Business ethics cases can also be classified according to their teaching and learning purpose.

• Some case studies represent dilemmas, that encourage students to develop
  • Virtues
  • Relective critiques
  • Moral autonomy

   

• Some case studies represent ethical problems that encourage students to develop
  • Policies
  • Codes and rules
  • Procedure and systems.

Dilemmas are, by definition, situations in which it is not clear what people should do or in which it is tempting to avoid the issue by doing nothing. They require an individual to exercise their judgment, or virtue, to decide what ought to be done and then to show the courage to do it. Business ethics is an unusual academic discipline because its subject matter has direct implications for the behaviour of those studying it. In other words the subject should cause people to question their own values, principles and behaviour at work. This self-examination, or reflective critique, is something that lecturers seek to encourage amongst their students.

Ethical problems in contrast concern corporate action rather than individual action. They require an analysis to be made of the problem and policies and systems to be set up in response. Case studies that are designed to help students learn about ethical problem solving will focus on defining corporate social responsibility programmes and policies, preparing corporate codes of ethics and so on as well as dealing with the interpretation and implementation of such documents.

Inevitably the most complex case studies will involve both dilemmas and problems. Some topics within business ethics, ethical leadership for example, clearly cross the boundary between dilemmas and problems. Nonetheless we believe the distinction is a helpful one in planning learning and teaching.

Case studies
Questionnaire and inventories
Debates and seminars