MUSINGS ON ETHICS IN HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
THE CONCEPT OF MORAL DEVELOPMENT
By
VIKRAM KARVE
Moral development is a prerequisite to ethical behaviour.
Have you ever asked yourself: “What is my stage of Moral Development?”
Kohlberg offers a handy framework for delineating the stage each of us has reached with respect to personal moral development.
In a nutshell, the six stages of Moral Development may be summarized as follows:
FEAR – Stage 1
NEEDS – Stage 2
CONFORMANCE – Stage 3
COMPLIANCE – Stage4
CONSENSUS – Stage 5
CONSCIENCE & FREE WILL – Stage 6
As you will infer, this concept seems to be linked with various theories of motivation like Maslow’s Need Hierarchy, Herzberg’s Hygiene Theory etc.
STAGE 1
Physical consequences determine moral behaviour.
At this stage of personal moral development, the individual’s ethical behaviour is driven by the decision to avoid punishment or by deference to power. Punishment is an automatic response of physical retaliation. The immediate physical consequences of an action determine its goodness or badness. Such moral behaviour is seen in boarding schools, military training academies etc. where physical punishment techniques are prevalent with a view to inculcate the attributes of obedience and deference to power. The individual behaves in a manner akin to the Pavlovian dog.
STAGE 2
Individual needs dictate moral behaviour.
At this stage, a person’s needs are the person’s primary ethical concern. The right action consists of what instrumentally satisfies your own needs. People are valued in terms of their utility. Example: “I will help him because he may help me in return – you scratch my back, I will scratch yours.”
STAGE 3
Approval of others determines moral behaviour.
This stage is characterized by decision where the approval of others determines the person’s behaviour. Good behaviour is that which pleases or helps others within the group. The good person satisfies family, friends and associates. “Everybody is doing it, so it must be okay.” One earns approval by being conventionally “respectable” and “nice.” Sin is a breach of the expectations of the social order – “log kya kahenge?” is the leitmotif, and conformance with prevailing ‘stereotypes’ the order of the day.
STAGE 4
Compliance with authority and upholding social order are a person’s primary ethical concerns.
“Doing one’s duty” is the primary ethical concern. Consistency and precedence must be maintained. Example: “I comply with my superior’s instructions because it is wrong to disobey my senior”. Authority is seldom questioned. “Even if I feel that something may be unethical, I will unquestioningly obey all orders and comply with everything my boss says because I believe that the boss is always right.”
STAGE 5
Tolerance for rational dissent and acceptance of rule by the majority becomes the primary ethical concern.
Example: “Although I disagree with her views. I will uphold her right to have them.” The right action tends to be defined in terms of general individual rights, and in terms of standards that have been critically examined and agreed upon by the whole society. (eg) the Constitution, various norms, codes of coduct and laws. The freedom of the individual should be limited by society only when it infringes upon someone else’s freedom.
STAGE 6
What is right is viewed as a matter of individual conscience, free choice and personal responsibility for the consequences.
Example: “There is no external threat that can force me to make a decision that I consider morally wrong.” An individual who reaches this stage acts out of universal ethical principles.
MORAL DEVELOPMENT and ETHICS
Moral development is in no way correlated with intellectual development or your position in the hierarchy or factors like rank, seniority, status, success or earnings, salary, material wealth. In the words of Alexander Orlov: “Honesty and Loyalty may be often more deeply ingrained in the make-up of simple and humble people than in men of high position. A man who was taking bribes when he was a constable does not turn honest when he becomes the Chief of Police – the only thing that changes in the size of the bribe. Weakness of character and inability to withstand temptation remains with the man no matter how high he climbs.” Ethical traits accompany a man to the highest rungs of his career.
The moral progress of a person may be compared to moral growing up of children as they progress towards adulthood from stage 1 towards stage 6.
Small children are at stage 1 – they are taught that whatever their elders say is right is right and doing the right thing is obeying authority and avoiding punishment.
