ethics case study course

Business Ethics

Browse business ethics learning materials including case studies, simulations, and online courses. Introduce core concepts and real-world challenges to create memorable learning experiences for your students.

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New! Quick Cases in Business Ethics

Quickly immerse students in focused and engaging business dilemmas. No student prep time required.

Fundamentals of Case Teaching

Our new, self-paced, online course guides you through the fundamentals for leading successful case discussions at any course level.

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Business Ethics Cases with Female Protagonists

Explore a collection of business ethics cases featuring female protagonists curated by the HBS Gender Initiative.

Business Ethics Cases with Protagonists of Color

Discover business ethics cases featuring protagonists of color that have been recommended by Harvard Business School faculty.

Business Ethics Cases

Discover cases that cover real-world business ethics challenges.

Bestsellers in Business Ethics

Explore what other educators are using in their business ethics courses

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• Ethics Cases
• Markkula Center for Applied Ethics
• Ethics Resources

Find case studies and scenarios on a variety of fields in applied ethics.

Cases can also be viewed by the following categories:

For permission to reprint cases, submit requests to [email protected] .

Looking to draft your own case studies?  This template provides the basics for writing ethics case studies in technology (though with some modification it could be used in other fields as well).

How might news platforms and products ensure that ethical journalism on chronic issues is not drowned out by the noise of runaway political news cycles?

Ethical questions arise in interactions among students, instructors, administrators, and providers of AI tools.

In water rights discussions, there is an ethical responsibility to include Indigenous people in both conversations and legislation decisions.

In this business ethics case study, Swedish multinational company IKEA faced accusations relating to child labor abuses in the rug industry in Pakistan which posed a serious challenge for the company and its supply chain management goals.

A dog may be humanity’s best friend. But that may not always be the case in the workplace.

A recent college graduate works in the finance and analytics department of a large publicly traded software company and discovers an alarming discrepancy in sales records, raising concerns about the company’s commitment to truthful reporting to investors. 

What responsibility does an employee have when information they obtained in confidence from a coworker friend may be in conflict with the needs of the company or raises legal and ethical questions.

A manager at a prominent multinational company is ethically challenged by a thin line between opportunity for economic expansion in a deeply underserved community, awareness of child labor practices, and cultural relativism.

A volunteer providing service in the Dominican Republic discovered that the non-profit he had partnered with was exchanging his donor money on the black market, prompting him to navigate a series of complex decisions with significant ethical implications.

The CFO of a family business faces difficult decisions about how to proceed when the COVID-19 pandemic changes the business revenue models, and one family shareholder wants a full buyout.

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How should political actors behave? What is good representation? When is it appropriate to make a compromise? Is releasing confidential information ever justified? How do you change deeply entrenched social norms? Should you? These are just some of the questions raised by the teaching cases in this section, which ask students to consider the implications and ramifications of real-world ethical scenarios, with sources of conflict ranging from personal to structural dilemmas.

Fallen Idol? Aung San Suu Kyi & the Rohingya Humanitarian Crisis Epilogue

Publication Date: January 25, 2024

This epilogue accompanies, "Fallen Idol? Aung San Suu Kyi & the Rohingya Humanitarian Crisis," HKS Case Number 2139.0. Soon after Myanmar’s longtime democracy crusader and opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, was...

Climate Resilience in New York City: The Battle over East River Park

Publication Date: November 28, 2023

What makes climate change different as a policy challenge? Why is it so hard to solve? And how can we balance the need for the right technical solutions with the importance of having the process be as democratic and participatory as possible?The...

Reckoning with History: Confederate Monuments in American Cities Practitioner Guide

Publication Date: November 15, 2023

This practitioner guide accompanies case 2235.0. When the Reverend Clementa Pinckney and eight worshipers were massacred during bible study at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal church in Charleston, South Carolina in 2015, a widely...

Reckoning with History: Confederate Monuments in American Cities (Abridged)

This is an abridged version of case 2235.0. Abstract: When the Reverend Clementa Pinckney and eight worshipers were massacred during bible study at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal church in Charleston, South Carolina in 2015, a widely...

Reckoning with History: Confederate Monuments in American Cities

Publication Date: March 3, 2023

When the Reverend Clementa Pinckney and eight worshipers were massacred during bible study at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal church in Charleston, South Carolina in 2015, a widely circulated photograph showed Dylann Roof, the white...

Galvis City Schools Collective Bargaining Simulation

Publication Date: June 8, 2022

This is a seven-party exercise, with six negotiators and one facilitator. Representatives from a large school district and its affiliated teachers’ union must negotiate for three rounds. The Mayor serves as a facilitator and convening...

The Making of a Public Health Catastrophe: A Step-by-Step Guide to the Flint Water Crisis

Publication Date: January 12, 2022

The Flint water crisis, which began in 2014, is widely regarded as a textbook example of structural racism and injustice. This teaching case provides a close examination of the building blocks of the catastrophe, some all-too-familiar in...

Making a Statement: Mayor Libby Schaaf and the Sanctuary City of Oakland, CA Practitioner Guide

Publication Date: October 8, 2020

This practitioner guide accompanies HKS Case 2191.0. In February 2018, Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf learned through unofficial sources that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was planning to arrest a large number of undocumented...

Making a Statement: Mayor Libby Schaaf and the Sanctuary City of Oakland, CA Epilogue

This epilogue accompanies HKS Case 2191.0. In February 2018, Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf learned through unofficial sources that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was planning to arrest a large number of undocumented immigrants in her...

Making a Statement: Mayor Libby Schaaf and the Sanctuary City of Oakland, CA

In February 2018, Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf learned through unofficial sources that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was planning to arrest a large number of undocumented immigrants in her city. Oakland had been a “sanctuary...

Antanas Mockus: The Prohibition of Fireworks in Bogotá Sequel

Publication Date: October 10, 2019

In 1994, Antanas Mockus, an unlikely politician and former President of the prestigious National University of Colombia, became Bogotá’s first independent mayor, bringing with him a unique vision of harmonious citizenship. The...

Antanas Mockus: The Prohibition of Fireworks in Bogotá

Annual Review of Ethics Case Studies

What are research ethics cases.

For additional information, please visit Resources for Research Ethics Education

Research Ethics Cases are a tool for discussing scientific integrity. Cases are designed to confront the readers with a specific problem that does not lend itself to easy answers. By providing a focus for discussion, cases help staff involved in research to define or refine their own standards, to appreciate alternative approaches to identifying and resolving ethical problems, and to develop skills for dealing with hard problems on their own.

Research Ethics Cases for Use by the NIH Community

• Theme 23 – Authorship, Collaborations, and Mentoring (2023)
• Theme 22 – Use of Human Biospecimens and Informed Consent (2022)
• Theme 21 – Science Under Pressure (2021)
• Theme 20 – Data, Project and Lab Management, and Communication (2020)
• Theme 19 – Civility, Harassment and Inappropriate Conduct (2019)
• Theme 18 – Implicit and Explicit Biases in the Research Setting (2018)
• Theme 17 – Socially Responsible Science (2017)
• Theme 16 – Research Reproducibility (2016)
• Theme 15 – Authorship and Collaborative Science (2015)
• Theme 14 – Differentiating Between Honest Discourse and Research Misconduct and Introduction to Enhancing Reproducibility (2014)
• Theme 13 – Data Management, Whistleblowers, and Nepotism (2013)
• Theme 12 – Mentoring (2012)
• Theme 11 – Authorship (2011)
• Theme 10 – Science and Social Responsibility, continued (2010)
• Theme 9 – Science and Social Responsibility - Dual Use Research (2009)
• Theme 8 – Borrowing - Is It Plagiarism? (2008)
• Theme 7 – Data Management and Scientific Misconduct (2007)
• Theme 6 – Ethical Ambiguities (2006)
• Theme 5 – Data Management (2005)
• Theme 4 – Collaborative Science (2004)
• Theme 3 – Mentoring (2003)
• Theme 2 – Authorship (2002)
• Theme 1 – Scientific Misconduct (2001)

For Facilitators Leading Case Discussion

For the sake of time and clarity of purpose, it is essential that one individual have responsibility for leading the group discussion. As a minimum, this responsibility should include:

• Reading the case aloud.
• Defining, and re-defining as needed, the questions to be answered.
• Encouraging discussion that is “on topic”.
• Discouraging discussion that is “off topic”.
• Keeping the pace of discussion appropriate to the time available.
• Eliciting contributions from all members of the discussion group.
• Summarizing both majority and minority opinions at the end of the discussion.

How Should Cases be Analyzed?

Many of the skills necessary to analyze case studies can become tools for responding to real world problems. Cases, like the real world, contain uncertainties and ambiguities. Readers are encouraged to identify key issues, make assumptions as needed, and articulate options for resolution. In addition to the specific questions accompanying each case, readers should consider the following questions:

• Who are the affected parties (individuals, institutions, a field, society) in this situation?
• What interest(s) (material, financial, ethical, other) does each party have in the situation? Which interests are in conflict?
• Were the actions taken by each of the affected parties acceptable (ethical, legal, moral, or common sense)? If not, are there circumstances under which those actions would have been acceptable? Who should impose what sanction(s)?
• What other courses of action are open to each of the affected parties? What is the likely outcome of each course of action?
• For each party involved, what course of action would you take, and why?
• What actions could have been taken to avoid the conflict?

Is There a Right Answer?

Acceptable solutions.

Most problems will have several acceptable solutions or answers, but it will not always be the case that a perfect solution can be found. At times, even the best solution will still have some unsatisfactory consequences.

Unacceptable Solutions

While more than one acceptable solution may be possible, not all solutions are acceptable. For example, obvious violations of specific rules and regulations or of generally accepted standards of conduct would typically be unacceptable. However, it is also plausible that blind adherence to accepted rules or standards would sometimes be an unacceptable course of action.

Ethical Decision-Making

It should be noted that ethical decision-making is a process rather than a specific correct answer. In this sense, unethical behavior is defined by a failure to engage in the process of ethical decision-making. It is always unacceptable to have made no reasonable attempt to define a consistent and defensible basis for conduct.

