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Gender, Age, Educational Level, & Moral Development

Throughout the years, the findings of several studies indicate that gender, age, education level, level in the firm, and taking ethics courses or training all have an impact upon moral development (Elm et al., 2001). However, other studies have shown no significant relationship between these factors (Smith, 2001) for instance, one study found that the adjusted R2 values, regressing the MES factors against the ethical evaluation and intention measures, ranged from.45 to.76. These results are indicative of the general validity of the Multidimensional measure. In addition, the factors capture a substantial amount of the variance in the ethical evaluation and behavioral intention measure.

In their research Flory et al. (1993) distinguished MES as theoretically distinct from the conclusions made by Kohlberg. These distinctions are evident in the fact that the DIT utilizes scenarios that are not linked to ethical issues in accounting and instead deals with a trait that is lasting -- the stage of moral growth. On the contrary, the multidimensional approach, focuses on the ethical decision process, and expresses scenarios that are relevant and specific within the context of business. Such an approach is cognizant that the slight nuances of an ethical situation can alter both the ethical evaluation and behavior of an individual. It can also be concluded that the MES is better equipped as it pertains to explaining and forecasting whether or not ethical behavior will occur. With the theoretical differences between these models understood, Flory et al. (1993) measured the poor predictive validity (adjusted R2s) of DIT studies (ranging from non-significant to.22) against their results, which varied between.45 and.76. Table1 recapitulates the distinctions between multidimensional approach and the moral development framework.

In their study, Cohen et al. (1998) evaluated gender and discipline-based distinctions in the ethical evaluations and objectives of accounting students and students in additional fields. A constant factor structure was evident for all vignettes. Reliability test results in alpha scores which varied from.63 to.80 for all factors evaluated. The factors described between 81 and 86% of the variance as it pertained to the individual responses of participants. In addition to the study performed by Cohen in 1996, the same study was replicated by Cruz et al. (2002). The replicated study used as participants a sample of U.S. tax professionals. A consistent factor structure emerged for all vignettes. Crobach's alphas ranged from.73 to.94. The adjusted R2 values, regressing the MES factors against the ethical evaluation and intention measures, ranged from.43 to.89.

Gender

The results from previous research indicate that gender may influence ethical reasoning. In past studies female participants have demonstrated higher levels of moral development than have male participants (St. Pierre,1990). However, other studies have found that gender has no major effect on ethical reasoning (Ma, 1987).

One study conducted by Shaub (1994) considered the affiliation of demographic variables with the ethical reasoning of auditors and accounting students. The data was collected from 207 auditors from four offices of a Big-Six CPA firm in the southwestern United States. Additionally 91 senior accounting students from a mid-western university also participated in the study. The DIT was used as a measurement of the level of moral growth for all participants in the study. The findings of the study revealed that females had a notably elevated level of moral reasoning than did the males who participated in both samples.

In addition to the aforementioned study other studies have also revealed difference between male and females as it pertains to moral reasoning. For instance, Bernardi (1997) surveyed 494 auditors from five of the Big Six accounting firms in the United States. For this survey DIT was utilize to measure the level of moral growth. The findings of the survey revealed that female accountants' average level of moral growth is higher than that of the males surveyed.

Although the aforementioned studies showed significant differences between men and women as it pertained to moral reasoning and moral growth, other studies have found no significant differences. For instance, Ma (1987), found no significant gender difference in any of the stage scores derivative of DIT. For this particular study 168 Chinese students were surveyed.

The participants ranged from grade 9 to graduate level in the Chinese territory of Hong Kong. The results of the survey found that the mean P score for both males and females was 30.06 and 30.82, in that order. As a result of this finding the authors surmised that there were no significant gender disparities in the DIT P scores.

In addition to Ma (2007), Rogers (2002) also concluded there were no significant gender differences. Rogers (2002) considered the influences of gender and age on ethical reasoning. This particular study took place at a public university in the southern part of the United States. For the purposes of the study a DIT survey was utilized. According to the results of the survey there is no considerable gender difference among male accounting students and female accounting students as it pertained to ethical reasoning.

