International Journal of Liberal Arts and Social Science Vol. 2 No. 8 October, 2014 25 The role of critical literacy in business ethics education: A Taiwanese case study Isabell Handler* I-Shou University – Dept. of Entertainment Management, No 1, Sec. 1, Syuecheng Rd., Dashu District, Kaohsiung City, Taiwan E-mail: handler@isu.edu.tw ; Peter Gilks I-Shou University – Dept. of Entertainment Management, No 1, Sec. 1, Syuecheng Rd., Dashu District, Kaohsiung City, Taiwan E-mail: petergilks@isu.edu.tw *Corresponding Author ABSTRACT In recent years, a number of corporate scandals have made headlines in the news media, as a result of which many universities now consider ethics to be an important component of the curriculum. However, a number of important questions need to be considered: What are the best approaches for training students in ethics? And do we need to tailor those approaches when teaching students from cultures whose education system does not typically reward critical literacy and reflective thinking? The authors consider responses given by Taiwanese university students to case studies taken from a Western textbook. The students tended to choose an alternative which most Western readers would likely consider to be less 'ethical'. Based on these responses and the authors consider the extent to which the students responses can be seen as a deficit in 'critical literacy'. Keywords: ethical thinking, critical literacy, students, Taiwan 1. INTRODUCTION The collapse of large investment banks such as Lehman Brothers and Bear Sterns during the 2008 financial crisis brought the discussion of business ethics and responsibility into the everyday conversations of common people around the world. How, they wondered, could such a small number of companies bring the world economy to its knees? Why, given that some specialists had seen the signs of impending disaster, was this crisis not prevented? And how could so many top executives walk away from their bankrupt companies with not only their personal fortunes intact but with additional bonuses after the government bailout?