Managers' Moral Reasoning

Assessing Their Responses to Three Moral Dilemmas

Bibliographic Data

ID9889249
AuthorsJames Weber (0000-0003-1688-3015, Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, corresponding author)
Year1990
Volume43
Issue7
Pages687-702
Publication date1990-07-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueHuman Relations (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0018-7267 • E-ISSN: 1741-282X
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/001872679004300705
OpenAlexW2113446703
LanguageEN
Citations received37
References cited16

Based on Kolhberg's theory of moral development, an assessment of managers' responses to three moral dilemmas was explored. The findings indicate that managers typically reason at moral reasoning stages 3 or 4, similar to most adults in Western, urban societies or other business managers. However, differences were discovered when the organizational size of the managers' employer and type of moral issue were considered. Managers employed by large to medium-sized organizations tended to reason at lower moral reasoning stages than managers who work in small firms or were self-employed. Moral reasoning exhibited when the dilemmas were placed in a business context was significantly lower than for a dilemma in a non-business context. Implications from these findings are discussed

Business ethics · Context (archaeology · Dilemma · Epistemology · Moral development · Moral dilemma · Moral disengagement · Moral reasoning · Political science · Public relations · Social cognitive theory of morality · Sociology · Work (physics · Cultural Differences and Values · Ethics in Business and Education · Psychology · Psychology of Moral and Emotional Judgment · Social Psychology

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