Additionally a study of the moral development and cognitive style (CS) of accountants conducted by Read (2003), had as participants 90 entry level auditors. These auditors were employed by five international accounting firms and were given the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and the DIT.

Through this study researchers found that as it pertained to the DIT P Scores, there were no significant disparities between the male auditors and the female auditors.

Age

In addition to gender it is believed that age also has an effect upon moral development.. A study conducted by Rest (1999), found that as it pertained to DIT mean P scores for different groups', age is positively correlated with P scores. In addition, researchers such as Jones (1995) found that age is positively correlated to the level of moral growth. Indeed, some research (Shaub, 1994), has indicated that age does not influence nor is it negatively associated, with the level of moral growth that is seen in an individual.

Although there is evidence to support the idea that age does not influence moral development, there is also a great deal of evidence to suggests that age is a significant influence on moral development. For example, Hau

1989) utilized a Chinese adaptation of DIT to study 242 secondary school and university students in Hong Kong. Their findings indicated that the older university students possessed greater moral maturity than did the younger secondary school students in their P score. The study surmised that educational level and age are positively correlated with moral reasoning.

Likewise, Jones (1995)conducted a study which examined members of the Institute of Management Accountants. For the purposes of the study surveys were mailed to 1,000 members and 250 were used to carryout the research. The study found that age is a considerable variable as it pertained to the full sample.

Additionally Elm (1995), observed 243 managers from four companies in the United States. For the puoses of the study, the DIT was utilized to measure the level of moral growth, the self-monitoring scale was utilized to evaluate social behavior, and the Ethical Climate Questionnaire was used to evaluate the awareness of the ethical environment. The study found that age was negatively correlated to moral reasoning.

In addition others have argued that as people age there moral reasoning decreases and opposed to increasing. In their study Eynon et al. (1997) established that moral reasoning capacity decreases as an individual ages. Surveys were mailed to licensed CPA's across the United States including 1,092 sole proprietors and small firm practitioners. A total of 121 people completed the survey. The DIT was again utilized to measure their level of moral reasoning,. Their findings exposed that the oldest group (ages 54-65) had the lowest mean P scores, while the youngest group (ages 31-42) had the highest mean P scores. The researchers concluded that various factors in the accounting workplace overshadow the usually positive impact of age on moral reasoning.

In other studies where the participants were audit partners, managers and small CPA firm practitioners, negative correlations amongst DIT P scores and age were revealed (Ponemon & Gabhart, 1990), (Hill, et al., 1998). Additionally, a negative correlation among P scores and the three variables of experience, age, and position level was revealed in Ponemon's (1992) study with CPAs in public practice. Nevertheless, later stepwise regression analysis found that age, was not the primary correlate with moral reasoning. Finally, Shaub's (1994) study with where the participants were auditing students and Big Six auditors revealed that DIT P scores were not linked to the age variable.

In addition to age education level is believed to play an important role in increasing the level of moral reasoning. In fact, previous research contends that moral development increases while an individual continues their education and then evens out at the highest level of education attained (Rest, 1979). Still other research findings indicate additional education is not correlated with significant changes in the level of moral reasoning.

Lastly, Hill (1998) revealed that DIT P scores were negatively linked to education.

A significant amount of the early cross-sectional studies with the DIT examined the developmental indexes of age and education (Rest, et al., 1999). Based on this prior research resulting in 5,714 participants, Rest (1979) reported that the typical DIT score increases every time the level of education increases. In fact the author concluded that Moral judgment was more highly correlated to education than was age. As such, with prior research as a foundation involving large samples of adults, it is logical to anticipate that DIT P scores will be drastically and completely linked to education.

In their study, Rest et al. (1997) studied moral judgment by comparing a composite sample of 992 students at different education levels. These education levels included junior high, senior high, and college students in the United States and indicated that education is positively correlated with DIT scores.