This page was last updated on Friday, July 7, 2023

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• “Ad”mission of guilt
• “Do I stop him?”
• Newspaper joins war against drugs
• Have I got a deal for you!
• Identifying what’s right
• Is “Enough!” too much?
• Issues of bench and bar
• Knowing when to say “when!”
• Stop! This is a warning…
• Strange bedfellows
• Gambling with being first
• Making the right ethical choice can mean winning by losing
• Playing into a hoaxster’s hands
• “They said it first”
• Is it news, ad or informercial?
• Letter to the editor
• Games publishers play
• An offer you can refuse
• An oily gift horse
• Public service . . . or “news-mercials”
• As life passes by
• Bringing death close
• A careless step, a rash of calls
• Distortion of reality?
• Of life and death
• Naked came the rider
• “A photo that had to be used”
• A picture of controversy
• Freedom of political expression
• Brother, can you spare some time?
• Columnist’s crusade OK with Seattle
• Kiss and tell
• The making of a govenor
• Past but not over
• Of publishers and politics
• To tell the truth
• Truth & Consequences
• “Truth boxes”
• When journalists become flacks
• A book for all journalists who believe
• The Billboard Bandit
• Food for thought
• Grand jury probe
• Judgement on journalists
• Lessons from an ancient spirit
• Lying for the story . . .
• Newspaper nabs Atlanta’s Dahmer
• One way to a good end
• Over the fence
• “Psst! Pass it on!”
• Rules aren’t neat on Crack Street
• “Someone had to be her advocate”
• Trial by Fire
• Trial by proximity
• Using deceit to get the truth
• When advocacy is okay
• Witness to an execution
• Are we our brother’s keeper? . . . You bet we are!
• Betraying a trust
• Broken promise
• “But I thought you were . . . ”
• “Can I take it back?”
• Competitive disadvantage
• Getting it on tape
• The great quote question
• How to handle suicide threats
• Let’s make a deal!
• A phone-y issue?
• The source wanted out
• The story that died in a lie
• Thou shalt not break thy promise
• Thou shalt not concoct thy quote
• Thou shalt not trick thy source
• Too good to be true
• Vulnerable sources and journalistic responsibility
• The way things used to be . . .
• When a story just isn’t worth it
• When a story source threatens suicide
• When public should remain private
• The ethics of “outing”
• “For personal reasons”
• Intruding on grief
• Intruding on private pain
• Privacy case settled against TV station
• Seeing both sides
• Two views on “outing”
• Unwanted spotlight
• Whose right is it anyway?
• Other views on the Christine Busalacchi case
• The death of a soldier
• Firing at Round Rock
• A kinder, gentler news media
• Operation: Buy yourself a parade
• Rallying ’round the flag
• “Salute to military” ads canceled
• Tell the truth, stay alive
• The windbags of war
• Absent with no malice
• Anonymity for rape victims . . .
• An exception to the rule
• The boy with a broken heart
• Civilly suitable
• Creating a victim
• “Everyone already knew”
• An exceptional case
• Innocent victims
• Minor infraction
• Names make news
• Naming a victim
• Naming “johns”
• Profile of controversy
• What the media all missed
• Punishing plagiarizers
• Sounding an alarm on AIDS
• Suffer the children
• Anchor’s away
• The day the earth stood still
• Doing your own ethics audit
• Good guys, bad guys and TV news
• Is it just me, or . . . ?
• The Post’s exam answer story
• TV station “teases” suicide
• Yanking Doonesbury
• The year in review
• Colorado media’s option play
• Deadly lesson
• Deciding which critically ill person gets coverage
• When journalists play God . . .
• A delicate balance
• The Fallen Servant
• Handle with care
• It’s the principle, really
• Killing news
• Maybe what seems so right is wrong
• On the line
• Protest and apology after Daily Beacon story
• Red flag for badgering
• Sharing the community’s grief
• The “super-crip” stereotype
• “And then he said *&%*!!!”
• When big is not better
• When the KKK comes calling
• Not the straight story
• Agreeing to disagree
• All in the family
• Family feud
• Author! Author!
• The Bee that roared
• Brewing controversy
• Building barriers
• Other views from librarians
• The ethics of information selling
• Close to home
• Family ties
• How now, sacred cow?
• The ties that bind
• “Like any other story”
• When your newspaper is the news
• Not friendly fire
• Overdraft on credibility?
• The problem is the writing
• Written rules can be hazardous
• Project censored, sins of omission and the hardest “W” of all – “why”
• Risking the newsroom’s image
• The Media School

Ethics Case Studies

Ethics cases online.

This set of cases has been created for teachers, researchers, professional journalists and consumers of news to help them explore ethical issues in journalism. The cases raise a variety of ethical problems faced by journalists, including such issues as privacy, conflict of interest, reporter- source relationships, and the role of journalists in their communities.

The initial core of this database comes from a series of cases developed by Barry Bingham, Jr., and published in his newsletter, FineLine. The school is grateful to Bingham for his permission to make these cases available to a wider audience.

You may download cases for classes, research or personal use. Permission is granted for academic use of these cases, including inclusion in course readers for specific college courses. This permission does not extend to the republication of the cases in books, journals or electronic form.

Note: We are indebted to Professor Emeritus David Boeyink, who developed this project several years ago.

Aiding law enforcement

• “Ad”mission of guilt: Court-ordered ads raise ethical questions
• “Do I stop him?”: Reporter’s arresting question is news
• Fairness: A casualty of the anti-drug crusade
• Newspaper joins war against drugs: Standard-Times publishes photos of all suspected drug offenders
• Have I got a deal for you!: The line between cooperation and collusion
• Identifying what’s right: Photographer’s ID used in hostage release
• Is “Enough!” too much?: Editors split on anti-drug coupons
• Issues of bench and bar: In this case, a TV reporter is the judge
• Knowing when to say “when!”: Drawing the line at cooperating with authorities
• Stop! This is a warning . . . : Suppressing news at police request
• Strange Bedfellows: Federal agents in a TV newsroom

Being first

• Gambling with being first: The media drive to score on the Isiah Thomas story
• Playing into a hoaxster’s hands: How the Virginia media got suckered
• “They said it first”: Is that reason for going for the story?

Bottom-line decisions

• Is it news, ad or infomercial?: The line between news and advertising is going, going . . .
• Games publishers play: Allowing an advertiser to call the shots
• An offer you can refuse: The selling of Cybill to the Enquirer
• An oily gift horse: saying “No!” to Exxon
• Public service. . .or “news-mercials”: The blending of television news and advertising

Controversial photos

• As life passes by: A journalist’s role: watch and wait
• Bringing death close: Publishing photographs of human tragedy
• A careless step, a rash of calls: “Unusual” photo of AIDS walkathon raises hackles” 
• Distortion of reality?: “Punk for Peace” photograph draws fire
• Of life and death: Photos capture woman’s last moments
• “A photo that had to be used”: Anatomy of a newspaper’s decision
• A picture of controversy: Pulitzer photos show diverse editorial standards

Covering politics

• Freedom of political expression: Do journalists forfeit their right?
• Brother, can you spare some time?: TV stations give candidates air time
• Columnist’s crusade OK with Seattle Times
• Kiss and tell: Publishing details of a mayor’s personal life
• The making of a governor: How media fantasy swayed an election
• Past but not over: When history collides with the Present
• Of publishers and politics: Byline protest threatened at Star Tribune
• To tell the truth: Why I didn’t; why I regret it
• Truth & Consequences: The public’s right to know . . . at what cost?
• “Truth boxes”: Media monitoring of TV campaign ads
• When journalists become flacks: Two views on what to do and when to do it

Getting the story

• A book for all journalists who believe: Accuracy is our highest ethical debate
• The Billboard Bandit: Did the newspaper get graffiti on its reputation
• Food for thought: You are what you eat . . . and do
• Grand jury probe: TV journalists indicted for illegal dogfight
• Judgment on journalists: Do they defiantly put themselves “above the law?”
• Lessons from an ancient spirit: Why I participated in a peyote ritual
• Lying for the story . . . :Or things they don’t teach in journalism school
• Newspaper nabs Atlanta’s Dahmer: Another predator who should’ve been stopped: Was it homophobia?
• One way to a good end: Reporter cuts corners to test capital drug program
• Over the fence: A case of crossing the line for a story
• “Psst! Pass it on!”: Why are journalists spreading rumors?
• Rules aren’t neat on Crack Street: Journalists know the rules; they also know that the rules don’t always apply when confronted with life-threatening situations
• “Someone had to be her advocate”: A newspaper’s crusade to keep a child’s death from being forgotten
• Trial by Fire: Boy “hero” story tests media
• Trial by proximity: How close is too close for a jury and a reporter?
• Using deceit to get the truth: When there’s just no other way
• When advocacy is okay: Access is an acceptable journalist’s cause
• White lies: Bending the truth to expose injustice
• Witness to an execution: KQED sues to videotape capital punishment

Handling sources

• Are we our brother’s keeper? . . . You bet we are!
• Betraying a trust: Our story wronged a naive subject
• Broken Promise: Breaching a reporter-source confidence
• “But I thought you were . . .”: When a source doesn’t know you are a reporter
• “Can I take it back?”: Why we told our source ‘yes’
• Competitive disadvantage: Business blindsided by unnamed sources
• Getting it on tape: What if you don’t tell them?
• The great quote question: How much tampering with quotations can journalists ethically do?
• Let’s make a deal!: The dangers of trading with sources
• A phone-y issue?: Caller ID raises confidentiality questions
• The source wanted out: Why our decision was ‘no’
• The story that died in a lie: Questions about truthfulness kill publication
• Thou shalt not break thy promise: Supreme Court rules on betraying sources’ anonymity 
• Thou shalt not concoct thy quote: Supreme Court decides on the rules of the quotation game
• Thou shalt not trick thy source: Many a slip twixt the promise and the page
• Too good to be true: Blowing the whistle on a lying source
• Vulnerable sources and journalistic responsibility: Are we our brother’s keeper?
• The way things used to be . . . : Who says this new “objectivity” is better?
• When a story just isn’t worth it: Holding information to protect a good source
• When a story source threatens suicide: “I’m going to kill myself!”

