Question

Serena is an environmental engineer with a keen sense of duty, adherence to rules, regulations, laws and established protocol. She is the chairperson of her professional engineering association's ethics committee. She is currently adjudicating a case about an engineer, Maxine, who violated the NSPE Code of Ethics by publicly revealing that one of her company's clients was dumping pollutants into a nearby river in violation of law and regulation. Serena has to decide whether to punish Maxine by revoking her professional license or by invoking some lesser punishment. Serena decides that no penalty is warranted since Maxine intended to preserve the health, safety, and welfare of the public.

According to Kohlberg’s theory, what stage does the Serena’s thinking represent?

Why did you choose that stage?

Answer 1

Stage 6. Universal ethical principles driven.

The judgement made by Serena was innate and voilated the laws currently set. She is attached to her own principles of justice and reached her decision by imagining what she would do if she was in place of maxine. Since she had two options of revoking professional license or invoking some lesser punishment and she chose none of these and followed her own principles it is justified that she operates at stage 6 in Kohlberg's theory.