Additionally Bay (2001) conducted a study involving 45 undergraduate business students in the United States. DIT was utilized to determine the level of moral development in the students. The study revealed that DIT P scores increased from freshman/sophomores years to senior year.

Likewise, in their study Elm et al. (2001) utilized DIT to determine the moral reasoning. This study involved 395 undergraduate and graduate business students. The participants attended Midwestern universities -- two private universities and two state universities. The findings revealed that the graduate students have higher degrees of moral reasoning than did the undergraduates. As such, Elm et al. suggested that in addition to higher education the higher levels of moral reasoning could also be attributed to age, maturity, experience, or any number of other dynamics.

Although the aforementioned studies found a positive correlation between higher education levels and higher moral reasoning/development, other studies have found no such correlation. For instance. Shaub (1994), asserted that additional formal education does not seem to be correlated with the level of moral reasoning found in participants. This particular study measured demographic variables against moral reasoning of auditors employed by the Big Six in addition to auditing students attending a university in the southwestern United States. The outcome of multiple regression found a negative correlation between formal education and moral reasoning for both samples. The negative sign indicated that the individual with more formal education has lower levels of moral reasoning.

In an even more comprehensive studym Etherington & Schulting's (1995) observed 100 Canadian CMAs and did not discover any compelling differences in the DIT P scores of four education subgroups (no degree, diploma, bachelors, and masters). Likewise, Sweeney's (1995) study of auditors found no difference in Pscores even after years of education. The findings of the Hill (1998) study involving 468 U.S. CMAs was inversed to traditional DIT/education trends: that is, the CMAs with bachelors degrees had P scores that were considerably higher than those masters degrees.

Moral Development and Job Position

Some past research concerning moral development related to the level in CPA firm variable has generally found moral development (measured by the DIT) to be positively correlated to hierarchal position. However, the majority of the research in this field has identified this relationship as negative. Such is the case with Ponemon (1990), which that the degree of moral reasoning of CPA practitioners were actually the highest amongst supervisors and the lowest amongst partners (Inversed-U shape). In this study Ponemon (1992), utilized DIT with a random sample of CPAs in public practice to examine their level of moral reasoning. The study found that the mean DIT P score of partners was much lower than the mean DIT P score of the staff accountants. Additionally, a study of the DIT P scores national firm managers and partners were participants, Ponemon and Gabhart (1990) discovered the mean DIT P score of managers considerably higher than the mean DIT P scores of the partners. Although this study concurred with past findings of a compelling relationship between mean DIT P scores and level in the CPA firm, a study conduct by Lampe (1992) found different results than past studies because it identified a positive relationship. To be exact, the mean DIT P score (M=34.49) of auditing students was notably lower than the mean DIT P score (M=41.90) of audit managers.

Sweeney (1995) investigated the moral growth of 314 auditors at various types of firms.

The findings of the research were consistent with past research and indicated a reduction in moral capacity with increasing positional level. Once the researcher eliminated the effects of gender and political ideology, positional level in the firm was not correlated with moral capacity. Furthermore research conducted more recently have questioned the negative or "Inverted-U" relationship between DIT P scores and hierarchal position. For instance, Bernardi and Arnold's (2004) longitudinal study involving auditors from five Big Six firms discovered that the normal level of moral development of the auditor, tended to decrease with promotion.

Ethics Courses and Moral Reasoning

The Enron scandal and the collapse of other companies involved in questionable accounting practices, changed the manner in which ethics was taught to accounting student. As such a great deal of the accounting programs now place an emphasis upon ethics in their curricula. According to some studies (Boyd, 1982) exposure to ethics courses has a positive influence on the moral reasoning ability of student. On the contrary other studies (St. Pierre,1990) have found that neither formal ethics courses nor the integration of ethics cases into the accounting classroom increase the degree of ethical reasoning.

