Every administrative action a principal will take is reduced to a decision. These decisions are made in an arena of overlapping moralities stemming from the organizational morality in concert with his/her personal morality. As Barnard stated, it is impossible to divorce one from the other. The purpose of this study was to attempt to describe and explain the personal and professional moral codes considered by a set of school administrators as they make decisions. This descriptive study examines the contributing experiences of 25 principals' backgrounds influencing the development and establishment of their personal moral code. The study also considers the role professional codes contribute to principal decisions. To establish a theoretical foundation for the project, the study explores the views of Hebert Simon, Immanuel Kant and Henri Bergson. . The three views describe morality from differing perspectives: Simon from an organization view, Kant's perspective duty-based morality, and Bergson's description of Open and Closed morality. Correlations are drawn from scenarios shared by principals as to which theory decisions represented.The majority of the principals in this study came from hard working, modest backgrounds, where upward mobility and a ferocious belief in the power of education are common themes in their upbringing. Principals consider themselves an important piece of the school organization. In reality, they are a good "fit" for leading the institution of schooling. The study concludes that in most circumstances, principals' personal morality and organizational morality mesh to support safety, learning and efficiency in managing schools.
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