Invading privacy

• The ethics of “outing”: Breaking the silence code on homosexuality
• “For personal reasons”: Balancing privacy with the right to know
• Intruding on grief: Does the public really have a “need to know?”
• Intruding on private pain: Emotional TV segment offers hard choice
• Seeing both sides: A personal and professional dilemma
• Two views on “outing”: When the media do it for you
• Two views on “outing”: When you do it yourself
• Unwanted Spotlight: When private people become part of a public story
• Whose right is it anyway?: Videotape of accident victim raises questions about rights to privacy

Military Issues

• The death of a soldier: Hometown decision for hometown hero
• Firing at Round Rock: Editor says “unpatriotic” story led to dismissal  
• A kinder, gentler news media?: Post-war coverage shows sensitivity to families
• Operation: Buy yourself a parade: New York papers pitch in for hoopla celebrating hide-and-seek war
• Rallying ’round the flag: The press as U.S. propagandists
• “Salute to military” ads canceled
• Tell the truth, stay alive: In covering a civil war, honesty is the only policy
• The windbags of war: Television’s gung-ho coverage of the Persian Gulf situation

Naming newsmakers

• Absent with no malice: Omitting part of the story for a reason
• Anonymity for rape victims . . . : should the rules change?
• An exception to the rule: a decision to change names
• The boy with a broken heart: Special problems when juveniles are newsmakers
• Civilly suitable: If law requires less, should media reveal more?
• Creating a victim: Plot for a fair story may not be foolproof
• “Everyone already knew”: A weak excuse for abandoning standards
• An exceptional case: Hartford Courant names rape victim
• Innocent victims: Naming the guilty . . . but guiltless
• Minor infraction: A newspaper’s case for breaking the law
• Names make news: One newspaper debates when and why
• Naming a victim: When do you break your own rule?
• Naming “johns”: Suicide raises ethical questions about policy
• Profile of controversy: New York Times reporter defends story on Kennedy rape claimant 
• What the media all missed: Times reporter finally sets record straight on Palm Beach rape profile
• Punishing plagiarizers: Does public exposure fit the sin?
• Sounding an alarm on AIDS: Spreading the word about someone who’s spreading the disease
• Suffer the Children: Journalists are guilty of child misuse

Other topics

• Anchor’s away: Where in the world is she? Or does it matter?
• The day the earth stood still: How the media covered the “earthquake”
• Good guys, bad guys and TV news: How television and other media promote police violence
• The Post’s exam answer story
• TV station “teases” suicide
• The year in review: 1990’s biggest ethical headaches and journalistic bloopers

Sensitive news topics

• Colorado media’s option play: Most passed; did they also fumble?
• Deadly lesson: Warning about sexual asphyxiation
• A delicate balance: Mental breakdowns & news coverage
• The Fallen Servant: When a hero is not a hero
• Handle with care: Priest murder story required extra sensitivity
• It’s the principle, really: Timing and people’s money matter, too
• Killing news: Responsible coverage of suicides
• Maybe what seems so right is wrong: A medical condition media-generated money can’t cure
• On the line: A reporter’s job vs. human decency
• Red flag for badgering: Ombudsman takes sportswriter to task
• Sharing the community’s grief: Little Rock news coverage of three teen-age suicides
• Suffer the children: Was story on molestation worth the human cost?
• The “super-crip” stereotype: Press victimization of disabled people
• “And then he said *&%*!!!”: When sexist and vulgar remarks are new
• When big is not better: Playing down a story for the community good
• When the KKK comes calling: What’s the story?
• Not the straight story: Can misleading readers ever be justified?

Workplace issues

• Agreeing to disagree: How one newspaper handles off-hour activities
• All in the family: When a journalist’s spouse creates a conflict of interests
• Family feud: Handling conflicts between journalists and partners
• Author! Author!: Ethical dilemmas when reporters turn author
• The Bee that roared: Taking a stand for editorial independence
• Brewing controversy: The commercialization of Linda Ellerbee
• Building barriers: The case against financial involvement
• Other views from librarians: When interests of client and newsroom conflict
• The ethics of information selling: Problems for library reference services
• Close to home: When your newsroom is part of the story
• Family Ties: When are relationships relationships relevant?
• How now, sacred cow?: United Way’s favored treatment by the media
• The ties that bind: Publisher’s link to United Way raises questions
• “Like any other story”: Can it be when it’s your union vs. your paper?
• When your newspaper is the news: Editors discuss their experiences
• Not friendly fire: News director at odds with CBS over story
• Overdraft on credibility?: Reporter faces conflict-of-interest charges
• Written rules can be hazardous: A lawyer views ethics codes
• Project censored, sins of omission and the hardest “W” of all – “why”
• Risking the newsroom’s image: How editors, in a good cause, can strain independence

Ethics Case Studies resources and social media channels

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An introduction to the study of bioethics and the application of legal and ethical reasoning.

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Introduction to Case Studies in This Course

This page introduces how case studies are used in the course " Genomics, Ethics, and Society ."

All of the units in this course contain a case study (which may also be linked to the online class discussion for the unit, though it isn't in every case). As part of the assessment for this class, everyone is required to write up two case studies for assessment from the six cases in the main content units for the course, and then to complete the final case study (which constitutes Unit 8). For undergraduates, the case studies during the course are each worth 20% of the final grade, and should be a maximum of 4 pages long (excluding references); the final case study is worth 30%. For graduate students, each case study during the course is worth 15% of the final grade, and should be a maximun of 5 pages long; the final case (which for graduate students involves some independent research) is worth 20%. (Graduate students also have to write a research paper).

In this introductory unit, we aim to help you to think about how to answer a case study. We provide some tools for helping you to do this. We include a model case study that's similar in form and structure to the kinds of cases provided here and what we've called the Ethics Assessment Process - a set of questions that, while not all relevant to every case, should help in focusing your thoughts about the cases you are addressing.

In many instances, these cases seem to raise moral dilemmas, where it at least appears that someone could be in a situation where they both ought to do A and ought to do B, but cannot do both. Some philosophers argue that there can’t be genuine moral dilemmas since all apparent value conflicts are ultimately resolvable – a view particularly associated with value monism (as discussed in the background material to this case). On this view, since apparently conflicting values can all be translated into a ‘master value’ (such as “human wellbeing”) then we should be able to resolve all apparent dilemmas in terms of this master value. Other philosophers, however, argue that because we accept a plurality of incommensurable values, we may not be able to resolve all value conflicts. We may, after reflection, have to accept that we are in a situation in which whatever we do, a wrong of some kind will occur. This may mean that even when we do what we think is right, we are left with what’s called an “ethical residue” – feelings of regret, guilt or shame – for instance, shame at having to do something that runs against our deepest conception of the kind of person we aspire to be, or guilt where we find ourselves unable to avoid wronging some individual or groups of individuals, or causing some environmental harm.

For further discussion of moral dilemmas see:  http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/moral-dilemmas/#4

Continue to Practice Case Study: Assisted Migration of Rust-Resistant Whitebark Pine

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This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Award No. 2055332. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

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Videos Concepts Unwrapped View All 36 short illustrated videos explain behavioral ethics concepts and basic ethics principles. Concepts Unwrapped: Sports Edition View All 10 short videos introduce athletes to behavioral ethics concepts. Ethics Defined (Glossary) View All 58 animated videos - 1 to 2 minutes each - define key ethics terms and concepts. Ethics in Focus View All One-of-a-kind videos highlight the ethical aspects of current and historical subjects. Giving Voice To Values View All Eight short videos present the 7 principles of values-driven leadership from Gentile's Giving Voice to Values. In It To Win View All A documentary and six short videos reveal the behavioral ethics biases in super-lobbyist Jack Abramoff's story. Scandals Illustrated View All 30 videos - one minute each - introduce newsworthy scandals with ethical insights and case studies. Video Series

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Professional Ethics

Professionals work in a wide variety of settings and across many different industries including business, science, medicine, education, art, and public service.

Many professions have Codes of Conduct that specify ethical behavior and expectations particular to that industry. In addition, professionals must make ethical judgments in their area of specialty that fall outside their specific Code of Conduct.

The resources in this section offer insights that apply to a wide range of professionals as they seek to develop standards of ethical decision-making and behavior in their careers. Often, professionals need to apply moral reasoning to their interactions with co-workers, clients, and the general public to solve problems that arise in their work. Professionals also need to be on lookout for social and organizational pressures and situational factors that could cause them to err, unknowingly, in their ethical judgments and actions.

No profession is free from ethical dilemmas. All professionals will face ethical issues regardless of their career trajectory or the role they play within an organization. While Codes of Conduct are essential, and a good starting point for ethical conduct, they are no substitute for a well-rounded education in behavioral and applied ethics.

Start Here: Videos

Role Morality

Role morality is the tendency we have to use different moral standards for the different roles we play in society.

Bounded Ethicality

Bounded ethicality explains how social pressures and psychological processes cause us to behave in ways that are inconsistent with our own values.

Being Your Best Self, Part 4: Moral Action

Moral action means transforming the intent to do the right thing into reality. This involves moral ownership, moral efficacy, and moral courage.

Start Here: Cases

Freedom vs. Duty in Clinical Social Work

What should social workers do when their personal values come in conflict with the clients they are meant to serve?

High Stakes Testing

In the wake of the No Child Left Behind Act, parents, teachers, and school administrators take different positions on how to assess student achievement.

Healthcare Obligations: Personal vs. Institutional

A medical doctor must make a difficult decision when informing patients of the effectiveness of flu shots while upholding institutional recommendations.

Teaching Notes

Begin by viewing the “Start Here” videos. They introduce key topics that commonly emerge in our careers, such as making ethical decisions based on the role we’re playing at work. The four-part video,  Being Your Best Self , describes the four components of ethical decision-making and action. To help strengthen ethical decision-making skills, watch the behavioral ethics videos in the “Additional Videos” section to learn about the psychological biases that can often lead to making poor choices.

Read through these videos’ teaching notes for details and related ethics concepts. Watch the “Related Videos” and/or read the related Case Study. The video’s “Additional Resources” offer further reading and a bibliography.

To use these resources in the classroom, show a video in class, assign a video to watch outside of class, or embed a video in an online learning module such as Canvas. Then, prompt conversation in class to encourage peer-to-peer learning. Ask students to answer the video’s “Discussion Questions,” and to reflect on the ideas and issues raised by the students in the video. How do their experiences align? How do they differ? The videos also make good writing prompts. Ask students to watch a video and apply the ethics concept to course content.

The case studies offer examples of professionals facing tough ethical decisions or ethically questionable situations in their careers in teaching, science, politics, and social services. Cases are an effective way to introduce ethics topics, and for people to learn how to spot ethical issues.

Select a case study from the Cases Series  or find one in the “Additional Cases” section that resonates with your industry or profession. Then, reason through the ethical dimensions presented, and sketch the ethical decision-making process outlined by the case. Challenge yourself (and/or your team at work) to develop strategies to avoid these ethical pitfalls. Watch the case study’s “Related Videos” and “Related Terms” for further understanding.

To use the case studies in the classroom, ask students to read a video’s “Case Study” and answer the case study “Discussion Questions.” Then, follow the strategy outlined in the previous paragraph, challenging students to develop strategies to avoid the ethical pitfalls presented in the case.