Armstrong (1993) used DIT to determine whether ethics courses increased the moral growth of students. For the purposes of this study, senior accounting students who enrolled in the Ethics and Professionalism (E&P) course on the first day of class and on the last day of class were surveyed. The pre- and post-test were used to measure the improvement of moral education. The finding of the test were compared to the changed in P scores to pro- and post-tests of a control group enrolled in the mid-level accounting courses. There were 21 students participating in the study in the E&P group and 33 student participated in the control group at a public university in the United States. The results found that P scores in the E&P group pre-test was 49.5 and post-test was 57.3. Additionally, P scores in the control group pre-test and post test were 40.1 and 43.8 correspondingly. Armstrong deduced that an ethics course might be an effective way of increasing moral growth in students beyond what is likely to occur naturally. The researcher believed this to be particularly true particularly when the students have already taken ethics courses. The research is a proponent of ethics being taught in existing accounting courses and separate courses in accounting ethics and professionalism. Likewise, Shaub (1994) observed 91 accounting students and 207 auditors to assess if certain demographic variables have an effect on the degree of moral reasoning measured by the DIT. The results indicated that the completion of an ethics course is notably related to higher degrees of the moral reasoning of in both samples.

Furthermore Sweeny (1995) utilized DIT to determine the ethical judgment of auditors. Auditors in the Midwest of the United States were surveyed. Overall, 340 auditors completed the survey, out of the 340-314 were useable. The findings of the survey indicate a mean DIT P score for 44 of the auditors who had taken an ethics course this score was greater than the mean DIT P score of 42.0 for those auditors who had not taken an ethics course.

A study conducted by Green (1997) examined the correlation between exposing students to the AICPA code of conduct and their degree of moral reasoning. For the purposes of the study, data was taken from 32 accounting students at the end of an auditing class. In addition data was collected from 27 business students enrolled in the Managerial Accounting course. The study investigated the impact an auditing class could have on the moral growth of students. The study concluded that in exploring the degree of moral reasoning of senior-level students, major disparities were present between the accounting and non-accounting students. The main difference seems to be the auditing course completed by the senior accounting students.

Although many studies have found a link between ethics courses and improved moral reasoning Ponemon (1993), found that neither business ethics courses nor the incorporation of ethics cases into the accounting classroom had any impact upon the moral reasoning skills of accounting students. This study focused on the effect of ethics interventions on the ethical development and ethical behavior of accounting students / These interventions were integrated into a one-semester introductory auditing course at both the undergraduate and graduate level. For the purposes of this study, ethics interventions had as a foundation the review and discussion of ethics cases determined by a well-known pedagogical framework over the first 10 weeks of a single academic semester. The effectiveness of these interventions was tested in the following two ways.

First, using the DIT in a pre- and post-test research design, the ethical development of accounting seniors and graduate students in four separate auditing classes was assessed.

Second, students' unethical behavior, defined as excessive free riding on an economic choice experiment, was observed by the researcher.

For the purposes of the research, 126 undergraduate and graduate accounting students attending a public university in the northeast region of the United States were involved in the study. The participants completed a pre- and post- DIT survey in the first and last weeks of their auditing courses. The research found that accounting students who completed ethics instruction during the semester did not have an increase in their P scores. Additionally, the economic choice experiment revealed a nearly identical level of "free-riding behavior" as the accounting students who did or did not complete a course in ethics.

St. Pierre, et al., (1990) observed 479 senior participants at a medium sized public university with nationally accredited business and accounting programs. Once again utilizing the DIT as measurement tool of moral growth, the authors gave this test to the business majors amidst a required senior level policy class. The research examined the effect of exposures of a mixture of durations to ethics training and found no noteworthy difference in DIT P scores.

It is evident that additional empirical studies are required because past research involving accounting participants has produced mixed results for variables in age, gender, education level, position in the firm, and ethics training. Additionally little research has attempted to determine the impact of these variables on degrees of moral reasoning in the China or other parts of the world.

