Kohlberg's Theory on Decision Making
Kohlberg’s theory of ethical development is founded on the belief that people change their
decision-making reasoning over time based on additional education and experiences.
Kohlberg’s stages of moral development are classified into six stages: Stage 1, the right
choice, is determined by someone’s obedience to rules and authorities. Stage 2,
rules/authorities are only considered if they satisfy an individual’s needs. Stage 3, an
individual is not focused only on rules but rather interested in the best interest of others,
especially those they love. Stage 4, individuals focus on their duty to society, respect for
authority, and maintaining social order. Stage 5, an individual has an orientation to moral
principles that shape the laws and role systems a society may have. Stage 6, individuals
believe the rights, rules, and social agreement are valid because they rest on the premise of
universality (Mintz & Morris, 2020).
Some argue that Kohlberg’s stages involve moral thinking, not directly necessarily moral
action. Many people can preach high morals and not necessarily behave according to what
they preach (Sabellano, 1971). When examining Case 1-7 under Kohlberg’s theory is
essential first to determine what stage of moral development describes Kevin’s moral
character. For example, in stages 1-2, Kevin would probably have decided to either take
the work home to complete on nights and weekends to obey the rules mandated by
management, or he would have started doing ghost-ticking per his friend’s
recommendation.
However, his resolution would probably be different in stages 3-4. He would have
considered the needs of others and his own. For example, in stage 3, he would face the
dilemma of reporting his friend Joyce’s misconduct, someone he cares for, or in stage 4,
he would report Joyce’s misconduct due to his duty to society and probably take the work
home to respect management desires. Finally, in stages 5-6, he would report Joyce
according to his moral principles and duty to society. Also, he would not take the work
home because it represents an abuse of employees’ time off. My examples are based on
moral development; people don’t always let their moral beliefs lead their actions.
Rest's Four-component Model of Moral Development
Rest model concluded that ethical decisions go through the following psychological
processes: moral sensitivity, which refers to the ability to recognize that our actions affect
the welfare of others; moral judgment, which relates to developing moral reasoning over
time; moral focus, which refers to individuals’ willingness to focus on ethical values and
follow through considering that sometimes these conflict with other values. Finally, moral
character, individuals with solid moral characters are more likely to follow through with
ethical intentions because they can withstand pressure (Mintz & Morris, 2020).
Based on Rest’s four-components model, Kevin would go through the following
psychological process to resolve his ethical dilemma. First, he would need to recognize
how taking work home or ghost-ticking could affect other stakeholders. Then he would
need to evaluate his commitment to his moral values and how far he is willing to stand up
for his values. Finally, in my opinion, the most important, he would have to possess a solid
moral character to handle the pressure imposed by others to successfully follow through
and use the appropriate moral values to resolve this dilemma. For example, Joyce could
pressure Kevin not to report her for misconduct and to consider doing ghost-ticking to
achieve management’s goals.
The Ethical Decision-making Model
The ethical decision-making model is categorized into four processes: identifying the
ethical and professional issues, identifying and evaluating various courses of action,
reflecting on relevant morals and appropriate righteous acts, and finally, taking action
considering professional obligations (Mintz & Morris, 2020). When applying the ethical
decision-making model to Kevin’s ethical dilemma. The following processes must be
followed to resolve the dilemma successfully:
Identifying the ethical and professional issues: Kevin's scenario has some ethical
problems. First, the managers seem okay with Kevin’s idea to work nights and weekends
to avoid going over projected times. It is unethical to abuse employees’ time off and
overwork them. Second, Kevin knows that one of his coworkers is committing
professional misconduct. Joyce’s ghost-ticking actions are against the auditor’s function
and responsibility in AS 1001 “The auditor has a responsibility to plan and perform the
audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of
material misstatement, whether caused by error or fraud.”
Evaluating the possible course of action: Kevin must determine the consequences of
reporting or not reporting Joyce’s misconduct and taking work home to complete on nights
and weekends or refusing to overwork, considering the legal and moral implications of
these acts.
Reflect on moral Consequences: Kevin must evaluate how his course of action would
affect stakeholders. For example, reporting Joyce would affect her professional reputation,
she could lose her job, and legal action could be taken against her. However, if Kevin
doesn’t report her, the investors and partners of the companies audited by Joyce would
eventually be affected, and Kevin would be committing an unethical act. Suppose Kevin
decides to take work home, and the partners agree with it. In that case, they will both be
committing an unethical act, the managing partners by overworking their employee and
Kevin by allowing the abuse that would eventually affect other employees.
Taking Action: finally, Kevin must find support and follow through. Considering his
professional obligations and moral standards, he must report Joyce for her misconduct and
refuse to take work home because both acts would be unethical.
The ethical decision-making model provides a detailed guideline for analyzing ethical
situations, which is why I believe it is the most effective method to analyze Kevin’s
ethical dilemma. Kohlberg’s theory explains important facts regarding how an individual
moral character is developed, but it doesn’t provide guidelines on how to analyze an
ethical dilemma. While the four components of moral development explain the
individual’s processes involved during an ethical dilemma, they still don’t offer a step-by-
step process to successfully resolve a moral dilemma as the ethical decision-making model
does.
References:
Mintz, S., & Morris, R. (2020). Ethical obligations and decision making in accounting (5th
ed.). McGraw-Hill Education, New York, NY.
Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (2002). AS 1001: Responsibilities and
Functions of the Independent Auditor.
https://pcaobus.org/oversight/standards/auditing-standards/details/AS1001
Sabellano, L.H. (1971). Stages of Moral Development According to Kohlberg Stages of
Moral Development by Lawrence Kohlberg (1971) I. Pre... Academia.
https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/56952142/Stages_of_Moral_Development_A
ccording_to_Kohlberg-with-cover-page-
v2.pdf?Expires=1661711347&Signature=VftAbAPfB-9hGb2GQr0T-
jn0q79O5j5YiNsDojvCTsAJFUfE4HiN5li-8B-GIMNFQ5YnDglRHaymKOUVh-
XzpxyhM-HZ5i1BgnmNLJZjHXUN-
y9NNrVWxWHgT5DmaekFHglllEjON37SX5Z-
7oQtr5XVa3vOMJmGZkQqH5TWUXFXPpkhP-
n8bpI3okRhd7Gt5A5MsdwvzFfMnO6FLo1vdmNJYDIizfunq2Bwjr5Ni1oS4hPgZr
T3nMqeN18JCUvwNWyTQtZqq2iYBZpJdkMKuRjkXWUXd6DgiOZQ03COhf2i
4h9NESh24b0NZ3pV9wywdW2RSjIj95oXy4KFTBk2zA__&Key-Pair-
Id=APKAJLOHF5GGSLRBV4ZA
