In response to a series of notable public scandals, the Institute  organized an interdisciplinary group of faculty and graduate students from across Duke University and beyond to examine ethical crisis and change.

While moments of ethical crises offer opportunities for ethical reflection there is little consensus about the best strategies to create effective change in these moments. Indeed, organizations often do the very things that we know don’t work in moments of crisis. So, how do institutions learn to prepare for, respond to, or recover from ethical crises?

This interdisciplinary research consortium, Changing Institutional Cultures, has been investigating how best to understand, assess and improve the ethical cultures of military, religious, business, and educational institutions. We have collectively developed a novel, interdisciplinary approach to ethical culture and crisis. The core value of our analyses is that they enable faculty and others to more effectively participate in both normative and policy debates about institutional cultures—what they are and how they can and should be better.

Read “Ethical Crisis and Institutional Change” from the Spring/Summer 2008 issue of Ethics in Action.

Read our case studies in this area of focus in this area of focus and the accompanying orientation document (pdf) and student case study assignment (pdf).