Discussion

As discussed in the initial chapter, one of the criticisms of Kohlberg's Cognitive development theory is the need for longitudinal empirical proof to corroborate the assertion that the high levels of moral development, leads to higher levels of moral behavior. Further research concerning ethical decision-making has utilized the MES as a measuring toll related to the ethical evaluation and ethical intention. Such studies have indicated considerable differences in gender and discipline (Cohen et al., 1998) and have suggested a need for additional research geared toward measuring the correlation between the DIT and MES. In their study, Reidenbach and Robin (1990) advocate the need for research geared toward testing a probable relationship between moral growth, and moral constructs acknowledged using the MES. In an effort to alter these variances, DIT along with the ethical business vignettes created by Cohen et al. were utilized as measurement tools to determine the correlation between moral reasoning of accountants and their reactions to ethical business situations.

Hypothesis 1 asserted that there was a correlation between the moral reasoning of a CPA and ethical evaluation. Previous research on this topic also posits a relationship between moral reasoning and ethical evaluation, However, all empirical studies do not support this correlation. Logsdon, Thompson and Reid (1994), for instance, discovered no correlation between moral reasoning and feelings towards the pirating of software. Ponemon (1993) revealed that auditors with increased levels of moral reasoning werer more aware of problems involving competence and integrity of management and, as such they were more likely to be cognizant of the impending ethical issues that may arise.

The current study offers confirmation through MES scores that CPAs with greater moral reasoning abilities are more apt to recognize uncertain action as unethical. However, results differ for specific vignettes. CPA's with higher DIT P scores identified an early shipment to acquire a bonus as an unethical exploit. In a scenario involving tendering a loan to a friend, there was modest backing for a correlation between moral reasoning and ethical assessment. Furthermore, the score related to the product safety vignette suggests that CPAs with a greater level of moral reasoning view this action as least ethical. This finding confirms the findings of Cohen (1998), who asserted that the character of the harm and the penalty of the harm would strongly affect ethical decision-making. Weber (1996) also suggests that the nature and significance of the consequences resulting from questionable ethical choices has an impact upon the moral reasoning of professional managers.

In the case of the software sharing scenario, no correlation could was supported between a CPA's moral reasoning and ethical assessment. The results are consistent with Logsdon, Thompson and Reid (1994) who discovered that a significant number of students do not see illicit use of software as an unethical action. Neither was there a correlation between moral reasoning, as measured by the DIT and feelings associated with the copying of software amongst business and engineering students. It may be concluded that participants believed that copying software would be of little or no consequence to anyone with whom they had a relationship. The researcher is not taken aback by the fact that Taiwanese CPAs' moral reasoning and cognition concerning the purchase of personal gifts and claiming said gifts on company's expense reports is unethical did not reflect compelling statistical correlation. One explanation for this could be attributed to Chinese culture in which the giving of personal gifts are the common scenario and acceptable within the society. These results may confirm that the relationship between moral development and ethical evaluation is relies upon the type of situation involved and suggests that moral reasoning is only useful in specific types of ethical scenarios.

Hypothesis 2 posited that accounting students with more substantial levels of moral reasoning have greater intentions of operating in an ethical manner. This hypothesis examines the intentions of individuals to behave in a manner that is ethical, which is more imperative than only being cognizant of unethical situations. This study found no steady support for the correlation between moral reasoning and ethical intentions, based on the standard of five vignettes of MES. A noteworthy correlation is present in the violation of software copyright. It is apparent from the research that CPAs with greater moral reasoning are more likely to shun the sharing software, even though they assert that they do not think sharing software is highly unethical. The remaining cases do not show statistically noteworthy correlations.

The results from Hypotheses 1 and 2 demonstrate that CPAs with higher moral reasoning are more prone to recognize unethical actions, but are not inevitably more prone to express the goal to behave ethically. Consistent with the finding of Cohen et al. (1998), this current study found ethical evaluation to be a determinant of ethical intention.

