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Principled moral reasoning: Is it a viable approach to promote ethical integrity?

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Abstract

In response to recent recommendations for the teaching of principled moral reasoning in business school curricula, this paper assesses the viability of such an approach. The results indicate that, while business students' level of moral reasoning in this sample are like most 18- to 21-year-olds, they may be incapable of grasping the concepts embodied in principled moral reasoning. Implications of these findings are discussed.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Business Administration, Marquette University, 53233, Milwaukee, WI, U.S.A.

    James Weber

  2. University of Wisconsin, 53706, Madison, WI, U.S.A.

    Sharon Green

Authors
  1. James Weber
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  2. Sharon Green
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Additional information

James Weber is currently an Assistant Professor of Management at Marquette University. He has published articles on managerial values and moral reasoning and the teaching of business ethics in Research in Corporate Social Performance and Policy: Empirical Studies of Business Ethics and Values, International Journal of Value Based Management, Human Relations, and Journal of Business Ethics.

Sharon Green is currently an Assistant Professor of Accounting at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her research emphasizes information processing aspects of decision making in governmental, auditing and educational contexts. Her publications have appeared in Accounting Review and Research in Governmental and Non-Profit Accounting.

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Weber, J., Green, S. Principled moral reasoning: Is it a viable approach to promote ethical integrity?. J Bus Ethics 10, 325–333 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00383233

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00383233

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