Teaching Business Law: Some Ethical Dimensions from Australia

This paper discusses ethical dimensions of business law education. Arguably, the fundamental aim of teaching business law is to prepare students for the stark realities of working in a commercial environment where survival requires maintaining profitability. Competition between businesses is essential to persuade consumers to accept their products. As with any competition there are rules. This paper asserts that ethics provide a solid basis for business rules. This paper relies upon the principles from law cases brought to courts of law in England and Australia due to a failure of business to adopt appropriate legal ethics. As well, Rigorist and Casuist theories of ethics for business are considered. The paper discusses the role of ethics education for business law students. A discursive methodology is adopted. The paper concludes that if business people have regard to ethics in decision-making, the development of serious business problems could be avoided. Importantly, the research establishes the assertion that legal ethics is of fundamental importance in business education.