Ethics Unwrapped  blogs  are also useful prompts to engage colleagues or students in discussions about ethics. Learning about ethics in the context of real-world (often current) events can enliven conversation and make ethics relevant and concrete. Share a blog in a meeting or class or post one to the company intranet or the class’s online learning module. To spur discussion, try to identify the ethical issues at hand and to name the ethics concepts related to the blog (or current event in the news). Dig more deeply into the topic using the Additional Resources listed at the end of the blog post.

Remember to review video, case study, and blogs’ relevant glossary  terms. In this way, you will become familiar with all the ethics concepts contained in these material. Share this vocabulary with your colleagues or students, and use it to expand and enrich ethics and leadership conversations. To dive deeper in the glossary, watch “Related” glossary videos.

Many of the concepts covered in Ethics Unwrapped operate in tandem with each other. As you watch more videos, you will become more fluent in ethics and see the interrelatedness of ethics concepts more readily. You also will be able to spot ethical issues more easily – at least, that is the hope! It will also be easier to express your ideas and thoughts about what is and isn’t ethical and why. Hopefully, you will also come to realize the interconnectedness of ethics and leadership, and the essential role ethics plays in developing solid leadership skills that can advance your professional career.

Additional Videos

• Self-serving Bias
• Moral Equilibrium
• Conflict of Interest
• In It To Win: The Jack Abramoff Story
• In It To Win: Jack & Framing
• In It To Win: Jack & Rationalizations
• In It To Win: Jack & Self-Serving Bias
• In It To Win: Jack & Role Morality
• In It To Win: Jack & Moral Equilibrium
• Intro to GVV
• GVV Pillar 1: Values
• GVV Pillar 2: Choice
• GVV Pillar 3: Normalization
• GVV Pillar 4: Purpose
• GVV Pillar 5: Self-Knowledge & Alignment
• GVV Pillar 6: Voice
• GVV Pillar 7: Reasons & Rationalizations
• Obedience to Authority
• Loss Aversion
• Intro to Behavioral Ethics
• Moral Muteness
• Moral Myopia
• Being Your Best Self, Part 1: Moral Awareness
• Being Your Best Self, Part 2: Moral Decision Making
• Being Your Best Self, Part 3: Moral Intent
• Legal Rights & Ethical Responsibilities

Additional Cases

Liberal arts & fine arts.

• A Million Little Pieces
• Approaching the Presidency: Roosevelt & Taft
• Pardoning Nixon

Science & Engineering

• Retracting Research: The Case of Chandok v. Klessig
• Arctic Offshore Drilling

Social Science

• The CIA Leak
• Edward Snowden: Traitor or Hero?
• The Costco Model
• The Collapse of Barings Bank
• Teaching Blackface: A Lesson on Stereotypes
• Cyber Harassment
• Cheating: Atlanta’s School Scandal

Communication & Journalism

• Dr. V’s Magical Putter
• Limbaugh on Drug Addiction
• Reporting on Robin Williams
• Covering Yourself? Journalists and the Bowl Championship
• Sports Blogs: The Wild West of Sports Journalism?
• Cheney v. U.S. District Court
• Negotiating Bankruptcy
• Patient Autonomy & Informed Consent
• Prenatal Diagnosis & Parental Choice

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• Gaming the System: The VA Scandal
• Krogh & the Watergate Scandal

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Ethics Case Studies

Last updated on April 3, 2024 by Alex Andrews George

Ethics case studies are mainly about decision-making and problem-solving .

The reader will be presented with a situation and he will be asked to decide to solve the problem.

The factors involved may include ethics , but it may not be just about ethics. It can have social, economic, and political dimensions.

Table of Contents

Case Study: Decision Making (Accident)

You are aspiring to become an IAS officer and you have cleared various stages and now you have been selected for the personal interview. On the day of the interview, on the way to the venue, you saw an accident where a mother and child who happen to be your relatives were badly injured. They needed immediate help.

What would you have done in such a situation? Justify your action. (UPSC CSE 2017)

Case Study: Conflict Resolution (Development vs Environment)

Nowadays, there is an increasing thrust on economic development all around the globe. At the same time, there is also an increasing concern about environmental degradation caused by development.

Many a time, we face a direct conflict between development activity and environmental quality.

It is neither feasible to stop or curtail the developmental process, nor it is advisable to keep degrading the environment, as it threatens our very survival.

Discuss some feasible strategies which could be adopted to eliminate this conflict and which could lead to sustainable development. (UPSC CSE 2014)

Case Study: Ethics vs Easy Path (Advice to Friend)

Suppose one of your close friends, who is also aspiring for civil services, comes to you to discuss some of the issues related to ethical conduct in public service. He raises the following points:-

(i) In the present times, when an unethical environment is quite prevalent, individual attempts to stick to ethical principles may cause a lot of problems in one’s career. It may cause hardship to the family members as well as risk to one’s life. Why should we not be pragmatic follow the path of least resistance, and be happy with doing whatever good we can?

(ii) When so many people are adopting wrong means and are grossly harming the system, what difference would it make if only a small minority tries to be ethical? They are going to be rather ineffective and are bound to get frustrated.

(iii) If we become fussy about ethical considerations, will it not hamper the economic progress of our country? After all, in the present age of high competition, we cannot afford to be left behind in the race for development

(iv) Understandably, we should not get involved in grossly unethical practices, but giving and accepting small gratifications and doing small favours increases everybody’s motivation.

It also makes the system more efficient. What is wrong with adopting such practices? Critically analyze the above viewpoints. Based on this analysis, what will be your advice to your friend? (UPSC CSE 2014)

Case Study: Problem Solving of a Social Issue (Migration)

In our country, the migration of rural people to towns and cities is increasing drastically. This is causing serious problems both in the rural as well as in the urban areas. Things are becoming unmanageable. Can you analyze this problem in detail and indicate not only the socio-economic but also the emotional and attitudinal factors responsible for this problem? Also, distinctly brings out why –

(a) educated youth are trying to shift to urban areas

(b) landless poor people are migrating to urban slums

(c) even some farmers are selling off the land and trying to settle in urban areas taking petty jobs.

What feasible steps can you suggest that will be effective in controlling this serious problem in our country? (UPSC CSE 2014)

Case Study: Decision Making (Order of Rescue in Flood)

There is a disaster-prone state having frequent landslides, forest fires, cloudbursts, flash floods earthquakes, etc. Some of these are seasonal and often unpredictable. The magnitude of the disaster is always unanticipated. During one of the seasons, a cloudburst caused devastating floods and landslides leading to high casualties. There was major damage to infrastructure like roads, bridges and power-generating units. This led to more than 100000 pilgrims, tourists and other locals trapped across different routes and locations. The people trapped in your area of responsibility include senior citizens, patients in hospitals, women and children, hikers, tourists, ruling parties, regional presidents along with their families, additional chief secretaries of the neighbouring state and prisoners in jail.

As a civil services officer of the state, what would be the order in which you would rescue these people and why? Give Justifications. (UPSC CSE 2015)

Case Study: Problem Solving (Policy Making)

Land needed for mining, dams and other large-scale projects is acquired mostly from Adivasis, hill dwellers and rural communities. The displaced persons are paid monetary compensation as per the legal provisions. However, the payment is often tardy. In any case, it cannot sustain the displaced families for long. These people do not possess marketable skills to engage in some other accusation. They end up as low-paid migrant labourers. Moreover, their development goes to industries, industrialists and urban communities whereas the costs are passed on to these poor helpless people. This unjust distribution of costs and benefits is unethical. Suppose you have been entrusted with the task of drafting a better compensation-cum-rehabilitation policy for such displaced persons, how would you approach the problem and what would be the main elements of your suggested policy? (UPSC CSE 2016)

Case Study: Problem Solving (NGO)

Saraswati was a successful IT professional in the USA. Moved by the patriotic sense of doing something for the country she returned to India. Together with some other like-minded friends, she formed an NGO to build a school for a poor rural community. The objective of the school was to provide the best quality modern education at a nominal cost. She soon discovered that she had to seek permission from several Government agencies. The rules and procedures were quite confusing and cumbersome. What frustrated her most was delays, the callous attitude of officials and the constant demand for bribes. Her experience and the experience of many others like her have deterred people from taking up social service projects. A measure of Government control over voluntary social work is necessary. But it should not be exercised in a coercive a corrupt manner. What measures can you suggest to ensure that due control is exercised but well-meaning, honest NGO efforts are not thwarted? (UPSC CSE 2016)

Case Study: Ethical Dilemma (Options and Reasons for Choice)

You are the Executive Director of an upcoming InfoTech Company which is making a name for itself in the market.

Mr. A, who is a star performer, is heading the marketing team. In a short period of one year, he has helped in doubling the revenues as well as creating a high brand equity for the Company so much so that you are thinking of promoting him. However, you have been receiving information from many corners about his attitude towards the female colleagues; particularly his habit of making loose comments on women. In addition, he regularly sends indecent SMSs to all the team members including his female colleagues.

One day, late in the evening, Mrs. X, who is one of Mr. A’s team members, comes to you visibly disturbed. She complains about the continued misconduct of Mr A, who has been making undesirable advances towards her and has even tried to touch her inappropriately in his cabin. She tenders her resignation and leaves your office. (UPSC CSE 2014)

• What are the options available to you?
• Evaluate each of these options and choose the option you would adopt, giving reasons.

Suppose you are an officer in charge of implementing a social service scheme to provide support to old and destitute women. An old and illiterate woman comes to you to avail the benefits of the scheme. However, she has no documents to show that she fulfils the eligibility criteria. But after meeting her and listening to her you feel that she certainly needs support. Your enquirers also show that she is destitute and living in a pitiable condition. You are in a dilemma as to what to do. Putting her under the scheme without the necessary documents would be a violation of the rules. But denying her the support would be cruel.

a) Can you think of a rational way to resolve this dilemma? b) Give your reasons for it. (UPSC CSE 2016)

More Ethics Case Studies

• Ethics Case Study: Personal Ethics vs Professional Ethics
• Ethics Case Study: Change in Eligibility Criteria
• Ethics Case Study: Your Son In Trouble
• Ethics Case Study: Juvenile Justice Act and Heinous Crimes
• Ethical Dilemma: 10 Heartbreaking Case Studies

Ethics Course

The ClearIAS Ethics Course will help aspirants master Ethics, Integrity, and Aptitude.

This course will help candidates understand the difficult concepts connected with ethics case studies.

We will also train you with the right approach to write high-scoring answers.

Know more about the ClearIAS Ethics Course .

