Abstract
Teaching business ethics classes can often be difficult because many students memorize enough of the moral theories to pass their tests, but never understand the motivating spirit underlying the theories. The result is that students are able to apply the moral principles to various situations, but produce the wrong results due to their illicit biases and rationalizations.
What is needed is a practical test, which will strip away as many biases and rationalizations as possible, while at the same time emotionally connecting the students to why morality is important in business. My suggestion is the Moral Paradigm Test, which is a version of the Ideal Person Standard.
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References
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Hume, D.: 1948, 'An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals', in H. D. Aiken (ed.), Hume: Moral and Political Philosophy (Hafner Press, New York), pp. 173–291.
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Cooley, D.R. The Moral Paradigm Test. Journal of Business Ethics 50, 289–294 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:BUSI.0000024661.94386.47
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:BUSI.0000024661.94386.47