Case Studies

Case Studies

Case studies

overview

These narrative case studies are intended to stimulate dialogue about the virtues that shape professional life. Although many involve ethical dilemmas, they differ from the normative cases typically found in professional ethics texts. Rather than centering on moral judgment, they illustrate the presence—or absence—of a particular virtue in everyday practice. Their purpose is to encourage reflection and discussion on how a virtue operates in professional contexts and what it might look like in action. While this may naturally touch on ethical considerations, the cases are not designed to foster extensive debate about the moral correctness of the scenarios themselves.

Cases are organized by virtue and professional context, though many may be useful beyond those categories. While each case highlights a particular virtue, many invite reflection on others as well. Likewise, although the narratives are grounded in specific professional settings, many portray situations that are perennial and may resonate across a range of contexts.

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Medicine

The Calculus of Possible

An oncologist must decide whether her past disappointments are keeping a patient from fully considering a promising new treatment.

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Law

The Plea

A public defender must decide whether to recommend a safe plea deal or fight a potentially beatable charge at trial.

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Engineering

The Fourth Report

A public engineer must decide whether to keep documenting a deteriorating bridge after years of inaction.

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Business

After the Departure

A discouraged founder must decide whether to recommit to his struggling company or seek a clean exit.

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Medicine

First, Do No Harm

A surgical resident must decide whether to admit he feels unprepared for a difficult procedure, despite his supervisor’s confidence.

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Law

On the Record

A lawyer must decide whether challenging a judge’s questionable ruling is worth risking his career.

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Engineering

The Weld That Passed

An engineer must decide whether protecting public safety justifies reporting dangerous pipeline welds to federal regulators, despite the risk to his career and family.

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Business

The Forecast Nobody Wants to Hear

A junior analyst must decide whether to risk her standing by challenging growth projections that may understate serious competitive threats.

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Medicine

The Numbers That Were Fine

A physician questions whether watchful waiting on a patient’s elevated blood pressure was sound clinical patience or avoidance after he suffers a hypertensive crisis.

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Law

The Negotiation That Won't Close

A transactional lawyer must decide whether giving an impatient client an optimistic timeline is justified to preserve his trust in a careful negotiation process.

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Engineering

Not Quite Ready

A senior engineer must decide whether entrusting a demanding project to a developing colleague reflects patient mentorship or an unwillingness to admit he may not be ready.

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Business

The Long Game

A business leader must decide whether staying the course on a slow but promising turnaround reflects patience or stubbornness.

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Medicine

The Gift of a Difficult Patient

A physician must decide whether accepting a difficult patient’s concern creates meaningful human connection or crosses professional boundaries.

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Law

The Concession

An employment lawyer considers whether thanking opposing counsel for a professional courtesy might complicate their adversarial roles.

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Engineering

The Feedback

An engineer comes to appreciate a senior colleague’s exacting feedback when she finds herself guiding a junior colleague in the same way.

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Business

Beyond the Bonus

A business leader must decide whether general thanks and compensation adequately recognize employees’ extraordinary, often invisible labor.

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Medicine

The Work Note

A physician must decide whether helping an overwhelmed patient justifies writing a work note that stretches the medical facts.

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Law

Accidental Knowledge

A lawyer gains accidental insight into the opposing side’s strategy and must decide whether using it crosses an ethical line.

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Engineering

Framing the Findings

An environmental engineer must decide whether “framing” accurate data more favorably crosses the line from client service into misrepresentation.

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Business

Supplier Silence

A sourcing director must decide how to respond when credible but unconfirmed labor concerns emerge just before a major product launch.

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Medicine

Patient’s History

A busy resident’s curiosity about a talkative patient’s story reveals a serious diagnosis hidden behind unclear symptoms.

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Law

The Irrelevant Email Thread

A junior attorney’s curiosity turns a routine document review into a difficult judgment call about hidden evidence and professional responsibility.

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Engineering

The Ghost Reading

An engineer’s uneasy curiosity about a “ghost” vibration reveals a serious structural danger hidden from the monitoring system.

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Business

Paralysis or Precision

A leader’s drive to ask deeper questions challenges her team to weigh precision, trust, and the risks of delay.

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