Development of a cognitive skill in solving business ethics problems: The effect of instruction

Education in business ethics focuses mainly on the improvement of ethical awareness, on philosophical issues, or on the transfer of moral content. However, serious problems with the effectiveness of these methods have been reported. In line with the psychological theories of Piaget, Vygotsky and Koh...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Kavathatzopoulos, Iordanis (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
Drawer...
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Published: Springer Science + Business Media B. V 1993
In: Journal of business ethics
Year: 1993, Volume: 12, Issue: 5, Pages: 379-386
Further subjects:B Cognitive Skill
B Cognitive Ability
B Business Ethic
B Real Situation
B Economic Growth
Online Access: Volltext (JSTOR)
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Description
Summary:Education in business ethics focuses mainly on the improvement of ethical awareness, on philosophical issues, or on the transfer of moral content. However, serious problems with the effectiveness of these methods have been reported. In line with the psychological theories of Piaget, Vygotsky and Kohlberg, and in order to avoid the above problems, the educational effort in the present study was concentrated on the stimulation of development of the underlying autonomous cognitive ability to solve moral problems. Adults were trained to solve business ethics problems according to the autonomous function. The problems were presented in the form of moral conflicts introduced by hypothetical stories. The results showed that simple instructions were sufficient to promote a significant shift in the subjects' mode of solving the problems towards the autonomous moral function. Both the educational method and the test device are promising. Issues concerning the scoring instrument as well as questions about the transfer and application of the cognitive skill in real situations are discussed.
ISSN:1573-0697
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal of business ethics
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1007/BF00882028