Moral Development and Ethical Concepts

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Moral Development and the Ethical Concepts
Implications of Workplace Ethics in Organizational Decision-Making
Conclusion
Reference List

Introduction

Background of the study

Many corporate organizations including public institutions are dependent on the International Standards Association (ISO-standards). ISO standards demand that organizations and institutions unveil their corporate responsibilities and performances publicly by making reference to their annual corporate social responsibility reports (CSRs) (Velasquez, 2006, p. 4). This has been considered as one way of controlling the behavior of corporate behavior organizations.

However, studies indicate that there is a danger involved in relying on such reports because the auditing standards employed are not universally acceptable. Moreover, these audits can be done by the managers or other qualified personnel related to the organizations, thereby making the authenticity of the audit reports questionable (Velasquez, 2006, p. 6).

Therefore, there is the need for corporations to develop strategic plans to ensure that they reveal their social responsibility and mutual citizenship in a proper manner. The two concepts are important in the promotion of ethical culture within the organizations, the organizations’ performance and the much needed moral and financial support from the organization’s stakeholders and the public in general (Burns, 2009, p. 169).

Besides, these organizations should prioritize on providing guidelines on the corporate social responsibility and citizenship requirements for their staff members and other personnel as part of the organizational behavior and culture development.

The ever increasing social acuity and economic activism has seen many global organizations embark on addressing the major ethical arguments and issues that have been raised relative to the conduct of their employees at the workplace (Pritchard, 1988, p. 471). Workplace ethics can therefore be defined as those moral standards and values that govern the behavior of an organization’s employees either individually or in small groups.

However, research studies indicate that, a person is said to exercise ethics when he/she is in a position of doing the right thing in the absence of another individual who is supposed to supervise the conduct of that person. Thus, workplace ethics is dependent on the personal conduct associated with the people in a given work environment, which also affect their colleagues and the organization at large (Haggbloom, 2002, p. 139).

In this essay, four major ethical concepts are considered in the context of how they affect my conduct and moral development. Moreover, I shall employ the principles of these concepts to analyze my current moral being. These concepts include; rights-based ethics, utilitarianism, deontological ethics or deontology, and ethics of care.

In addition, the four concepts shall also be considered in the context of their implications in project planning in a water supply project as part of the workplace decision-making process. The rights based ethics in the workplace indicates that the employees’ wellbeing should come first before even the employers’ privileges.

Therefore, it is not ethical for an employer to direct his/her employees to work in places that are bound to pose life-threatening risks to the employee and others. In addition, the concept of utilitarianism holds that the sum total of an individual’s ethical actions should be considered in the context of the positive outcomes associated with his/her actions, which also affect other people in the workplace or the community.

On the other hand, the ethics of care provides that an individual should take into consideration the fact that in any social or public contexts, relationships between individuals exist. Therefore, any actions taken by such an individual should reflect the collective positive outcomes for all parties involved in such relationships. These concepts serve to describe and explain the characteristics of each stage in moral development.

Moral Development and the Ethical Concepts

The Theory of Moral Development

This theory, whose principle hinges upon the concept of moral reasoning, was put forward by Lawrence Kohlberg. It is an extension of an earlier theory by Jean Piaget known as the theory of cognitive development. It consists of six stages which complement one another thereby affecting the moral behavior of an individual as he/she undergoes the process of life-span development (Kohlberg & Hersh, 1977, p. 53).

The pre-conventional level of moral development theory is characterized by moral reasoning that is guided by submission, retribution-oriented actions, and egotistical behaviors (Kohlberg & Hersh, 1977, p. 54). On the other hand, the conventional level is reached when an individual begins to display moral behaviors related to interpersonal concurrence and consistency in addition to maintenance of law and order.

The post-conventional level occurs much later in an individual’s life and it marks the beginning of workplace ethics whereby one is expected to be compliant with the social and universally accepted behavioral accords. The six stages cannot be interchanged or skipped because each provides a new perception that is different from the one identified in the preceding stages but which can also be incorporated into other stages (Kohlberg & Hersh, 1977, p. 55).

The first stage in moral development occurs at the pre-conventional level. This is the level at which moral reasoning begins to develop in children. However, the characteristics of this level can also occur at adulthood.

The children are said to moderate their ethical actions relative to the punishment involved. At this level, the child is yet to absorb and accommodate the social accords governing the right and wrong actions. In this case, actions are limited by the benefits or consequences attached to the actions.

Egocentrism arises because people tend to concentrate on the immediate outcomes of their actions on themselves. The wrong thing is associated with punishment while the right one is associated with rewards (Kohlberg & Hersh, 1977, p. 56). The second stage also occurs within the pre-conventional level and it is marked by self-centeredness.

