Abstract
This paper builds on a number of ideas concerning the nature, management and representation in case studies, of moral issues and dilemmas as experienced by people in organisations. Drawing on some cases used in teaching business ethics, and utilising a checklist of questions derived from the more general theoretical analysis, suggestions are offered regarding the contributions which such cases can make in developing students' understanding and potential for performative competence in real life situations. The distinction between issues and dilemmas is emphasised, and different types of issue are identified. The status of self-interest as an issue, and as contributory to personal dilemmas, is given particular attention. The paper also addresses the distinction between cognitive and non-cognitive attributes required by individuals if they are to deal with such situations. Within the cognitive category attention is paid to the contribution of ethical and other theory, and to the need for moral imagination and judgement.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Baier, K.: 1993, ‘Egoism’, in P. Singer (ed.), A Companion to Ethics (Blackwell, Oxford), pp. 197–204.
Bird, F. B.: 2002, The Muted Conscience: Moral Silence and the Practice of Ethics in Business (Quorum, London).
Bird, F. B. and J. Waters: 1989: 'The Moral Muteness of Managers’, California Management Review 32(1), 73–88.
Boyd, C.: 1990, ‘The Responsibility of Individuals for a Company Disaster: The Case of the Zeebrugge Car Ferry’, in G. Enderle, B. Almond and A. Argandoña (eds.), People in Corporations: Ethical Responsibilities and Corporate Effectiveness (Kluwer, Dordrecht), pp. 139–148.
Collier, J.: 1995, ‘The Virtuous Organisation’, Business Ethics: A European Review 4(3), 143–149.
Dancy, J.: 1993, ‘An Ethic of Prima facie Duties’, in P. Singer (ed.), A Companion to Ethics (Blackwell, Oxford), pp. 219–229.
De George, R. T.: 1981, ‘Ethical Responsibilities of Engineers in Large Organizations: The Pinto Case’, Business and Professional Ethics Journal 1, 1–14.
Dowie, M.: 1987, ‘Pinto Madness’, in S. L. Hills (ed.), Corporate Violence: Injury and Death for Profit (Rowman and Littlefield, Totowa, NJ), pp. 13–29.
Duska, R.: 1993, ‘Aristotle: A Pre-Modern Post-Modern? Implications for Business Ethics’, Business Ethics Quarterly 3(3), 227–249.
Gioia, D. A.: 1992, ‘Pinto Fires and Personal Ethics: A Script Analysis of Missed Opportunities’, Journal of Business Ethics 11(5/6), 379–389.
Hill, T. E.: 1985, ‘Servility and Self-Respect’, in R. A. Wasserstrom (ed.), Today's Moral Problems, 3rd edn. (Macmillan, New York), pp. 70–84.
Hosmer, L. T.: 1991, The Ethics of Management, 2nd edn (Irwin, Homewood, IL).
Husted, B. W.: 1993, ‘Reliability and the Design of Ethical Organizations: A Rational Systems Approach’, Journal of Business Ethics 12(10), 761–769.
Jackson, J.: 1996, An Introduction to Business Ethics (Blackwell, Oxford).
Jackson, N.: 1991, ‘Case Material in an Ethics Workshop: A Reply to Patrick Maclagan’, Management Education and Development 22(2), 97–100.
Kohlberg, L.: 1973, ‘Continuities in Childhood and Adult Moral Development Revisited’, in P. B. Baltes and K. W. Schaie (eds.), Life-Span Developmental Psychology: Personality and Socialization (Academic Press, New York), pp. 179–204.
Kohlberg, L.: 1981, Essays on Moral Development: Vol. 1. The Philosophy of Moral Development (Harper and Row, San Francisco).
Larmore, C. E.: 1987, Patterns of Moral Complexity (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge).
McEwan, T.: 2001, Managing Values and Beliefs in Organisations (Pearson Education, Harlow).
Mackie, J.: 1977, Ethics: Inventing Right and Wrong (Penguin Books, Harmondsworth).
Maclagan, P. W.: 1990, ‘Moral Behaviour in Organizations: The Contribution of Management Education and Development’, British Journal of Management 1(1), 17–26.
Maclagan, P. W.: 1998, Management and Morality: A Developmental Perspective (Sage, London).
Maclagan, P. W.: 2002, ‘Reflections on the Integration of Ethics Teaching into a British Undergraduate Management Degree Programme’, Teaching Business Ethics 6(3), 297–318.
Maclagan, P. W. and R. S. Snell: 1992, ‘Some Implications for Management Development of Research Into Managers' Moral Dilemmas’, British Journal of Management 3(3), 157–168.
Maitland, I.: 2002, ‘The Human Face of Self-Interest’, Journal of Business Ethics 38(1–2), 3–17.
Mankin, H. T.: 1981, ‘Commentary on “Ethical Responsibilities of Engineers in Large Varieties of Moral Issue and Dilemma 31 Organizations: The Pinto Case”’, Business and Professional Ethics Journal 1, 15.
Megone, C.: 2002, ‘The Use of Case Histories in Business Ethics’, in C. Megone and S. J. Robinson (eds.), Case Histories in Business Ethics (Routledge, London), pp. 161–174.
Milgram, S.: 1974, Obedience to Authority (Tavistock, London).
Moore, G.: 1999, ‘Corporate Moral Agency: Review and Implications’, Journal of Business Ethics 21(4), 329–343.
Morgan, G.: 1989, Creative Organization Theory (Sage, Newbury Park, CA).
Rescher, N.: 1969, Introduction to Value Theory (Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ).
Ross, W. D.: 1930, The Right and the Good (Oxford University Press, London).
Snell, R. S.: 1993, Developing Skills for Ethical Management (Chapman and Hall, London).
Snell, R. S.: 1997, ‘Management Learning Perspectives on Business Ethics’, in J. Burgoyne and M. Reynolds (eds.), Management Learning: Integrating Perspectives in Theory and Practice (Sage, London), pp. 182–198.
Toffler, B. L.: 1986, Tough Choices: Managers Talk Ethics (John Wiley and Sons, New York).
Treviño, L. K. and K. Nelson: 1995, Managing Business Ethics (Wiley, New York).
Watson, T. J.: 1994, In Search of Management: Culture, Chaos and Control in Managerial Work (Routledge, London).
Waters, J., F. B. Bird and P. D. Chant: 1986, ‘Everyday Moral Issues Experienced by Managers’, Journal of Business Ethics 5(5), 373–384.
Weick, K. E.: 1979, The Social Psychology of Organizing (Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA).
Weick, K. E.: 1995, Sensemaking in Organizations (Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA).
Werhane, P.: 1999, Moral Imagination and Management Decision Making (Oxford University Press, New York).
Werhane, P.: 2002, ‘Moral Imagination and Systems Thinking’, Journal of Business Ethics 38(1–2), 33–42.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Maclagan, P. Varieties of Moral Issue and Dilemma: A Framework for the Analysis of Case Material in Business Ethics Education. Journal of Business Ethics 48, 21–32 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:BUSI.0000004364.63317.73
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:BUSI.0000004364.63317.73