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

Assignment: Foundations of Ethical Behavior

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—for example, conflict of interest.

Identify Major Principles, Rules, Values

Examples include honesty and respect for persons, emphasizing integrity, empathy, and courage.

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.