Several ethical decision models assert that ethical evaluations affect ethical judgments (Rest, 1986; Trevino, 1986; Jones, 1991). The ethical judgment step is followed up by a phase in which the individual establishes the goal to act on a particular way. Prior MES studies have demonstrated a strong relationship between the aforementioned steps. The capacity of the MES to explain and foresee ethical intention is of great importance, as this step is required to be an interpreter of ethical behavior.

This finding is consistent with Rest's (1986) four-component ethical decision-making model that people tend to first evaluate an action as ethical or unethical and then develop an intention to perform it ethically or unethically. The model asserts that people then confirm the influence of ethical evaluation over ethical intention.

This study also examined the affect of demographic variables (gender, age, education level, professional level, and ethics training) on ethical reasoning and two aspects of ethical decision-making. Previous research found conflicting outcomes of the influence of demographic variables on moral development. However, a considerable relationship between moral reasoning and selected demographics, was not evident in the current study. CPA's ethical evaluation seems to be linked to their gender, education level and ethics training, but not age or professional position. Furthermore, the ethical intentions of CPAs' appears to be correlated with gender and education level, but not age, professional position, or completion of ethics training. This will be discussed in greater detail over the next few pages.

Gender: The demographic variable hypothesis asserted that female CPAs would find problematic actions more unethical when compared to male CPAs. The results of the current study point out a noteworthy correlation between gender and ethical evaluation and ethical intention for each of the five vignettes. Females emerge as more ethical than their male counterparts.

The results are comparable to the conclusions of Cohen et al. (1998), who established that females have higher ethical evaluation and intention than do males. Ameen et al. (1996) also discovered evidence that female accounting students are more ethical as when compared to male accounting students, based on their assessment of unethical academic behaviors. In addition, Ameen, et al. (1996) surmised that females are less liberal than males when questioned about unethical academic scenarios. As evidenced by their ethical sensitivity scores, female participants had greater sensitivity ratings signifying they were less likely to engage in unethical activities. According to Gilligan's (1982) study, the difference in ethical behavior of females and males could be attributed to the fact that females are more caring and concerned with the needs of other people (more nurturing) than their males peers. The researcher asserts that males are more justice-oriented.

Age: This research indicates that age does not have a noteworthy impact on moral growth, ethical evaluation abilities or ethical intention. These findings both contribute to and contradict previous research. They are consistent with prior indications (e.g., Shaub, 1994; Bancroft, 2001) that the moral development and ethical behavior of accountants are not correlated with age. On the other hand, the present findings contradict prior indications (e.g., Ponemon & Gabhart, 1990; Hill, et al., 1998) that the moral growth and ethical evaluation of accountants has a negative correlation with age.

Education level: The present study did not find an important relationship between moral growth and education level. Previous studies have usually found a positive correlation between DIT P scores and education with large diverse samples. however, this relationship, has not constantly been found in DIT P. studies with business participants. For instance, although studies composed of business students and life insurance professionals (Kracher, et al., 2002), management students and practitioners (Wimalasiri, 2001), and certified financial planners (Bigel, 2000) found a significant positive relationship between DIT P scores and education, studies with expert witnesses (Tindall, 2001) and managerial and executive employees (Forte, 2004) did not find significant correlations between DIT P scores and education.

In ethical behavior, however, Ocon (2005) asserts a positive correlation between ethical behavior and level of education. Dierckx de Casterle, Janssen, & Grypdonck, (1996) discovered a noteworthy link between education and ethical behavior within the nursing. Comparable to these findings, the results from the current research found a relationship between education level and the two aspects of ethical decision-making: ethical evaluation and ethical intention.

