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Business Ethics Education and the Pragmatic Pursuit of the Good pp 193–217Cite as

Moral Formation in Four Essential Components: Sensitivity, Judgment, Motivation, and Character

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Part of the book series: Advances in Business Ethics Research ((ABER,volume 6))

Abstract

The central importance of moral formation for social responsibility calls for careful consideration of how morals are formed and how the moral norms in business actually function. To bring this analysis into focus and provide a framework for investigating the dynamics of moral behavior in business, this chapter is organized around the Four-Component Model of moral functioning composed by James Rest: moral sensitivity, moral judgment, moral motivation, and moral character. This model was designed to answer the question of what is required to act morally, as well as to explain how persons who clearly knew what was right could act otherwise. Given the ordinary hazards of uncertainty, loyalty, ambition, and liability that compromise moral behavior in the workplace, greatest attention is given to the component of moral sensitivity and the recognition of moral concerns in business situations and decisions. Careful analysis of these components lays the groundwork for a program of moral apprenticeship, which is addressed in the next chapter.

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  1. Metropolitan State University, Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA

    Francis J. Schweigert

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Schweigert, F.J. (2016). Moral Formation in Four Essential Components: Sensitivity, Judgment, Motivation, and Character. In: Business Ethics Education and the Pragmatic Pursuit of the Good. Advances in Business Ethics Research, vol 6. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-33402-8_10

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