This paper examines Lawrence Kohlberg's theory of moral development and its relevance to business and administrative ethics. It outlines Kohlberg's three levels and six stages of moral progression — from pre-conventional obedience through conventional rule-following to post-conventional principled reasoning — and explains why most individuals do not advance beyond the conventional level. The paper then connects these stages to professional decision-making, arguing that administrators and public officials should strive for at least fifth-stage reasoning. It also considers Carol Gilligan's and Richard White's research on gender differences in moral development, drawing on a U.S. Coast Guard study to explore whether women demonstrate higher levels of ethical reasoning than men.
There is a growing belief that business activity — especially managerial work — involves ethical problems. As ethics has become a more significant part of business and corporate life, "business ethics" has emerged as an important area of study for determining what is ethical in business and, of course, what is not. An ethical code of conduct in business is becoming increasingly commonplace. The purpose of these ethical codes is to reassure everyone involved in a business — from customers to employees, managers to suppliers — that the organization and its people operate according to a defined belief system.
But how does one go about developing such an ethical system? Where do these ethics come from? Kohlberg's theory of moral development helps us understand how people come to possess their morals, which in turn affect the way we behave on many different levels. The theory offers an important orientation to the field of ethics and provides a framework for understanding how ethics are developed beyond simple rule-following behavior.
Kohlberg's theory of moral development rests on the premise that human beings develop both philosophically and psychologically in a progressive fashion — that is, people advance in their moral reasoning (which translates into ethical behavior) through a series of stages. Kohlberg believed there were six distinct stages, organized into three levels.
The first level, the pre-conventional level, is made up of Stage 1, "obedience and punishment," and Stage 2, "individualism, instrumentalism, and exchange." The second level, the conventional level, comprises Stage 3, "good boy/girl," and Stage 4, "law and order." The third and final level, the post-conventional level, encompasses Stage 5, "social contract," and Stage 6, "principled conscience" (Barger, 2000).
Kohlberg's theory can be applied to all sorts of ethical contexts — including administrative ethics — because the stages explain how an individual arrives at their moral reasoning, which then prompts them to act or behave in a certain way. Kohlberg maintained that individuals must progress through the stages one at a time; there is no way to skip a level. Although people may advance at different speeds, anyone who reaches the highest level of moral development must have passed through each preceding stage.
The first stage of Kohlberg's theory — the pre-conventional level — is typically found in young, elementary school-aged children. At this stage, Kohlberg believed that individuals act according to socially acceptable norms (Barger, 2000). They learn these norms from authoritative figures such as teachers and parents, who tell them what is "right" and what is "wrong." Individuals in this stage learn to behave because of the threat of punishment for disobedience. The second stage of Level 1 builds on this foundation by introducing the perspective that it is in one's own best interest to act obediently (Barger, 2000).
The second level — the conventional level — represents the stage of moral reasoning most commonly found in society (Barger, 2000). Kohlberg believed that most people do not progress beyond this level. Most individuals remain here — in a stage characterized by the desire to gain the approval of others and to abide by the law and fulfill one's obligations or duties (Barger, 2000). As Bowman, West, and Beck (2010) observe, "most people are at the conventional level because the post-conventional level requires an uncommon commitment and contemplation."
"Stage five, stage six, and professional ethics"
"Gilligan's theory and Coast Guard gender study"
Individuals who work in business, public service, and politics are often faced with decisions that will affect not only themselves but others in significant ways. Therefore, those in positions of authority must bring their moral and ethical beliefs into the decision-making process. Administrative work requires a particularly refined understanding of how moral and ethical decisions will affect others.
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