Ethical training: The present study found no momentous difference in DIT P scores in accounting professionals linked to ethics training. This finding is consistent with Eynon et al. (1996), Bernardi et al. (2002), and Shaub (1994). Previous research with accounting subjects has produced varied results for variables related to ethics training. For instance, St. Pierre, et al. (1990) investigated the effect of exposures of various durations to ethics training found no noteworthy difference in DIT P score. On the other hand, Sweeney (1995), found there is a noteworthy difference in DIT P scores with auditor subjects that completed an ethics course and been exposed to ethics training. None of the selected preceding studies investigating the effects of ethics training on MES scores focused on ethical evaluation and ethical intention.

A number of studies have shown that generic courses in business ethics do not have an influence on students' ethical decision-making. (e.g., Arlow & Ulrich, 1980; Peppas & Diskin, 2001). However, Delaney and Sockell (1992), established that company-training programs can alter ethical behavior. Churchman (2002) also contends that improving ethics course work and training programs in educational settings and industry encourages moral sensitivity in the ethical decision-making progression of accounting professionals.

Consistent with previous researchers (e.g., Delaney & Sockell, 1992; Churchman, 2002) the current study found a statistically noteworthy corrleation between ethics training and ethical evaluation. The investigation of the correlation between ethics training and DIT P scores and between ethics training and MES intention questions, on the other hand, indicates that ethics training has no important impact on either moral development or ethical intention.

Chung (1997) and Dee (1998) reveal that the ethics training in Taiwan places too much importance on philosophical lectures, in which the instructor offers students material pertaining to ethical philosophies and codes of ethical concepts. Likewise, Armstrong, Ketz, and Owsen (2003) concluded that the majority of literature on ethics education focused on moral philosophy and ethical concepts involving ethical sensitivity and prescriptive reasoning, however there is a shortage of work addressing virtue. This is the category that expresses intention and ethical actions. Conceivably, educators teaching general courses in philosophy and social sciences ought to provide improved ways to incorporate real business ethics dilemmas into the curriculum.

Professional level: Anumber of prior ethical research studies containing the variable of CPA's position in a firm indicated moral development (as measured by the DIT P score) drastically correlated with hierarchal position. The majority of the previous studies have acknowledged this relationship as negative. (Ponemon, 1992; Ponemon & Gabhart, 1990; Thorne, et al., 2003). Nevertheless, Sweeney (1995), discovered that the position in the firm was not correlated with moral reasoning and ethical decision-making. Etherington and Schulting (1995) discovered the DIT P scores of the sample of CPAs do not indicate a noteworthy difference by hierarchal position. In fact, Bernardi and Arnold (2004) did not discover that partners had inferior DIT P scores. The ANOVA results of this current study indicate no correlation in this regard and are consistent with the previous research findings of Sweeney (1995), Bernardi and Arnold (2004) and Etherington and Schulting (1995).

A significant limitation is the construct validity of the Chinese adaptation DIT. Additionally, Simpson (1974) posits that there are biases in Kohlberg's moral principles which have as a foundation Western Philosophy. The researcher believes that it is insufficient in explaining the concept of morality without allusion to non-western philosophies. The elegant Chinese and Indian philosophies of morality have impacted the behavior of more than forty percent of the human population; they should not be ignored. Dien (1983) attempts to launch a Confucian viewpoint on Kohlberg's theory of moral growth and Ma (1982) attempts to apply Chinese Tao Philosophy in the explanation of the final stage of moral growth. It is recommended that a more universal theory of moral development should integrate both the Eastern and Western Philosophies in the expalining of the moral stages. (Gendron,1981; Hau, 1983; Lai, 198; Ma,1982)

As it pertains to the MES instrument, since the vignettes were "off the shelf" -- adapted from prior research -- there could be some inquiry concerning what the clearly "ethical" decision ought to be in the Chinese culture. Purchasing a gift for a manager of a local distributor, for example, is a custom in a Chinese company to conduct a new business professionally through the interpersonal human relationship known as guanxi. However, in America it may be viewed as a type of kickback. Still, Guanxi, is an ancient traditional way of carrying out business in Chinese culture. Such an action produces trust and some reliance between negotiators when conducting business. Guanxi is time-honored as a practice with mutual benefits, but it can be an ethical dilemma if one of the parties engaged in the custom directly breaches a considerable fiduciary duty established the local social setting. Prospective studies might focus on creating the improved vignettes for gauging ethical behavior in diverse contexts.