The ethics of care are largely absent from this stage because the morally acceptable action is based on what is in the best interest of an individual and not others. Notably, there is lack of the society-oriented perceptions at this level (Kohlberg & Hersh, 1977, p. 56).

The conventional stage comprise of the third and the forth stages of ethical growth. This level occurs during adolescence and sometimes, adulthood. In this case, the moral act is considered in the context of what the society holds as being normative. An individual adheres to the rules that govern the social norm even as there might be no immediate positive or negative outcomes to oneself. However, individuals are bound to question the aptness of the rules governing the said social norm.

The third stage is characterized by interpersonal relationships, respect, gratitude, and compliance to societal norms. Therefore, the morality of an individual’s actions is dependent on the collective outcomes perceived to be right for the relationships.

On the other hand, the fourth stage of development in moral reasoning is marked by compliance to authority, fundamentalism, culpability, and maintenance of law and order. This occurs because an individual realizes the importance of observing the social accords and maintaining law and order to promote the existence of a functional society (Kohlberg & Hersh, 1977, p. 57).

The post-conventional level is marked by a growing belief in individualism. In this case, an individual’s perceptions supersede the societal perspectives of what makes an act right or wrong. Individuals exist in a given society as separate entities owning individual perspectives and principles.

The concept of rights-based ethics comes into play as people begin to exercise their rights to life, justice, liberty, and freedom of speech. People believe in the ability of law and order to maintain social norms but they do not consider rule to be supreme or to be dictated to them (Kohlberg & Hersh, 1977, p. 58).

The fifth stage is characterized by social responsibility. People recognize the existence of social rules, values, and perspectives but their applicability to different individuals in the society is dependent on the uniqueness of that individual. The concept of ethics of justice applies to this stage because many people believe that the laws are there to protect the interests of the majority and therefore they should be adjusted in such a way that they meet most of the requirements of the greatest number of people.

At the sixth stage of development, which falls under the post-conventional level, an individual expands his/her morality by accepting the universal ethical accords and standards (Kohlberg & Hersh, 1977, p. 58). By employing these universal conventions, an individual complies with the law when it is relevant to social justice in terms of eliminating the social injustices and promoting equal and just treatment in the society.

The stage is characterized by the existence of social contracts, deontic ethical actions, and categorical decision-making. An individual’s actions are thus guided not by the previous history associated with his/her actions but because the act is perceived to be right. However, it has been difficult for many individuals to develop morally up to the sixth stage (Kohlberg & Hersh, 1977, p. 59).

The Concept of Rights-Based Ethics

The concept emphasizes the need to uphold and respect the legal and human rights of people in the society and at the workplace. These rights include the right to life, property ownership, liberty, privacy, and freedom of speech among others. From the philosophical perspective these rights can be divided into two categories and they include negative and positive human and legal rights (Kamn, 2007, p. 45).

In this case, the negative rights consist of the protection against external interference with an individual’s rights as provided by the society in which that individual exists. These include the right to freedom of speech, liberty, and solitude (Kamn, 2007, p. 50). On the other hand, the positive rights guarantee an individual the freedom to practice what is in the best interest of oneself.

These are the rights to life, education, healthcare, security, and safety. In order for the society or any organization to fulfill these rights, the idea of contractarianism comes into play (Kamn, 2007, p. 55). In this case, an individual enters into a contact with the society, government or organization, which ensures that the said rights are fully guaranteed.

The Concept of Utilitarianism

The concept proposes that, an action is referred to as being ethical when it brings the greatest benefits to the greatest number of all the individuals it affects (Burns, 2009, p. 168). This theory, which was put forward by John Stuart Mill, can also be called the theory of Consequentialism because the morality of an action is based on its immediate consequences.

The outcomes of a moral act are happiness, pleasure, and satisfaction of people’s preferences as opposed to the consequences of an unethical action, which brings suffering and pain to the greatest number of people (Burns, 2009, p. 171). Therefore, the ethics of utilitarianism are those acts pursued by the society or organizations and governments that are perceived to bring happiness and pleasure in many people relative to those that are associated with suffering and death (Burns, 2009, p. 178).

The Concept of Ethics of Care

The ethics of care is an ethical theory based on the importance of interpersonal relationships, which define actions that are right or wrong (Slote, 2007, p. 14). In this case, people recognize the need to maintain interpersonal relationships as part of the moral good because people depend on one another in pursuing common goals.