As they grow up, children are no longer so impressed by any single authority and they see that there are different sides to any issue and their actions will be governed by their needs (Stage 2).
Stage 1 and Stage 2 correspond to Maslow’s Physiological and Safety / Security needs.
As they grow up and values are inculcated, young people think as members of the conventional society with its values, norms, and expectations and emphasize being a good person (conformance – Stage 3). Soon the concern shifts towards higher social needs and complying with society as a whole (Stage 4).
These two stages correspond to Maslow’s Social needs.
As they grow morally higher, people are less concerned with maintaining society for it own sake, and more concerned with the principles and values that make for a good society and they may emphasize basic rights and the democratic processes that give everyone a say (Stage 5 - corresponds to Maslow’s Esteem needs) and if they reach Stage 6 they will focus on self-actualization.
However, you will realize that your moral development may be situational in nature and you will be at different stages depending on the situation.
In a nutshell the governing factors pertaining to six stages of Moral Development which determine your Ethical Fitness may be summarized as:
FEAR – Stage 1
NEEDS – Stage 2
CONFORMANCE – Stage 3
COMPLIANCE – Stage4
CONSENSUS – Stage 5
CONSCIENCE & FREE WILL – Stage 6
Whenever two individuals at different stages of moral development interact with each other, both of them try to force or manoeuvre the other into their own appreciation of the ethical situation, thus leading to conflict.
What is your stage of personal moral development?
Be honest with yourself and recall the decisions you made in recent ethical situations.
The six stages of moral development are valuable landmarks as they tell you approximately where you are and what changes you will have to make in yourself to move to a higher level of moral development. The ultimate goal is to engage in ethical decision making at stage 6.
Your stage of moral development will determine your ethical susceptibility and ethical vulnerability.
Ethical Susceptibility is your inability to avoid ethical dilemmas.
Ethical Susceptibility is environment dependent (on external factors) like, for example, your job, your boss, colleagues and subordinates, or the persons around you, or even the ‘prevalent organizational culture’.
Ethical Vulnerability is your inability to withstand succumbing in the given ethical dilemmas /situations. It is dependent on your internal stage of moral development in the given ethical situation.
Whereas being in an ethical dilemma is not in your control, to act in an ethical manner in the prevailing situation is certainly in your control.
Whenever two individuals at different stages of moral development interact with each other, both of them try to force or manoeuvre the other into their own appreciation of the ethical situation, thus leading to conflict.
In a formal hierarchical setup, various employees in the chain may not be at similar stages of moral development thereby leading to ethical dissonance in the system.
It is therefore important for all Human Resource Managers to understand this concept in order to envisage ethical harmony in the organization.
VIKRAM KARVE
Copyright © Vikram Karve 2010
Vikram Karve has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work
© vikram karve., all rights reserved.
VIKRAM KARVE educated at IIT Delhi, ITBHU, Lawrence School Lovedale, and Bishop's School Pune, is an Electronics and Communications Engineer by profession, a Human Resource Manager and Trainer by occupation, a Teacher by vocation, a Creative Writer by inclination and a Foodie by passion. An avid blogger, he has written a number of fiction short stories and creative non-fiction articles in magazines and journals for many years before the advent of blogging. His delicious foodie blogs have been compiled in a book "Appetite for a Stroll". Vikram lives in Pune with his family and pet Doberman girl Sherry, with whom he takes long walks thinking creative thoughts.
Vikram Karve Creative Writing Blog - http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com
Academic Journal Vikram Karve – http://karvediat.blogspot.com
Professional Profile of Vikram Karve - http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve
Email: vikramkarve@sify.com
Foodie Book: Appetite for a Stroll
http://books.sulekha.com/book/appetite-for-a-stroll/default.htm
Foodie Book: Appetite for a Stroll
http://books.sulekha.com/book/appetite-for-a-stroll/default.htm
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