of factors, including the growing numbers and diversity of the judiciary mean that it is less likely that there will be common understandings of the ethical values to be employed in resolving difficult dilemmas. Thus, we further hypothesise, the traditional arrangements are likely to prove insufficient. Drawing on the findings of a survey of judicial officers across Australian jurisdictions conducted in 2016, we test these hypotheses by reference to the perceptions of Australian judicial officers as to the adequacy of the ethical support available to them. Finally, we consider the variety of supports that are available in comparable jurisdictions and also in the legal profession, before turning to possible solutions to the question our hypotheses raise, including the introduction of ‘ethical infrastructures’ in the form of more formal arrangements that provide ethical guidance to judges. We argue that these ethical support mechanisms have the potential to enhance the quality of ethical decision-making and foster an ethical culture within the judiciary.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Igor Klopotan ◽  
Ana Aleksić ◽  
Nikolina Vinković

AbstractBackground: Research in business ethics shows that individual differences can influence one’s ethical behaviour. In addition, variability in attitudes towards ethical issues among different generations is emphasized. Still, results are inconclusive and call for an additional examination of possible generational differences with regard to ethics and ethical values.Objectives: Our objective is to test if the perception of the importance of business ethics, attitudes towards ethical issues and aspects influencing ethical behaviour, differ among the four generations currently present in the workforce.Methods/Approach: Theoretical implications are empirically tested on a sample of 107 individuals, members of Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials and Generation Z.Results: In general, the results indicate that there are little or no generational differences related to the analysed aspects of business ethics. The significant difference is present only in the importance given to factors that influence ethical decision-making: (i) formal rules and procedures, (ii) performance management system and (iii) job pressures, between the members of Generation Z and older generations.Conclusions: In spite of employee diversity, ethics continues to present an important aspect of the business environment. Thus, organizations need to be oriented towards creating ethical leaders and a positive ethical climate that ensures that ethical values and behaviours are present throughout the organization.


2016 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 180-196 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monte Wynder ◽  
Kirsty Dunbar

Purpose – This paper aims to explore two factors that may moderate the relation between an individual’s ethical values and their evaluation of competing ethical and financial outcomes. It is argued that distance (i.e. low proximity) attenuates moral intensity, thereby inhibiting ethical decision-making (EDM). In contrast, it is argued that presenting outcomes in a separate social and environmental perspective in the balanced scorecard (BSC) increases EDM. Design/methodology/approach – In an experiment, participants evaluated social outcomes presented in a BSC. Proximity and scorecard format were manipulated in a 2 × 2 factorial design. Findings – The results indicate that physical and social proximity increase the extent to which performance evaluation is influenced by the ethical values of the evaluator. Contrary to expectations, BSC format did not influence the EDM of the evaluator. Research limitations/implications – Participants were undergraduate students which may limit the generalisability of the results. Further research should be conducted with practicing managers. The study focused on a particular ethical issue, hiring and training from the local community. Further research is necessary to consider the effect of personal ethical values on other aspects of corporate social responsibility (CSR). Practical implications – This study indicates that ethical values will be less salient when the outcomes relate to distant locations. There are important implications for multinational corporations seeking to avoid the liability of foreignness in their distant operations. Originality/value – Previous CSR research has focused on the institutional level. The focus of the authors on the individual’s decision-making process increases our understanding of the biases that can affect EDM.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (23) ◽  
pp. 13077
Author(s):  
Mujahid Hussain ◽  
Hamid Hassan ◽  
Zafar Iqbal ◽  
Amna Niazi ◽  
Yasuo Hoshino

Despite the increasing realization of the significance of work ethics and moral awareness (MA) in businesses after mega scandals, such as those of Enron and Tyco, few studies have investigated the relationship between MA and employees’ performance and the intermediate mechanisms that explain this relationship. This study proposes that as employees’ work ethics are calibrated through ethical training, their MA increases, in turn affecting employees’ job performance. This experimental study is aimed at investigating the impact of MA, increased through ethical training, on employees’ job performance. Based on institutional theory, the multidimensional work ethic profile (MWEP) and strategic human resource management literature, it is hypothesized that MA of employees’ is positively correlated with employees’ performance and that this relationship is moderated by the age, gender and education level of the employees. In particular, the moral awareness component of ethical decision-making (EDM) models is considered as coextensive with work ethics in experimental design, and work ethics is depicted by a multidimensional work ethic profile (MWEP). The study used a sample of 100 employees of a golf club, divided into an experiment group and a control group with 50 employees each. The experiment group was subjected to an ethical training program focused on increasing MA. Employees’ performance for both groups was evaluated based on eight sub-variables. The study concluded that increasing MA increases employees’ performance, with no significant moderation effect of age, gender and education level on this relationship. The results of this study will go a long way in helping managers to increase the productivity of their employees through increased MA.


Author(s):  
Maria A. Leach-López ◽  
Claire A. Stammerjohan ◽  
William W. Stammerjohan ◽  
Megan M. Leach

A study to measure ethical decision making of Mexican business students compared to their US counterparts. Results suggest that Mexican students’ ethical decision-making frameworks differ from those documented by Keller et al. (2007) in their study of US students. Mexican students were not found to be highly religious, but subscribed more to utilitarian, deontological and hermeneutical frameworks for their ethical values. It is suggested that multinational firms doing business in Mexico might want to schedule ethics training of managers and to have a set of standards that employees can follow.


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