Abstract
There is a tendency in the business ethics literature to think of ethics in restrictive terms: what one should not do, and how to control this. Drawing on Lawrence Kohlberg's theory of moral development, the paper focuses on, and draws attention to, another more positive aspect of ethics: the capacity of ethics to inspire and empower individuals, as well as groups. To understand and facilitate such empowerment, it is argued that it is necessary to move beyond Kohlberg's justice reasoning so as to appreciate the value and importance of feeling and care. Accordingly, we draw upon case study material to review the meaning of Kohlberg's higher stages — 5, 6 and 7 — to question the meaning of ethical ‘reasoning’. With such deeper understanding of particular ethical codes or practices, it is thought that members of organisations may come closer to thespirit, as opposed to the letter, of ethical conduct in organisations. This, we argue, is consistent with the degree of trust and integrity demanded by leaner, post-bureaucratic ways of organizing and conducting business as well as being personally beneficial to the people involved.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adler, N.: 1986,International Dimensions of Organizational Behaviour, (Kent Publishing, Boston).
Alvesson, M. and H. Willmott: 1992, ‘On the Idea of Emancipation in Management and Organisational Studies’,The Academy of Management Review July, 432–465.
Anthony, P.: 1986,The Foundations of Management (Tavistock, London).
Bailey, C.: 1986, ‘Kohlberg on Morality and Feeling’, in S. Modgil and C. Modgil, eds.,Lawrence Kohlberg: Consensus and Controversy (The Falmer Press, London).
Barker, R.: 1993, ‘An Evaluation of the Ethics Program at General Dynamics’,Journal of Business Ethics 12, 165–177.
Barnett, J. H.: 1985, ‘A Business Model of Enlightenment’,Journal of Business Ethics 4, 57–63.
Bauman, Z.: 1976,Towards a Critical Sociology: An Essay on Commonsense and Emancipation (Routledge and Kegan Paul, London).
Bird, F. and J. A. Waters: 1987, ‘The Nature of Managerial Moral Standards’,Journal of Business Ethics 6(1), 1–14.
Bowles, M.: 1990, ‘Recognizing Deep Structures in Organizations’,Organization Studies 11(3), 395–412.
Brady, F. N.: 1987, ‘Rules for Making Exceptions to Rules’,Academy of Management Review 12(3), 436–444.
Burgoyne, J.: 1989, ‘Creating the Managerial Portfolio: Building Upon Competency Approaches to Management Development’,Management Education and Development 20, 56–61.
Capra, F.: 1982,The Turning Point: Science, Society and the Rising Culture (Wildwood).
Carter, R.: 1984,Dimensions of Moral Education (University of Toronto Press).
Carter, R.: 1986, ‘Does Kohlberg Avoid Relativism’ (and ‘interchange with D.Lock’), in S. Modgil and C. Modgil, eds.,Lawrence Kohlberg: Consensus and Controversy (The Falmer Press, London).
Carter, R.: 1987, ‘Beyond Justice’,Journal of Moral Education 16(2), 83–98.
Clutterbuch, D., D. Dearlove, and D. Snow: 1992,Actions Speak Louder: A Management Guide to Corporate Social Responsibility, 2nd ed. (Kogan Page in association with Kingfisher, London).
De George, R. T.: 1986a,Business Ethics, 2nd ed. (Macmillan, NY).
De George, R. T.: 1986b, ‘Theological Ethics and Business Ethics’,Journal of Business Ethics 5, 421–432.
Donaldson, T.: 1982,Corporations and Morality (Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey).
Flanagan, O.: 1991,Varieties of Moral Personality: Ethics and Psychological Realism (Harvard University Press).
Foucault, M.: 1979, ‘Governmentality’,Ideology and Consciousness 6, 5–21.
Foucault, M.: 1988, ‘The Ethic of Care for the Self as a Practice of Freedom’ in J. Bernauer and D. Rasmussen, eds.,The Final Foucault (MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass).
Freidman, A.: 1977,Industry and Labour (Macmillan, London).
Fromm, E.: 1956,The Sane Society (Routledge and Kegan Paul).
Gibran, K.: 1980,The Prophet (William Heinemann).
Giddens, A.: 1984,The Constitution of Society (Polity Press, Cambridge).
Gilligan, C.: 1982,In a Different Voice (Harvard University Press).
Habermas, J.: 1990,Moral Consciousness & Communicative Action (Polity Press).
Harrison, R.: 1987,Organization Culture and Quality of Service: A Strategy for Releasing Love in the Workplace (1st ed., Vol. 1) (the Association for Management Education and Development, London).
Heydebrand, W.: 1989, ‘New Organizational Forms’,Work and Occupations 16(3), 323–357.
Hiltebeitel, K. and S. Jones: 1992, ‘An Assessment of Ethics Instruction in Accounting Education’,Journal of Business Ethics 11, 37–46.
Hoffman, W. and J. Moore: 1990,Business Ethics: Readings & Cases in Corporate Morality 2nd. ed. (McGraw-Hill).
Hosmer, L.: 1987, ‘The Institutionalization of Unethical Behaviour’,Journal of Business Ethics 6, 439–447.
Jackall, R.: 1988,Moral Mazes (Oxford University Press, NY).
Kant, E.: 1984,The Moral Law, translated by H. Paton (Hutckinson and Barnes and Noble).
Kohlberg, L.: 1971, ‘From Is to Ought’, in T. MischelCognitive Development and Epistemology (Academic Press).
Kohlberg, L.: 1973, ‘Continuities in Childhood and Adult Moral Development Revisited’ in P. B. Baltes and K. W. Schaie, eds.,Life-Span Development Psychology: Personality and Socialization (Academic Press, NY).
