Some thoughts on Kohlberg's hierarchy of moral reasoning and its relevance for accounting theories of control

Abstract

Kohlberg's hierarchy of moral reasoning has been widely used to assist accounting students in rationalizing the essence of hypothesized moral dilemmas as well as their own moral reasoning towards those dilemmas. This article adopts an analytical approach towards Kohlberg's moral hierarchy, reviewing some of the significant criticisms which have been levelled against the assumptions upon which the hierarchy is based. However, even Kohlberg's critics acknowledge the strengths of the framework and this article moves on to consider Kohlberg's work in terms of the assumptions about human behaviour and moral reasoning which are both explicit and implicit within many accounting theories of control. The article concludes that the moral reasoning and behaviour assumed of both those who are subject to accounting controls and those who effect these controls is at the lower levels of Kohlberg's hierarchy. Accounting and its associated technologies are argued to act as a constraining and limiting influence upon individuals' personal moral development.

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