In addition, people understand that the choices they make can affect other individuals in the same relationship (Slote, 2007, p. 21). Therefore, it is important that these individuals take into consideration the collective consequences of their actions before embarking on them. On the other hand, this theory holds that there is the need to closely monitor each and every action undertaken by an individual so as to defend and uphold the collective interests of individuals in a given relationship.

The Concept of Deontological Ethics

In this theory, the morality of actions is dependent on the pre-existing rules and conventions that dictate the way things are carried out. Therefore, the duty determines whether people will act ethically or otherwise (Muhlberger, 2000, p. 667). This theory was proposed by a number of Deontologists notable, Immanuel Kant, who argues that there must be a good-will behind any action intended to be morally right.

Moreover, the good-will should be coupled with the intention of acting in line with the prevailing social and moral rules (Monga, 2007, p. 179). In addition, the scholars suggest that a good thing should be good in itself and in the absence of qualifications.

The duties that drive the right actions under this theory include: the duty of beneficence, non-maleficence, justice, gratitude, promise-keeping, self-improvement, and reparation. When these duties are coupled with the good-will that is good in itself and in the absence qualifications, the resultant action is always morally right.

Implications of Workplace Ethics in Organizational Decision-Making

Ethical considerations should be considered when making decisions that touch on human values or health (Cottom, 1996, p. 54). For instance, during project planning for the development of a water supply project, it is imperative to bring all the parties involved into the boardroom so that the decisions made do not end up hurting the interests of either party.

A project is a tedious process involving people from different professions, social classes and organizations working towards a common goal. It is a process that occurs at three levels which include: project formulation and appraisal; commencement and implementation; and termination and evaluation.

The three stages include different people who may or may not be affected by the project. Therefore, there is the need to consider the required resources, the problems involved, the uncertainties, the ways of mitigating them and finally the negative and positive outcomes from the whole process.

Ethical issues and considerations come into play when the project produces negative end results on one group and positive outcomes on another group of people. At the end of a water supply project, people expect to see results in terms of clean and uninterrupted water supply.

However, in case the process of planning did not take into consideration the negative outcomes of the project on the people surrounding the site of the project who may be displaced or their environment disrupted, ethical issues may arise. Conflicts may arise between the affected and unaffected beneficiaries of that project.

Therefore, there is the need for the people involved in project planning to understand the various ethical concepts and considerations, which they should also apply during the project identification and formulation stages as a way of mitigating the problems that may arise (Cottom, 1996, p. 58). They can achieve this through compensating the people involved or by involving them in the whole process of planning as part of the stakeholders in the project.

Conclusion

The essay gives an in-depth account into the theory of moral development as given by Kohlberg and the related ethical concepts. In addition, it gives a personal reflective account of my personal life in terms of moral development and the principles of the ethical concepts.

Finally, the implications of workplace ethics are given in the context of organizational decision-making involving project planning for a water supply project. As noted in the above discussions, the term ethics refers to a set of standards and principles that govern the conduct of individuals in the workplace or in the society.

On the other hand, moral development has been shown to influence the personal ethics which in turn affect the ethical standards of the organization in which the individual is part and parcel. Moral development entails a series of six stages each complementing the preceding stage and they can also be incorporated into one another.

There are a number of ethical concepts that are associated with the three levels of moral reasoning such as rights-based ethics, the utilitarianism theory, the ethics of care, and the Deontological ethics among many more. These concepts describe and explain the characteristics of each stage involved in moral development.

Reference List

Burns, J. (2009). Utilitarianism and Democracy. The Philosophical Quarterly, 9 (35), 168-171.

Cottom, C. (1996). A bold experiment in teaching values. Educational Leadership, 53 (8), 54-58.

Haggbloom, S. et al. (2002). The 100 Most Eminent Psychologists of the 20^thCentury. Review of General Psychology, 6 (2), 139–15.

Kamn, F. M. 2007. Intricate Ethics: Rights, Responsibilities, and Permissible Harm. New York: Oxford University Press.

Kohlberg, L. & Hersh, R. (1977). Moral development: A review of the theory. Theory into Practice. Vol. 16, pp. 53-59.

Monga, M. (2007). Managers’ moral reasoning: Evidence from large Indian manufacturing organizations. Journal of Business Ethics. Vol. 71, pp. 179–194.

Muhlberger, P. (2000). Moral reasoning effects on political participation. Political Psychology. Vol. 2, issue 4, pp. 667–695.

Pritchard, I. (1988). Character education: Research prospects and problems. American Journal of Education. Vol. 96, issue 4, pp. 469-495.

Slote, Michael A. (2007). The Ethics of Care and Empathy. London: New York: Routledge.

Velasquez, M. (2006). Business ethics: Concepts and Cases. Sydney: Pearson Education International.

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