Keyword

Moral reasoning, law, ethical decision-making, gender, religion, age, ethics, moral studies, business majors

Abstract

Understanding the developmental issues faced by university students is critical for scholars and educators who are interested in learning and development. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of moral reasoning on law and ethical decision-making amongst business majors at higher learning institutions in the Klang Valley. This paper focuses on a set of qualitative data using path regression analysis with data drawn from business majors at institutions of higher learning in the Klang Valley. The study is conducted through survey research consisting of two parts: (a) demographic information and (b) moral reasoning on law and ethics. In the questionnaire, demographic information about gender, nationality, religion, races, and study of moral and knowledge of ethics are included. Results demonstrated that developmental gains in moral reasoning varied as a function of transitional phase, suggesting that some students may be more developmentally ready to face and resolve the educational challenges and demonstrated the ability to make ethical decisions. The paper is motivated by findings or suggestions in the literature that moral reasoning has an impact on law and ethical decision making. Further, the moral reasoning comprises distinguishing between right or wrong, virtuous or vicious in a certain situation using one’s own logic and values. The fundamental difference between moral reasoning and other forms of reasoning is that the conclusion supported by the reasonin


Full Text : PDF

References
  • Ameen, E. C., Guffey, D. M. & McMillan, J. J. (1996), Gender Differences in Determining the Ethical Sensitivity of Future Accounting Professionals, Journal of Business Ethics, 15(5), pp. 591 – 597.
  • Armstrong, M. B. (1993). Ethics and Professionalism in Accounting Education: A Sample Course, Journal of Accounting Education, 11, pp. 77-92.
  • Austin, John, The Province of Jurisprudence Determined, Indianapolis/Cambridge 1954.
  • Betz, M., O’Connell, L. & Shephard, M. (1989). Gender Differences in Productivity for Unethical Behavior, Journal of Business Ethics, 8, pp. 321–324.
  • Buller, P. F., Kohls, J. J. & Anderson, K. S. (1991). The Challenge of Global Ethics, Journal of Business Ethics, 10(10), pp. 767–775. 
  • Carmel, H. & Scott, W. (2007). Does Marketing Attract Less Ethical Students? An Assessment of the Moral Reasoning Ability of Undergraduare Marketing Students. Journal of Marketing Education, 29, pp. 154-163.
  • Dworkin, Ronald, Law’s Empire, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press (Belknap), 1986, pp. 190-191.
  • Elm, D. R., & Nichols, M. L. (1993). An Investigation of the Moral Reasoning of Managers. Journal of Business Ethics, 12, pp. 817-833.
  • Fuller, Lon L., Positivism and the Fidelity to Law: A Reply to Professor Hart, Harvard Law Review Vol. 71 1958, p. 644-57.
  • Fulmer, W. E., & Cargile, B. R. (1987). Ethical Perceptions of Accounting Students: Does Exposure to a Code of Professional Ethics Help? Issues in Accounting Education, 2, pp. 207-219.
  • Harris, J.W., 1980, Legal Philosophies, London; Butterworths
  • Hart, H. L. A., The Concept of Law, Oxford 1961; Hart, H. L. A., Essays on Bentham,
  • Oxford 1982.
  • Hart, H. L. A., Positivism and the Separation of Law and Morals, Harvard Law Review Vol.71 1958, p. 603.
  • Husted, B. W., Dozier, J. B., McMahon, J. T. & Kattan, M. W. (1996). The Impact of Cross-National Carriers of Business Ethics on Attitudes about Questionable Practices and Form of Moral Reasoning, Journal of International Business Studies, 27(2), pp. 391–411. 
  • John Rawls, 1921, 1999; A Theory of Justice, Cambridge: Harvard University Press
  • Kelsen, Hans, General Theory of Law and State, Cambridge, Massachusetts [1960].
  • Mayhew, M. J. & King, P. M. (2008), How Curricular Content and Pedagogical Strategies affect Moral Reasoning Development in College Students, Journal of Moral Education, 37(1), pp. 17–40.
  • McNeel, S. P. (1994). College teaching and student moral development, in: J. Rest & D. Narvaez (Eds) Moral development in the professions: Psychology and Applied Ethics (Hillsdale, NJ, Lawrence Erlbaum), 27–49. 
  • Poff, D. (2007), Duties Owed in Serving Students: The Importance of Teaching Moral Reasoning and Theories of Ethical Leadership in Educating Business Students, Journal of Academic Ethics, 5 (1), pp. 25 – 31. 
  • Raz, Joseph, The Authority of Law, Oxford 1979, Ch. 3; 
  • Raz, Joseph, Authority, Law and Morality, The Monist Vol. 68 1985, p. 295-324.
  • Ross, Alf, On Law and Justice, Berkeley & Los Angeles 1959.
  • Burks, B. D. & Sellani, R. (2008). Ethics, Religiosity, and Moral Development of Business Students. Journal of Leadership, Accountability and Ethics, pp. 49–71. 
  • Shaub, M. K. (1994). An Analysis of the Association of Traditional Demographic Variables with the Moral Reasoning of Auditing Students and Auditors, Journal of Accounting Education, 12 (1), pp. 1–26. 
  • Spaak, Torben, Legal Positivism, Law’s Normativity, and the Normative Force of Legal Justification, in Ratio Juris Vol. 16:4 2003, p. 469-85.
  • Spaak, Torben, (Review of) Rex Martin, A System of Rights Theoria, Vol. 61 1995, p. 80.
  • Thurasingam, A. & Sivanandan, P. (2012). Gen Y’s Perception towards Law and Ethics, Journal of Advanced Social Research, 2(1), pp. 52–66. 
  • Trevino, L. K. (1992). Moral Reasoning and Business Ethics: Implications for Research, Education and Management, Journal of Business Ethics, 11(5–6), pp. 445–459. 
  • Trevino, L. K. & Youngblood, S. A. (1990). Bad Apples in Bad Barrels: A Causal Analysis of Ethical Decision-making Behaviour, Journal of Applied Psychology, 75(4), pp. 378–385. 
  • Weber, Max, 1954, Law in Economy and Society, edited by Max R, Rheinstein, Cambridge
  • Wasserstrom, Richard A. “The Obligation to Obey the Law, in The Duty to Obey the Law, edited by William A. Edmundson, Lantham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 1999, p. 21.
  • Wilhelm, W. J. & Czyzewski, A. B. (2006), A Quasi-Experimental Study of Moral Reasoning of Undergraduate Business Students, Delta Pi Epsilon Journal, 48(3), pp. 129–143.
  • Windsor, J. C. & Cappel, J. J. (1999). A Comparative Study of Moral Reasoning, College Student Journal, 33(2).