Ethics Case Studies: Conclusion

Case studies connected with ethics, integrity and aptitude cover diverse situations and scenarios.

While the major chunk of questions may be connected with solving ethical dilemmas , there can be other types of questions as well.

Through the lens of ethics case studies, the evaluator will judge your decision-making and problem-solving skills.

ClearIAS Ethics Course will help candidates learn the best methods to solve ethics case studies.

Aim IAS, IPS, or IFS?

About Alex Andrews George

Alex Andrews George is a mentor, author, and social entrepreneur. Alex is the founder of ClearIAS and one of the expert Civil Service Exam Trainers in India.

He is the author of many best-seller books like 'Important Judgments that transformed India' and 'Important Acts that transformed India'.

A trusted mentor and pioneer in online training , Alex's guidance, strategies, study-materials, and mock-exams have helped many aspirants to become IAS, IPS, and IFS officers.

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University Module Series: Integrity & Ethics

Module 12: integrity, ethics and law.

  This module is a resource for lecturers  

Case studies.

Choose one or more of the following case studies and lead a discussion which allows students to address and debate issues of integrity, ethics and law. If time allows, let the students vote on which case studies they want to discuss.

For lecturers teaching large classes, case studies with multiple parts and different methods of solution lend themselves well to the group size and energy in such an environment. Lecturers can begin by having students vote on which case study they prefer. Lecturers could break down analysis of the chosen case study into steps which appear to students in sequential order, thereby ensuring that larger groups stay on track. Lecturers may instruct students to discuss questions in a small group without moving from their seat, and nominate one person to speak for the group if called upon. There is no need to provide excessive amounts of time for group discussion, as ideas can be developed further with the class as a whole. Lecturers can vary the group they call upon to encourage responsive participation.

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A Case-Centered Approach to Nursing Ethics Education: A Qualitative Study

1 Department of Nursing, Chung-Ang University, Seoul 06974, Korea; rk.ca.uac@83sseno

Sungkyoung Choi

2 Department of Medical Humanities and Social Sciences, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 06974, Korea; [email protected]

Sujeong Kim

3 Department of Family Health Nursing, College of Nursing, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 06974, Korea; rk.ca.cilohtac@usmik

Nurses deal with ethical decisions as they protect patients’ rights, but a consensus on effective approaches to nursing ethics education is lacking. The “four topics” method can facilitate decision-making when nurses experience ethical dilemmas in practice. This study aimed to describe nursing students’ perspectives on and experiences of a case-centered approach to nursing ethics education using the four topics method. This qualitative study consisted of two phases. First, we delivered case-centered nursing ethics education sessions to nursing students using the four topics method. Then, we conducted two focus group discussions that explored students’ perspectives on and experiences of nursing ethics education. Data were analyzed using conventional content analysis. Four themes were identified: the importance of ethics education as perceived by nursing students, problems in current nursing ethics education, the experience of case-centered nursing ethics education using the four topics approach, and suggestions for improving nursing ethics education. The case-centered approach using the four topics method is effective in enhancing nursing students’ nursing ethics ability. It is crucial to understand that nursing students would like to set up their own ethical standards and philosophy. Continuous efforts to encourage students’ participation and to provide ethical reflection opportunities during clinical practice are needed to better connect theory with clinical practice.

1. Introduction

Nurses have a responsibility as advocates for patients’ rights; as a consequence, nurses confront ethical quandaries daily [ 1 , 2 ]. As the healthcare system becomes more complex and demands for high-quality nursing care increase, nurses struggle to solve multi-faceted ethical challenges [ 3 , 4 , 5 ]. Nurses with low ethical sensitivity have difficulties making moral decisions in clinical settings [ 6 ], and thus, find it hard to advocate for patients [ 7 , 8 ]. More than half of U.S. nurses experience ethical dilemmas and moral distress several times a month [ 9 ], and 48% of nurses have considered leaving their position due to moral distress in a national survey conducted in New Zealand [ 10 ]. Common ethical dilemmas for nurses, for instance, includes the inability to provide the best quality care to patients due to limited resources, reduced costs, and unsafe staffing levels; carrying out physicians’ orders that a nurse considers professionally unnecessary; and the use of life support technologies to inappropriately extend life in critical care units [ 9 , 11 , 12 ]. The moral distress was found associated with low job satisfaction, burnout, and high turnover rates for nurses [ 1 , 13 , 14 , 15 ], thereby hindering them from providing high-quality patient care [ 16 ]. Although ethical dilemmas can create negative outcomes, ethical issues in nursing practice have received little attention.

Moral distress among nurses can decrease through training [ 17 , 18 , 19 ]. Education and training programs may be provided to enhance nurses’ ethical sensitivity and improve their understanding of decision-making processes in conflict situations [ 13 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 ]. Ethics education can enhance ethical sensitivity and awareness [ 21 , 27 , 28 ] as well as the ability to analyze ethical issues critically [ 29 ]. In particular, studies have indicated that providing ethics education to prepare nursing students is important before the newly graduated nurses enter clinical environments where ethical conflicts commonly occur [ 30 ]. Although the importance of nursing ethics education has been recognized, there is still a lack of understanding regarding it [ 31 , 32 ]. Courses related to ethics in the nursing education curriculum are insufficient [ 33 ], and there is a lack of educational materials [ 15 ] for nursing students. Further, there is a dearth of information regarding effective teaching methodologies to improve moral decision-making skills for nursing students [ 34 , 35 , 36 ].

Finding and applying adequate education methods to ethics regarding healthcare is a demanding task for nurse educators [ 37 ]. The four topics method, a structured framework that facilitates systematic identification of clinical ethics problems in four broad topics (medical indications, patient preferences, quality of life, and contextual features), is a way to assist ethical decision-making in healthcare settings [ 38 ]. Several studies found the method to be a useful tool in making ethical decisions in clinical settings [ 39 , 40 , 41 ]. The four topics method breaks away from the authoritative decision-making process, leading to higher-level decisions [ 42 ]; furthermore, it provides a systematic way of thinking from an ethical perspective [ 40 ]. Nurses’ better understanding of the decision-making process using the four topics method will enable them to consider a patient’s case from various ethical perspectives. Although the four topics method has been used in medical education studies, there is little information about its effectiveness in nursing ethics education. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate this method and determine the requirements that need to be revised when applying this method to the nursing field. The purpose of this study was to describe nursing students’ perspectives on and experiences of a case-centered approach to nursing ethics using the four topics method.

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. study design.

This is a qualitative study that aimed to explore nursing students’ experiences of ethics education using the four topics method, and we conducted it in accordance with the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research (COREQ) [ 43 ]. The research team consisted of four researchers: two with a Ph.D. in Nursing and two with a Ph.D. in Public Health focusing on medical law and bioethics. All researchers had experience in qualitative research. This study consisted of two phases. First, we delivered four nursing ethics educational sessions to nursing students using the four topics method. Then, we conducted focus group discussions (FGD) that explored students’ perspectives of nursing ethics education.

2.2. Participants

The participants included university seniors who (1) were in their fourth year of their Bachelor of Science in nursing (BSN) program, (2) attended university in Seoul and Gyeonggi, and (3) understood the purpose of the study and agreed to participate in the study. We determined that at least one year of clinical practice experience in various clinical settings would be needed to analyze the cases provided in educational sessions. In Korea, nursing students starts their clinical practice in their third year of the BSN program; thus, we only included seniors, who are in their fourth year as participants. The exclusion criteria for the FGD were students who dropped out or were absent from the education program or did not participate in the presentation. Using convenience sampling through an online advertisement and snowball sampling, 10 nursing students from three universities in Seoul, South Korea, were recruited for this study. In July 2019, we used Facebook to recruit participants, who were asked to recommend colleagues interested in participating. All nursing students who participated in educational sessions agreed to participate in FGDs, and no one dropped out.

2.3. Educational Sessions

The four educational sessions lasted two hours each and took place for the 10 participating nursing students between 6 August and 21 August 2019. The course instructor was a researcher with a Ph.D. in medical law and bioethics, and the instructor did not attend the same school as the study participants. The main topics of each educational session are presented in Table 1 . In the first two educational sessions, the instructor delivers lectures including ethical principles, ethical decision-making processes, issues regarding nursing ethics, and the case analysis method using four topic method. After the two lectures, students had about a week to prepare a team presentation. Students were divided into two teams (each team consisted of five students) and each team selected one case out of two possible cases: Case 1 was about an artificial abortion and Case 2 involved terminating life support for a person with brain death. Nursing students analyzed the cases themselves using the four topics method including a set of specific questions that helped identify various conditions and linked them to underlying ethical principles: beneficence, non-maleficence, autonomy, and justice [ 38 , 41 ]. In the remaining two educational sessions, students presented their activities and discussed their opinion. The presentation consisted of the results based on an analysis of cases, determining the legal and ethical issues involved, seeking alternatives and evaluating each alternative, and selecting alternatives and providing strategies for implementation. Students were encouraged to discuss as many alternatives as possible without judgment or criticism.

Description of the educational sessions.

2.4. Data Collection

Data were collected in August 2019. Two FGDs (each team consisting of five participants) were conducted in a private meeting room. The moderator, who was educated and experienced in doctoral-level qualitative research, used a semi-structured interview guideline developed for this study. The moderator used open-ended questions and targeted probes to guide the FGD while allowing participants to talk freely about their experiences related to nursing ethics education. Interview questions were as follows: (1) Experiences regarding ethics in clinical practice: “Have you experienced any ethical situations or problems in clinical practice?” (2) Experiences about the current nursing ethics education: “What form should nursing ethics education have?”, and “Have you ever felt that nursing ethics education was insufficient while attending university or participating in clinical practice sessions? Please tell me in detail the reasons.” (3) Questions regarding a case-centered approach using the four topics: “Please tell me your experiences in this type of education, in particular using a case-centered approach utilizing the four topics,” “What is your most beneficial application of the four topics to analyze the case?”, “What was your most difficult application of the four topics to analyze the case?”, “What is different about this educational sessions compared to previous nursing ethics education?” (4) Questions regarding improvements in nursing ethics education: “What strategies could be implemented in nursing ethics education that would provide a better learning experience for nursing students?” Participants were encouraged to describe specific experiences from previous education and from the intervention sessions. The FGDs were conducted in Korean. The first FGD lasted two hours and the second one lasted two hours and 10 min. All FGDs were audio-recorded and the first author reviewed the transcripts against the audio files for accuracy.