The next limitation of this study is that the participants were only taken CPAs in northern Taiwan and the subjects were chosen from the classes and seminars that are mostly attended by CPAs from small firms or organizations. As such, the study may not be in congruence with ethics in accounting at the national or international level.

In future studies, it will be exciting to conduct comparable studies in diverse groups and countries to generalize the findings.

The findings produced by the current study have connotations for future theory development and measurement. This study is the first to merge use of DIT and MES embarked upon with a sample of CPAs in Taiwan. Therefore, additional research should include and replicate the work to examine the corrleation of DIT and MES by selecting a different sample.

The DIT P. has been a key instrument in the context of moral reasoning and moral development. Nevertheless, moral reasoning has not been an apparent indicator of moral behavior in all business scenarios. The results from of this research demonstrate that there is a significant correlation between moral development and ethical evaluation but not ethical intention. This suggests that CPAs are willing to behave in a manner that is different than what they comprehend or deem to be ethical. In the business world, this may entail that the current goal of behavior of t personnel is more imperative than the printed policies or codes of conduct to preserve the ethical environment.

Additional research may well be repeated for verification of the predictive validity of DIT in accountants. Future studies could also expand additional business cases to gauge the correlation between DIT and MES and make an effort to establish if the nature of the situation has an effect on the relationship of moral development and ethical decision-making.

Even though the present study offers varied results in support of Kohlberg's (1969) cognitive moral development theory as a theoretical justification for the ethical decision-making practice, Kohlberg's theory may produce some insight for business. Cognitive moral development theory may verify usefulness as a tool for testing the reasoning skills of potential employees.

Additionally, cognitive moral development theory may also accompany current organizational evaluation modus operandi to offer insight on how existing employees may behave as it pertains to potential ethical issues. To determine this, a longitudinal evaluation study in a business environment might assess the theorized correlation between moral development and measure of ethical behavior by employers.

The current study also asserts that certain variables display a significant correlation to ethical evaluation and ethical intention. As a group, these findings add to our current perception of moral development. As an improved understanding of the ethical decision-making method is gained, professional education programs might be created to improve intention and resolution of ethical actions when individuals are confronted with ethical dilemmas.

Respondents recount that they would behave more ethically than their peers, identifying that social desirability response prejudice was present among CPAs in Taiwan. This indication is similar to results from business ethics research, which without fail reveals that individuals think that they are more ethical when compared with other people. A likely repercussion of the results is that people may not feel any need to advance their own ethical conduct. A more pressing problem is that employees "might rationalize unethical behavior as being necessary to compete evenly with others who are far less principled" (Tyson, 1990, p. 715). The discoveries of the study as it pertains to SDRB may be practical in educating employees on the inflated self-evaluation of ethics. The findings of this study have significant implications for ethics research of the future. It substantiates Randall & Gibson (1990) and Cohen's (1998) assertion that SDRB ought to be controlled in research.

As a result of mixed results reported by previous research studies, more needs to be discovered concerning the overall ethical decision-making process in the business organization in order to completely understand what function cognitive moral development theory plays in ethics research and in ethics the discipline of education. In this regard, moral development's correlation to actual ethical behavior remains has not yet been fully explored. Additional research should thus reproduce the actions taken when faced with actual ethical dilemmas in a business scenario, and the correlations of those behaviors to moral development measures.

Additional studies out to continue to discover how personal moral processes cross the threshold into an individual's organizational ethical decision-making, particularly since peer relationships and organizational culture have exposed significant influences. With this understood, any additional research, might examine the relationship of both the cognitive moral development of the individual, but also the culture of the organization's ethical decision-making in business scenarios.