Abstract

Moral development theorists posit that as individuals mature, i.e. grow older and acquire experience, they tend to have higher ethical values than when they were younger. This maturation process does not stop at adolescence as previously thought, but extends into one's late twenties or early thirties. Many theorists posit that gender is also a variable that accounts for differences in moral development. This research, using scenarios created by Clark in 1966 and updated for this research, compares the Personal Business Ethics Score and the Social Responsibility Score of students in the Hotel and Restaurant Management Department of New York City Technical College and alumni of that department to ascertain if age/experience and gender are factors in moral development. The students are all under twenty-six years of age and have no management experience. The alumni have over five years of hospitality management experience. ANOVA at p $<$.05 was used to test results. ;The PBES measures the personal commitment to integrity and honesty and commitment to the observance of the laws governing business. The results are that students' scores are significantly lower than managers' scores, and that male students' scores are significantly lower than female students' scores. No significant differences were found when male managers' scores were compared to female managers' scores. ;The SRS measures the commitment to the welfare of others over individual or corporate profit maximization. The results are that male students' scores are significantly lower than female students' scores and that male managers' scores are significantly lower than female managers' scores. ;For both scores there is a continuum of ethical values as measured by the scales. This continuum starts with male students who are under twenty-six years of age and do not have management experience, whose scores represent the lowest ethical values, and extends to female managers whose scores represent the highest ethical values. ;This research supports the moral development theory that individuals do mature beyond late adolescence and that age/experience and gender are factors in moral development