Compulsory Ethics Education and the Cognitive Moral Development of Salespeople: A Quasi-Experimental Assessment

Author: Izzo G.

Source: Journal of Business Ethics, Volume 28, Number 3, December 2000 , pp. 223-241(19)

Publisher: Springer

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Abstract:

This study investigated several basic research questions suggesting a positive relationship between education and cognitive moral development. More specifically, these research questions examined the relationship between government mandated ethics education and cognitive moral development by testing the efficacy of a compulsory ethics intervention. Kohlberg's (1969, 1984) Cognitive Moral Development Theory was applied to test the efficacy of compulsory ethics education on the moral development of real estate salespeople used comparative statistical measures of ethical reasoning ability.

The results of this research, while somewhat counterintuitive, suggest that the value of compulsory ethics education as an intervention to improve the moral reasoning of real estate salespeople is highly questionable. However, the results of the study do provide new insights into the relationship between ethics education and cognitive moral development.

Keywords: agency theory; cognitive moral development (CMD); ethics training; Kohlberg's theory

Language: English

Document Type: Regular paper

Affiliations: 1: Florida Gulf Coast University, College of Business Administration, 10501 FGCU Boulevard South, Forth Myers, FL 33965, U.S.A.; E-mail: gizzo@fgcu.edu

Publication date: 2000-12-01