Personal values and moral reasoning: An empirical study
Main Article Content
Abstract
This exploratory study examined the personal values (using the Rokeach values survey) and moral reasoning (according to the DIT-2 P-scores) of a sample of 51 students taking business courses at a Canadian University in Winter 2020, at the beginning of the COVID-19 epidemic. The mean P-Score of the sample was 32.16 with females having a mean P-score (37.4) significantly higher (at 5% level) than the males (mean of 28.62). Health was ranked as the most important terminal value, followed by Family Security and Self-Respect while Honest was considered as the highest-ranking instrumental value, followed by Responsible and Ambitious. Female respondents considered the value of Self-Respect to be of more priority than the male respondents. The results suggest that most of the respondents (66%) according to the Musser-Orke classification, place emphasis on social than on personal goals and thus on serving others rather than themselves. No significant correlation was, however, detected between the respondents’ P-Scores and either their social terminal or moral instrumental value scores.
Downloads
Article Details
Section
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish in this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licenced under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (see The Effect of Open Access).
How to Cite
References
Abdolmohammadi, M. J., & Arial, D. L. (2009). A test of the selection-socialization theory in moral reasoning of CPAs in industry practice. Behavioral Research in Accounting, 21(2), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.2308/bria.2009.21.2.1
Abdolmohammadi, M. J., & Baker, C. R. (2006). Accountant’s value preferences and moral reasoning. Journal of Business Ethics, 69(1), 11-25. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-006-9064-y
Armstrong, M. B. (1987). Morl development and accounting education. Journal of Accounting Education, 5(1), 27-43. https://doi.org/10.1016/0748-5751(87)90036-4
Buono, A. F., Fletcher-Brown, D., Frederick, R., Hall, G. J. & Sultan, J. (2012). Acting ethically: moral reasoning and business school student behavior., SAM Advanced Management Journal, 77(3), 18-26.
Feather, N. T. (1988). From values to actions: recent application of the Expectancy-Value model. Australian Journal of Psychology, 40(2), 105-124. https://doi.org/10.1080/00049538808259076
Finnegan, J. (1994). The impact of personal values on judgments of ethical behavior in the workplace. Journal of Business Ethics, 13(9), 747-755. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00881335
Gilligan, C. (1977). In different voice; women’s conceptions of self and morality. Harvard Education Review, 47(4), 481-517. https://doi.org/10.17763/haer.47.4.g6167429416hg5l0
Giacomino, D. E., Brown, J., & Akers, M. D. (2011). Generational differences of personal values of business students. American Journal of Business Education, 4(9), 19-30.
Giacomino, D. E., & Eaton, T. V. (2003). Personal values of accounting alumni: an empirical examination of differences by gender and age. Journal of Managerial Issues, 15(3), 369-380. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40604438
Hitlin, S. (2003). Values as the core of Personal Identity: drawing Links between two theories of the self. Social Psychological Quarterly, 66(2), 118-37. https://doi.org/10.2307/1519843
Jones, T. M. (1991). Ethical Decision Making by Individuals in Organizations: An Issue-Contingent Model. The Academy of Management Review, 16(2), 366-395. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.1991.4278958
Kidwell, J. M., Steven, R. E. & Bethke, A. L. (1987). Differences in ethical perceptions between male and female managers: myth or reality? Journal of Business Ethics, 6, 489-493. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00383291
Kohlberg, L. (1994). Stage and sequence: The cognitive-developmental approach to socialization. In B. Puka (Ed.), Defining perspectives in moral development (pp. 1–134). Garland Publishing. (Reprinted from D. Goslin (Ed.), "Handbook of Socialization Theory and Research," Chicago, IL: Rand McNally, 1969, pp. 347–480)
Lan, G. (2019). Personal Values and Value Priorities of Undergraduate Business Students. Business & Professional Ethics Journal, 38(2), 147–175. http://www.jstor.org/stable/45149333
Lan, G., Gowing, M., McMahon, S., Rieger, F. & King, N. (2008). A study of the relationship between personal values and moral reasoning of undergraduate business students. Journal of Business Ethics,78 (1-2), 121-139. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-006-9322-z
Musser, S. J., & Orke, E. A. (1992). Ethical Values System: A Typology. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 28(3), 328-362. https://doi.org/10.1177/0021886392283002
Nguyen, N. T., Basuray, M. T., Smith, W. P., Kopka, D. & McCulloh, D. (2008). Moral issues and gender differences in ethical judgment using Reidenbach and Robin’s (1990) Multidimensional Ethics Scale: implications in teaching business ethics. Journal of Business Ethics, 77(4), 417- 430. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-007-9357-9
Posner, B., Z. Randolph, W. A., & Schmidt, W. H. (1987) Managerial values across functions: A source of organization problems. Group and Organization Studies, 12(4), 373-385. https://doi.org/10.1177/1059601187012004
Pulfrey, C., & Butera, F. (2016). When and why people don’t accept cheating: self-transcendence values, social responsibility, mastery goals and attitudes towards cheating. Motivation and Emotion, 40(3), 438-454. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-015-9530-x
Rest, J. R. (1979). Development in Judging Moral Issues. (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN).
Rest, J. R. (1986). Moral development: Advances in research and theory (New York: Praeger).
Rest, J. R. (1994). Background: Theory and research. In Moral Development in the Professions, ed. J. Rest and D. Narvaez, 1-26. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Rest, J. R., Narvaez, M, Bebeau, M.J. & Thoma, S.J. (1999). Postconventional moral thinking: A Neo-Kohlbergian approach (Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, J). https://doi.org/10.4324/9781410603913
Rokeach, M. (1973). The Nature of Human Values. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Schwartz, S. H. (2006). Basic Human Values: Theory Measurement, and Application. Revue Française de Sociologie, 47, 249-288.
Smith, P., & Schwartz, S.H. (1997). Values. In J.W. Berry, M.H. Segall and C. Kagitcibasi, (Eds.) Handbook of Cross-Cultural Psychology (2nd ed., 3: 77-118). Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
Venezia, C. C. (2005). The ethical reasoning abilities of accounting students. Journal of American Academy of Business, 6(1), 200-207.
Weber, J. (1993). Exploring the relationship between personal values and moral reasoning. Human Relations, 46(4), 435-463. https://doi.org/10.1177/00187267930460040
Williams, R. M. (1968). The concept of values in D. L. Sills (eds International Encyclopedia of Social Sciences. (MacMillan, New York, NY).