Course: Foundations of Ethical Behavior
Institution: Notre Dame University
Faculty: Brian Levey

Assignment

For most class sessions, I assigned as homework an ethical dilemma from the textbook. I asked students to apply a decision making model to arrive at an answer, focusing especially on virtues like integrity, empathy and courage. We then reviewed the homework in class.

Here's the model:

• • Determine the Facts
    • What, Who, Where, When, How
    • What do we know or need to know, if possible, that will help define the problem?
  • Define the Ethical Issue
    • Make sure precisely what the issue is, e.g., conflict of interest
  • Identify Major Principles, Rules, Values
    • E.g., honesty, respect for persons [emphasizing integrity, empathy and courage this time around]
  • Specify the Alternatives
    • List the major alternative courses of action, including those that represent some form of compromise or point between simply doing or not doing something
  • Assess the Consequences
    • Identify short and long term, positive, and negative consequences for the major alternatives.
    • Including impact on stakeholders
  • Make Your Decision
    • Balance the consequences against your primary principles or values and select the alternative that best fits