Kohlberg, L.: 1981,Essays on Moral Development, Vol. 1: The Philosophy of Moral Development (Harper and Row, NY).
Kohlberg, L.: 1986, ‘A Current Statement on Some Theoretical Issues’, in S. Modgil and C. Modgil, eds.,Lawrence Kohlberg: Consensus and Controversy (The Falmer Press, London).
Kohlberg, L. and R. Ryncarz: 1990, ‘Beyond Justice Reasoning: Moral Development and Consideration of a Seventh Stage’, in C. Alexander and E. Langer, eds.,Higher Stages of Human Development: Perspectives on Adult Growth (Oxford University Press, NY).
Kunda, G.: 1992,Engineering Culture; Control and Commitment in a High Tech Corporation (Temple University Press, Philadelphia).
Lavoie, D. and S. A. Culbert: 1978, ‘Stages of Organization and Development’,Human Relations 31, 417–438.
Littler, C. R. and G. Salaman: 1982, ‘Bravermania and Beyond: Recent Theories of the Labour Process’,Sociology 16(2), 251–269.
Loy, D.: 1988,Nonduality (Yale University Press).
MacMahone, T.: 1985, ‘The Contribution of Religious Traditions to Business Ethics’,Journal of Business Ethics 4, 341–349.
Maclagan, P.: 1990, ‘Moral Behaviour in Organizations: The Contribution of Management Education and Development’,British Journal of Management 1(1), 17–26.
Maclagan, P.: 1992, ‘Issues Concerning the Moral Development of People in Organisations’, conference paper at the conference on “Power, Values and Organisations: Social Responsibility in Management”, Centre for Social Management, School for Advanced Urban Studies, Bristol, 16–17 October.
McCoy, B.: 1983, ‘The Parable of the Sadhu’,Harvard Business Review 61(5), 103–108.
Pettigrew, A.: 1985,The Awakening Giant: Continuity and Change at ICI (Basil Blackwell, Oxford).
Rawls, J.: 1971,A Theory of Justice (Oxford University Press).
Reed, M. and P. Anthony: 1992, ‘Professionalizing Management and Managing Professionalization: British Management in the 1980's’,Journal of Management Studies 29(5), 591–613.
Robertson, D. and B. Schlegelmilch: 1993, ‘Corporate Institutionalization of Ethics in the United States and Great Britain’,Journal of Business Ethics 12, 301–312.
Robin, D., M. Giallourakis, F. Davis, and T. Moritz: 1989, ‘A Different Look at Codes of Ethics’,Business Horizon Jan–Feb, 66–73.
Rowan, J.: 1976, ‘Ethical Issues in Organizational Change’ in P. Warr, ed.,Personal Goals and Work Design (Wiley, London).
Rowan, J.: 1993,The Transpersonal: Psychotherapy and Counselling (Routledge, London).
Sangharakshita: 1990,Vision and Transformation: A Guide to the Buddha's Noble Eightfold Path (Windhorse, Glasgow).
Small, M. W.: 1993, ‘Ethics in Business Administration: An International and a Historical Perspective’,Journal of Business Ethics 12(4), 293–300.
Trevino, L. K.: 1992, ‘Moral Reasoning and Business Ethics: Implications for Research, Education and management’,Journal of Business Ethics 11(5), 445–459.
Waters, J., F. Bird, and P. Chant: 1986, ‘Everyday Moral Issues Experienced by Managers’,Journal of Business Ethics 5, 373–384.
Waters, J. and F. Bird: 1987, ‘The Moral Dimension of Organizational Culture’,Journal of Business Ethics 6, 15–22.
Weber, J.: 1990, ‘Managers’ Moral Reasoning: Assessing Their Responses to Three Moral Dilemmas’,Human Relations 43(7), 687–702.
Weber, J.: 1991, ‘Adapting Kohlberg to Enhance the Assessment of Managers' Moral Reasoning’,Business Ethics Quarterly 1(3), 293–318.
Weber, M.: 1978,Max Weber: Selections in Translation, ed. W.G. Runciman (Cambridge University Press).
Webley, S.: 1988,Company Philosophy and Codes of Business Ethics (Institute of Business Ethics).
Wilber, K.: 1983,A Sociable God (New Science Library).
Wilber, K.: 1991,Grace and Grit (Yale University Press).
Willmott, H.: 1990, ‘Subjectivity and the Dialectics of Praxis’ in D. Knights and H. Willmott, eds.,Labour Process Theory (Macmillan, London).
Wilson, D. C. and R. H. Rosenfeld: 1990,Managing Organizations: Texts, Readings and Cases (McGraw-Hill, London).
de Woot, P.: 1990, ‘L'Entreprise et L'Ethique’,European Management Journal 8(1), 90–95.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Bjørn Kjonstad has recently completed his Masters dissertation. He has subsequently been ordained in the Western Buddhist Order and is currently devoting himself full-time to the work of the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order.
Hugh Willmott is Reader in the Manchester School of Management having previously held appointments at the Aston Business School and Copenhagen Business School. He has taken refuge in the Kagyu Order of Tibetan Buddhism. His most recent books have beenLabour Process Theory (Macmillan, 1990 co-edited with David Knights),Critical Management Studies (Sage, 1992, co-edited with Mats Alvesson) andSkill and Consent (Routledge, 1992, co-edited with Andrew Sturdy and David Knights) andMaking Quality Critical (Routledge, 1994 co-edited with Adrian Wilkinson). Their common theme has been a critical examination of the changing organization and management of work in modern society.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kjonstad, B., Willmott, H. Business ethics: Restrictive or empowering?. J Bus Ethics 14, 445–464 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00872086
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00872086