2.5. Data Analysis and Trustworthiness

FGDs were transcribed verbatim in Korean, and the data were analyzed using conventional content analysis. Interview transcripts and field notes were used for data analysis. The first author extracted and coded significant words and phrases. Each student’s response in the interviews was coded appropriately. For example, the statement “I know all of the so-called ethical theories, but in reality, I don’t know how I can use those things in clinical settings” was coded to “did not know how to apply the ethical theories and principles to clinical situation.” The codes were then grouped together as subthemes and the subthemes were further grouped into overarching themes by two researchers. Subsequently, the research team reexamined the codes and engaged in multiple discussions to verify the identified subthemes and themes. We retained the words used by participants to maintain the original meanings. The quotes were selected by the research team during meetings.

To assure trustworthiness, member checking and external auditing were performed [ 44 ]. The final categories were reviewed by two nursing students who had participated in the focus group; to establish credibility (or internal consistency) of the study findings, they were asked whether their intended meaning was maintained, and they confirmed that it had been. Additionally, the study findings were reviewed by one nursing student who met the inclusion criteria but did not participate in this study, and the student answered that she mostly agreed with the study findings and had similar experiences. The finalized coding book and study findings was peer-reviewed by an external researcher who has experience in qualitative research but was not involved in the research process, to assess the accuracy (or validity) and to evaluate whether the interpretations and conclusions were supported by the study data.

2.6. Ethical Considerations

The study was approved by the institutional review board of Chung-Ang University (No. 1041078-201906-HRSB-192-01). Participants were informed about the study’s purpose and methods, after which they provided written informed consent. They were also informed that their participation was voluntary, and the data collected would remain confidential. Participants had the right to withdraw from the study at any time without penalty.

3.1. General Characteristics of the Participants

A summary of participants’ demographic characteristics is provided in Table 2 . Of the 10 nursing students who participated in the study, 7 were female, with a mean age of 23.0 years (±1.41). Most (8 out of 10) participants had taken ethics courses previously and identified themselves as religious.

Participants’ demographic characteristics.

Note. G = group; P = participant.

3.2. Results from Focus Group Discussions

Content analysis of the data identified four main identified themes and 13 subthemes ( Table 3 ). The four themes included: (1) the importance of ethics education as perceived by nursing students; (2) problems in current nursing ethics education; 3) the experience of case-centered nursing ethics education using the four topics method; and (4) suggestions to improve nursing ethics education.

Major themes and subthemes.

3.2.1. Theme 1: Importance of Ethics Education as Perceived by Nursing Students

Participants mentioned the importance of acquiring ethical knowledge before starting clinical practice. Without ethical knowledge, students would not even recognize ethical issues in clinical settings, let alone have the basic knowledge to judge ethical issues. One participant said, “I know what is unethical. Behaviors can vary but there seems to be a huge difference between when I know and when I don’t” (G1, P1). Most participants also noted that they encountered various ethical dilemmas and experienced moral distress during clinical practice, which created confusion regarding values. Participants resolved to make efforts to ensure that unethical judgments were not routine when they became nurses. Participants agreed that ethical awareness is critical to growth as a nursing professional. They wanted to learn about nursing ethics through discussion with others; based on their learning, they would like to create their own criteria of ethical judgments and nursing philosophy. One student said, “As specialized professionals, we have to have our own ethical principles to establish professional values. We are nursing professionals who care for people’s lives” (G2, P1).

3.2.2. Theme 2: Problems in Current Nursing Ethics Education

Participants acknowledged that nursing ethics education was neglected in comparison with other subjects in the curriculum; few nursing ethics courses were offered for credit. A participant said: “credits. […] are concentrated on the subjects that can be considered as major” (G1, P1). Further, when ethics education was available, courses were structured with fixed answers, which led to difficulty in developing critical thinking. One student said, “[…] correct answers? […] as if there are fixed answers. [For ethics], it seems that such an educational method cannot cultivate students’ ability to think” (G1, P3). Given the high student-to-teacher ratio, the instructor could not facilitate all students’ discussions, and participants felt that they lacked the opportunity to think for themselves because they had to focus on passing the course. They mentioned that course contents were not memorable because students did not think and learn for themselves. Participants pointed out the lack of student motivation and voluntary participation, which made it difficult for interested students to share their thoughts in group discussion. Participants also noted that they did not know how to apply the ethical theories and principles learned in the classroom to clinical settings. Students had difficulty in recognizing and judging ethical issues in clinical practice, and they perceived a gap between theory and practice.

3.2.3. Theme 3: Case-Centered Nursing Ethics Education Using the Four Topics Method

Participants acknowledged that they reviewed cases more objectively by using the four topics method. A student said that “(By using the four-topics chart) we could discuss issues within a certain framework. Summarizing and organizing analysis results were somewhat helpful” (G2, P5). However, participants mentioned that some of the questions presented in the four topics chart were difficult to apply to the given cases. Students agreed that analyzing ethical cases using the four topics method was useful because it made them think in new ways: “I found raising various questions and giving answers according to the four-topics chart to be good practice because by doing so, we could answer questions that we had never considered” (G2, P4). Through the case analysis conducted in this study, participants had an opportunity to consider others’ perspectives and ethical values. One participant said, “I believe it is good because we can know how much value each person puts in the four-topics chart” (G1, P2). Applying ethical theory and principles to cases and analyzing them using the four topics method helped them identify the values they personally find important.

3.2.4. Theme 4: Suggestions to Improve Nursing Ethics Education

Participants suggested that small group education would encourage active participation, especially in a Korean cultural setting where people dislike standing out by asking questions or giving individual opinions. Participants said that the case-centered approach was helpful and suggested using cases with various ethical topics for learning several points of view. A student mentioned, “If they were real cases, I could focus better, and I could have opportunities to think about them. I wish there are some things we can remember and feel more closely” (G2, P3). They added that simple-to-complex cases need to be appropriately distributed throughout ethics education. Participants emphasized that they need opportunities to learn about ethical issues during clinical practice by sharing experiences and discussing how nurses should approach and resolve ethical problems. Through this process, students want the opportunity to think and exchange opinions on their own. Participants also stated that different evaluation methods should be used for nursing ethics education; that cultivating students’ critical thinking skills is essential; and that, particularly, students’ attitudes and participation in discussions should be included as evaluation items. One participant said, “If possible, rather than examining the students’ answers, the nursing ethics course should evaluate the level of participation in discussion and the opinions the student expresses, as well as how deeply the student participates in the course of drawing such answers and whether the student has the ability to use this tool properly” (G1, P4).

4. Discussion

In this qualitative study, we explored nursing students’ perspectives and experiences of ethics education to better understand current educational approaches and to present strategies for improvement. Consistent with a study by Escolar-Chua [ 26 ], our participants indicated that they encountered nursing ethics issues and moral distress during their clinical practice. Such experiences lead nursing students to imagine themselves as nurses in the future, recognize moral distress, and think about how to deal with it. Given that negative experiences in clinical practice can be impediments to staying in the nursing profession, nursing ethics education and trainings should be provided to nursing students to enhance their ethical competence, which is needed to surmount moral distress [ 26 ]. In particular, professional ethics are fundamental to the nursing profession [ 32 ], and obtaining professional competence is the most important factor in the formation of professional ethics and professionalism in students [ 25 ]. Notably, participants recognized nursing ethics education as a crucial component of professionalism and would like to create their own ethics standards and philosophy of nursing through nursing ethics education. Therefore, nurse educators need to consider providing opportunities to their nursing students for learning professional ethics and professionalism during their ethics courses.

Some issues related to current nursing ethics education need to be improved; nursing students struggled to develop critical thinking skills because the ethics education they had previously focused on lectures and did not provide enough opportunity to think for themselves and exchange their opinions with other students. In addition, nursing students had difficulties in applying theory learned in the classroom to clinical practice. To address the limitations of current nursing ethics education and to enhance students’ ability to appropriately respond to ethical concerns, it is important to develop both theory education and clinical ethics education around the ethical concerns that students may have [ 23 ]. For instance, learning activities analyzing ethical issues that students may observe or experience during their clinical practice could provide them with opportunities to apply their knowledge and skills learned from classroom education to clinical settings. Consequently, these efforts connecting theory to practice could help nursing students make ethical decisions when they enter a clinical environment after graduation. Moreover, discussion of actual situations in a systematic way can allow nursing students to realize their values and resolve ethical issues in practice [ 26 , 29 ]. Therefore, further work is needed to develop various ethical cases, ranging from simple to very complex, based on actual nurses’ experiences. In ethics education, the role and function of teachers can contribute to the development of professional ethics in students [ 25 ]. In Choe et al.’s study [ 34 ] on improving bioethics education, a priority was the enhancement of quality and competence in educators. Teachers should not enforce their own ethical standards and philosophy on nursing students, but should try to develop their competence through continuous education and training.

Analyzing ethical cases using the four topics method was determined to be useful by nursing students because the method guides students to analyze cases and provides direction for discussion. This finding is consistent with previous studies that established the four topics chart as a useful checklist [ 39 ]. In addition, the four topics chart made participants think in new ways. Participants mentioned that after internalizing the concepts of the four topics approach, they would be able to apply those perspectives to solve ethical issues in their work as nurses. However, nurse educators should not simply present the four topics chart as action guidelines or case analysis checklists [ 45 ], and when applying the four topics chart to nursing ethics education, some of the questions it contains should be revised considering the nursing context.

The findings of our study indicate that small group education, the case-centered approach, a connection between classroom education and clinical practice, and different evaluation methods could improve current nursing ethics education. Previous studies have also reported the use of a case-centered approach and small group discussion as the most effective ways to teach an ethics course [ 21 , 46 ]. For ethics development, interpersonal interactions with peers through discussion were highly effective [ 25 ]. However, there are some difficulties in small group education, such as managing the quality of discussion in small groups within a large class [ 21 ] and lack of student participation, as our participants also emphasized. Therefore, effective teaching methods for a large class [ 21 ] and strategies to motivate students’ participation should be developed to better implement the case-centered approach.

This is the first study to explore students’ experiences and perception of current nursing ethics education and case-centered nursing ethics education using the four topics method; however, it has some limitations. First, there were few participants, and they came from a limited geographic area; therefore, caution is needed in generalizing or interpreting results of this study to other nursing students. Further studies are needed to expand the target population. Second, researchers’ perceptions and intentions may result in an interpretation bias regarding participants’ responses. As mentioned in the methods section, we tried to assure trustworthiness of the study by member check, and external auditing. Third, this study examined the consequence of using the four topics method using only a qualitative method based on students’ perspectives and experiences. Therefore, future research should conduct a well-designed experimental study to identify the effects of the modified four-topic method for nursing ethics education based on our study results. Despite these limitations, this study provides useful information for the improvement of nursing ethics education.

5. Conclusions

Nursing students should be prepared to solve ethical issues before working in clinical settings. The study shows that a case-centered approach using the four topics method could be useful for nursing students as the structured framework of this method helps students to understand and analyze cases; this method would be helpful to train them to apply theory to specific situation. However, further research using an experimental study design that applies the modified four-topic method to the nursing field is needed to confirm our findings. Continuous efforts such as encouraging students’ active participation, using small group education, and providing ethical reflection opportunities during clinical practice will be needed to implement effective nursing ethics education that can connect the classroom and the clinic.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank all participating nursing students who took the time to complete interviews and made this study possible.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, W.L. and A.M.; methodology, W.L.; software, W.L.; validation, W.L. and A.M.; formal analysis, W.L. and A.M.; investigation, W.L. and A.M.; resources, W.L.; data curation, W.L.; writing—original draft preparation, W.L., S.C., S.K., & A.M.; writing—review and editing, W.L., S.C., S.K., and A.M.; visualization, A.M.; supervision, W.L.; project administration, W.L.; funding acquisition, W.L and A.M. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

This research was supported by the Chung-Ang University Research Grants in 2019 and the Korea National Institute for Bioethics Policy (KoNIBP) awarded by the 2019 Bioethics Policy Research Program.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

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Public Health Ethics Training Materials

• Public Health Ethics Training for Local Health Departments

Web-on-Demand e-Learning Module

Public health ethics case repository, public health ethics casebook, open access narrative public health ethics book, good decision making in real time: public health ethics training for local health departments.

As part of CDC’s ongoing efforts to support state and local health departments, the Public Health Ethics Unit has developed a training manual to be used as a tool to strengthen public health ethics capacity at the local level. The manual includes an introduction to public health ethics, relevant case studies, suggestions for integrating ethics into health departments, and additional resources. The Student version of the manual may be downloaded here; the Facilitator version is available upon request.

Download the Student Manual To request a copy of the Facilitator Manual, please email [email protected] .  

GOOD DECISION MAKING IN REAL TIME: PRACTICAL PUBLIC HEALTH ETHICS FOR LOCAL HEALTH OFFICIALS

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) announce the availability of a Web-on-Demand e-Learning module, Good Decision Making in Real Time: Practical Public Health Ethics for Local Health Officials. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) announce the availability of a Web-on-Demand e-Learning module, Good Decision Making in Real Time: Practical Public Health Ethics for Local Health Officials.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION : This Web-on-demand course provides training on the basics of public health ethics and the process of ethical analysis and describes tools and resources for addressing ethical challenges that commonly arise in the practice of public health. The course also explores the complementary nature of public health law and public health ethics, reviews approaches to implementing public health ethics in health departments and presents a case study to illustrate the steps of applying an ethical analysis to a real-life case scenario.

COUSE OBJECTIVES :  At the conclusion of the session, the participant will be able to:

• List 3 ways to define the field of public health ethics.
• Describe 2 ways public health ethics and law can work together to address ethical challenges.
• Describe 3 resources for helping public health officials make ethically informed choices.
• List 2 specific ways to integrate ethical considerations into public health decision-making.
• Explore multiple solutions by organizing, prioritizing, and defending each possible solution.

FACULTY/CREDENTIALS :

Drue Barrett, PhD; Lead, Public Health Ethics and Strategy Unit; Office of Scientific Integrity, Office of Science, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Ruth Gaare Bernheim, JD, MPH; Chair, Department of Public Health Sciences, School of Medicine; Co-Director, The Institute for Practical Ethics and Public Life; Professor of Public Health Sciences, Medicine, and Family Medicine; University of Virginia School of Medicine

Alan Melnick, MD, MPH, CPH; Director and Health Officer; Clark County Public Health, Washington

Leonard Ortmann, PhD; Senior Ethics Consultant; Public Health Ethics and Strategy Unit, Office of Scientific Integrity, Office of Science, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Matthew Penn, JD, MLIS; Director, Public Health Law Program; Office for State, Tribal, Local, and Territorial Support, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

COURSE ACCESS :  Access the course at https://www.pathlms.com/naccho/courses/282

CONTACT INFORMATION : Contact [email protected] for questions about this course.

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Below are additional public health ethics cases that can be used in conjunction with the training manual – Good Decision Making in Real Time: Public Health Ethics Training for Local Health Departments:

• Emergency Preparedness: Impact of Regulatory Compliance and Resource Allocation Decisions on Laboratory Capacity
• Ensuring Biosafety/Biosecurity during a Public Health Emergency
• Short-course Zidovudine Compared to What? A Trial to Prevent Mother-to-Infant HIV Transmission
• Unsafe Injections: Duty to Warn?
• Use of Restraint and Physical Force by First Responders: Duty to Investigate and Educate?
• Ethical Considerations for Allocating Medical Countermeasures in an Anthrax Incident
• Policies for Restricting Use of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) in Indoor Public Spaces

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Public Health Ethics: Cases Spanning the Globe (2016). DH Barrett, LW Ortmann, A Dawson, C Saenz, A Reis, G Bolan (Eds.). Springer Open.

This open access book includes 40 cases that highlight a broad range of ethical issues and dilemmas that arise in the practice of public health. The casebook begins with an introduction to the basic concepts of public health ethics and describes important events that shaped the practice of public health. The cases are organized into chapters that discuss the following topics:

• Resource allocation and priority setting
• Disease prevention and control
• Chronic disease prevention and health promotion
• Environmental and occupational public health
• Vulnerability and marginalized populations
• International collaboration for global public health
• Public health research

You can access this book free of charge at Public Health Ethics: Cases Spanning the Globe .

Narrative Ethics in Public Health: The Value of Stories (2022)., DH Barrett, LW Ortmann, SA Larson (Eds). Springer Open.

This Open Access book illustrates the power of stories to illuminate ethical concerns that arise in public health. It complements epidemiological or surveillance evidence and reveals stakeholder perspectives crucial for public health practitioners to develop effective and ethical public health interventions. The book contains 14 chapters that present stories about public health problems and challenges. The stories range from first person narratives of both practitioners and citizens, to analysis of published short stories. The problems and challenges the stories address include justice concerns, surveillance and stigma, community values and the value of community, trust and the value of information, and freedom and responsibility. Specific topics include resource allocation, balancing individual liberty and the need to protect the community from health threats, and the health impact of trauma, addiction, obesity and health disparities.

You can access this book free of charge at Narrative Ethics in Public Health: The Value of Stories

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• ETHICS CASE STUDY BATCH
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ETHICS CASE STUDY BATCH (ECS0724) (JULY MONTH-2024)

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• Total No. of Classes/Videos : 08
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FOR LUKMAAN EX-FOUNDATION STUDENTS (PA, ETHICS) (EX- ETHICS TEST SERIES)

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GET ETHICS TAUGHT BY THE BEST TEACHER

• Trend Analysis from 2013 to 2023.
• More than 180 case studies.
• Subject Matter based Case Studies focusing on all major topics.
• Case Studies based on Current Developments
• Case Study you will learn: approach, structuring, content & how to write ethical answeres based on Current Developments

"Some Case Studies have matched exactly the same as asked by the UPSC"

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• All Live classes will be provided only through Mobile App.
• All recorded lectures will be accessible to students only through Mobile App.

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• TAKKAR – A YEAR LONG TEST SERIES FOR IAS
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ASCE Code of Ethics Case Studies

In ASCE Code of Ethics Case Studies , you'll learn ...

• History of the ASCE Code of Ethics
• Case Study #1: A straight-forward case of corruption during bidding of a levee reconstruction project following Hurricane Katrina
• How the "best-value" bid evaluation method used in the levee reconstruction project created an environment conducive to corruption
• Case Study #2: Determining the ownership of intellectual property developed during employment

Preview a portion of this course before purchasing it.

Credit: 2 PDH

Length: 24 pages

Every human being is faced with the temptation and motivation to take ethical shortcuts. Oftentimes, actions and activities appear to be in one's self-interest, but violate obligations to others. Even those most concerned about the honesty and integrity of their work are subject to strong pressures from revenue demands, employers, clients and managers to take actions with which they are uncomfortable.

This course focuses on The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Code of Ethics. ASCE is the oldest engineering society in the United States, incorporating as the American Society of Engineers and Architects in 1852. It developed its first code of ethics in 1914, which lays the foundation for the codes developed by many states and other engineering societies.

The purpose of this course is not to solve ethical dilemmas, but to provide a framework for recognizing and evaluating ethical issues and generating alternatives.

The objectives are to:

• Familiarize the reader with the portions of the ASCE Code of Ethics that regulate engineers' ethical obligations to employers, clients, the community and the profession, and
• Provide the framework for application of the Code to engineers’ individual professional activities

To this end, a number of though-provoking case studies are presented, along with discussions of the relevant portions of ASCE's Code of Ethics and possible alternatives for addressing the issues.

Specific Knowledge or Skill Obtained

This course teaches the following specific knowledge and skills:

• Case Study #3: A case requiring a bidder to hire the County Engineer's wife and daughter as the implied "price" of securing a contract
• Various iterations of Case Study #3: a) the wife and daughter are outstanding vs. mediocre prospects, b) the company is looking to fill open positions vs. the company has no pressing need for more employees
• Another iteration of Case Study #3: The company declined to hire the wife and daughter and lost the work, then discovered that the successful bidder did hire the County Engineer's relatives
• Specific Canons of the ASCE Code of Ethics that apply to the cases above, as well as how these Canons apply to your practice
• Help in developing a strategy in dealing with someone who may be pressuring you for favors in order to be awarded a contract
• A discussion of two engineering disasters that provide tragic examples of what can happen when the principles of the ASCE Code of Ethics are ignored

Certificate of Completion

You will be able to immediately print a certificate of completion after passing a multiple-choice quiz consisting of 10 questions. PDH credits are not awarded until the course is completed and quiz is passed.

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Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: An Ethics Case Study in Environmental Engineering

Embargo lift date, committee members, degree year, journal title, journal issn, volume title.

The April 20, 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion was an engineering and environmental tragedy that led to the loss of 11 human lives and has had far-reaching environmental and economic impacts, the full extent of which is difficult if not impossible to calculate. In 2015 the explosion continues to impact those 11 individual’s families; it continues to have a far-reaching emotional impact on the 115 men and women on board at the time of the catastrophe; scientists are still evaluating the environmental impacts of both the oil dispersion throughout the gulf and the oil dispersant used to curtail the spill at surface depths. Simultaneously, gulf business owners, particularly those who rely on gulf waters for their livelihoods, continue to struggle. This novel and far-reaching real-world disaster is particularly salient for use within engineering curricula due to its inherently complex interplay of ethical issues and the broad scope of stakeholders impacted by the initial disaster and its aftermath.

We have developed and refined this real-world case study with students participating in a graduate level course at Purdue University over three separate years and five course offerings. We designed this case study within a unique pedagogical framework that leads students to reflectively adopt varying stakeholders’ perspectives in order to reason through the case within a team setting. As a final goal, students must decide the appropriateness of continuing deepwater drilling throughout the Gulf of Mexico in light of the human, economic, environmental, and social implications of future potential blowouts. As part of the broader ethics course in which this case is embedded, we selected this case as it provides a uniquely broader scope of stakeholders and a more specific focus on the principles of nonmaleficence and justice when compared to the other cases presented to students. Specifically, this case asks students to consider a broad range of stakeholders. Whereas many engineering ethics case studies focus on human stakeholders and corporations, here the focus also includes marine and aquatic life, challenging a narrowly anthropocentric focus by placing environmental issues as a focal point. In this sense, our focus pushes beyond other case studies in ethics by addressing both macro-ethical issues, where students are encouraged to adopt a broadened societal viewpoint to deduce the most ethical courses of action, and micro-ethical issues, where the focus is towards the professional obligations of an individual engineer, through a scaffolded staged pedagogy.

In this paper we present the case structure and pedagogy to argue for the relevance of this unique, novel, and effective case for increasing engineering students’ ethical reasoning abilities, particularly broadening their awareness of the scope of stakeholders impacted by engineering decisions and their ability to empathize with those stakeholders.

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Master of Business Administration (MBA)

Understanding the Principles of Ethics in Business

As chatbots and other AI-driven tools rise to prominence, companies are racing to use them to gain a competitive advantage. This might change the ways people conduct business, but one thing remains the same — the need to adhere to ethical principles in business.

What are business ethics? Investopedia defines this term as “the moral principles, policies and values that govern the way companies and individuals engage in business activity.” Put simply, maximizing revenues shouldn’t preclude doing what’s right.

Business ethics are not necessarily legally binding. Instead, they are self-governed behaviors based on exemplary standards and, in many cases, company policies. Dr. Melanie Zollner, an assistant professor in our Department of Business Administration, contextualized the legal and ethical boundaries using the following axiom:

“Where the law ends, ethics begins.”

What Are Examples of Ethical Principles in Business?

There are numerous ethical principles to learn as you advance in business. That’s why New Mexico Highlands University incorporates ethics throughout the curriculum for our online MBA degree. This emphasis will help you understand the importance of ethics in business and embody them during your career.

Brands face stiff competition in our global economy, and it’s wise to look for opportunities to get ahead. But that doesn’t give license to cut corners with the truth. Instead, businesses must strive for honesty across their operations, such as:

• Providing accurate product descriptions.
• Avoiding misleading statements during customer service interactions.
• Keeping the promises they make in advertising.

In addition to being the right thing to do, honesty helps strengthen connections between customers and companies, which can lead to repeat sales. Conversely, Dr. Zollner cautioned that businesses risk losing customers if they fall short of those standards.

“People can go somewhere else and purchase a different product or service from another company,” she said. “Once an organization loses that trust, it’s very hard to build back.”

The numbers back up that statement, as a Qualtrics survey found that 65% of people have stopped purchasing from brands that failed to meet their promises.

Professionals who treat each other respectfully — with kindness and support for one another’s contributions — create an environment focused on shared success. For instance, a HubSpot post explores how respect in the workplace helps improve productivity, foster innovation and promote collaboration.

Researchers at the Center for Creative Leadership found that workers throughout the world consider respect a “ critical leadership responsibility .” By satisfying this ethical principle, organizations can build admiration with customers and confidence among teammates.

Acting with integrity expands on the ethical principles we have discussed so far. It requires you to bring honesty and respect to every customer interaction, every meeting and every task — every workday.

Not only that, but you cannot expect credit for working with integrity. Diligent , a software company focusing on ESG and compliance, framed integrity as “doing the right thing even when nobody is watching.”

In other words, act properly to the benefit of your customers and stakeholders, not for your personal gain.

Acting with integrity can occur out of sight, but loyalty is an ethical principle to put on display. It means standing by the people in your business life, and it delivers benefits to those who give and receive loyalty. For example, loyalty can:

• Turn consumers into advocates for your company, according to a Forbes Communications Council article.
• Improve worker productivity and retention, two reasons GBS Corporate Training characterized loyalty as a manager’s “ most important resource .”

Loyalty to your supervisor matters, but it shouldn’t usurp other ethical principles. A study in the journal Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes highlighted how people are more likely to accept unethical demands from leaders who previously asked for loyalty.

This risk reinforces the value of learning principles of ethics. In addition to providing signposts for proper business behavior, you’ll recognize when someone attempts to lead you astray.

Transparency

Transparent companies build on the principle of honesty, showing they don’t just talk the ethical talk, but walk the ethical walk. A Shopify article noted that brands establish trust with customers when they “pull back the curtain” on the processes behind developing products and filling positions.

Of course, transparency isn’t limited to customer relations. According to Strategic Finance , businesses must also bake transparency into their culture. That means keeping workers informed about everything from short-term performance to long-term strategies.

Dr. Zollner noted that platforms like Facebook and TikTok are powerful tools for spotlighting unethical behavior. “With social media, if an organization behaves unethically, we are all going to know pretty quickly,” she said. So, individuals have the chance to promote transparency even when organizations fall short of that principle.

Opportunities for Strengthening Ethics in Business

Learning business ethics is just one part of your professional journey. As your career advances, it’s important to seek ways to champion principles of ethics at your organization. Here are three opportunities for doing just that:

Be Proactive

Innovative technologies offer new ways to conduct business. But chatbots and other advancements present as many risks as opportunities, raising the need for organizations to update their ethical policies to account for these tools.

“These tools can suffer from hallucinations and also provide information that is not accurate,” Dr. Zollner said. Based on these shortcomings, organizations must be proactive in examining these technologies, understanding how they work and setting policies for using them ethically.

Hold Leaders to High Standards

Dr. Zollner feels that ethical business leaders set the tone for other workers at each organization. “If you want to build a positive relationship with your stakeholders, it’s important to define your values and act on them starting from the top, with accountability for all,” she said.

Ethical leadership sets a positive example for professionals just beginning their careers. After all, entry-level workers see leaders as mentors. When those role models forgo ethical or moral business behavior, others might take that as permission to do the same.

Commit to the Triple Bottom Line

When teaching MBA courses online, Dr. Zollner encourages students to think about more than generating revenue. “Some believe the goal of organizations is just profit and thinking about shareholders. But I like to talk about how organizations should focus on the triple bottom line,” she said.

IBM described the triple bottom line as the “ three Ps : people, planet and profit.” Embracing this mindset means considering more than increasing revenue. As Dr. Zollner said, organizations must also “think about society, the environment and the impact they have economically.”

Achieve Results as an Ethical Business Professional

Dr. Zollner believes it’s important to ensure everyone — from entry-level professionals to business owners — understands and practices ethical principles. Toward that end, New Mexico Highlands University emphasizes ethics throughout our online MBA program .

Of course, learning the principles of ethics is just one aspect of the excellence you’ll experience while completing our ACBSP-accredited MBA. Our expert faculty members emphasize intensive problem-solving during each class, sharing business case studies and simulations that prepare you to hit the ground running in your career after graduation.

Our MBA program appeals to professionals with varying goals, as you can choose from multiple electives and concentrations in Entrepreneurship and Healthcare Administration . As you pursue your master’s degree online, you’ll engage in comprehensive coursework with added flexibility for fitting your education into your schedule. If you want to learn more, request information today.

Melanie C. Zollner, Ed.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Business Administration

Melanie C. Zollner, Ed.D., is an assistant professor in the School of Business, Media, and Technology in the Department of Business Administration at New Mexico Highlands University.

As part of the business department, Dr. Zollner represented the NMHU School of Business in the Ethics Champion Program from 2019 to 2021. The ethics workshop provides Highlands University students with an opportunity to engage with business community members and learn more about what business ethics means in the business world. Dr. Zollner mentored students for the New Mexico Business Ethics Case Competition, where her mentees earned second place in 2017 and first place in 2019, the most recent year the competition was held.

Dr. Zollner enjoys teaching at New Mexico Highlands University and strongly believes students benefit from small class sizes and one-on-one relationships with diverse faculty. She is committed to helping prepare students as competent, ethical and responsible individuals.

• Ed.D. in Educational Leadership, University of New Mexico
• MBA, New Mexico Highlands University

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Home > ETD > Doctoral > 5589

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Ethics as a stand-alone course for ph.d. in public administration.

Daniel Scott , Liberty University Follow

Helms School of Government

Doctor of Philosophy

Eugene Belmain

public administration, experiential learning, Ph.D., ethics

Disciplines

Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration

Recommended Citation

Scott, Daniel, "Ethics as a Stand-Alone Course for Ph.D. in Public Administration" (2024). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects . 5589. https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/5589

Ethics is an essential aspect of society and public administration (PA). Despite being an essential aspect of PA, ethics courses are not universally integrated into higher education programs. Few higher education institutions have adopted a comprehensive approach to ethics, and ethics courses are not required for most doctor of philosophy (Ph.D.) graduates in PA. The purpose of this qualitative case study is to understand the ramifications of not having a stand-alone ethics course in PA Ph.D. programs. The research questions that guided this study are: What are the ramifications of not having a stand-alone ethics course in PA Ph.D. programs? What are the perceived gaps in ethical knowledge among graduate students from PA Ph.D. programs without a stand-alone ethics course? What are the similarities and differences of the Ph.D. PA program ethics courses? Applying Kolb’s experiential learning (EL) theory provided this study with a theoretical underpinning. Data to answer the research questions were collected by 12 semi-structured interviews, two focus groups, and document analysis. Braun and Clarke’s six-step thematic data analysis process was applied, resulting in identifying the themes to answer the research questions. The six themes identified are: Limited ability to overcome complex ethical dilemmas, a deficit in ethical awareness and sensitivity, limited conceptual understanding, uncertainty balancing multiple ethical obligations, course structure, and integration with other courses. The findings in this study have empirical, theoretical, and practical implications.

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