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Ethical principles of leadership
Ethical principles of leadership
Business Ethics Chapter 4
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Define and describe the principles of ethical leadership. Which 2 of the 5 covered in this chapter do you think are the most important? Why? The five principles of ethical leadership are respects others, serves others, shows justice, manifests honesty, builds community. These five principles reflect characteristics of a good leader. A leader should have these principles in order to well-rounded and work with any type of person. First, is respects others is another way leaders can show how they appreciate others and their work. They respect them and their presents daily. Second, is serves others. This is where the leader demonstrates acts and behaviors and the employees follow. In doing this the people will see how you act and behave and
Ethical leadership is hard to define according to research cited by Yukl, (2013). Ethics depends on time, culture, and laws. We can attempt to define ethical leadership by looking at the leader’s behavior, values and how he or she influences followers (Yukl, 2013). Every organization has ethical and moral guidelines stipulated through their policies, rules and regulations. A leader who is honest and trustworthy can be said as an ethical leader. But it depends on how the behavior is reflected in the organization and the employees. Ethical leadership can also be defined as to whether the behaviors violate cultural customs and laws of the society. Personal morals and ethics may be in conflict with managing the organization
Throughout the novel, The Student Leadership Challenge: Five Practices for Exemplary Leaders, authors James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner share with young student leaders the skills they have found for effective leadership. The authors wrote The Student Leadership Challenge hoping to strengthen the abilities and uplift the spirits of leaders by introducing the five principles: modeling the way, inspiring a shared vision, challenging the process, enabling others to act, and encouraging the heart (Kouzes and Posner 3).
Leading by example is the main idea. Servant leaders do not want to be in the first line and they prefer to guide their employees from a distance. They distinguish because of their personality, their behavior and their values. The only disadvantage is that in a competitive financial environment it is difficult from them to be recognized.
Looking at the first word in ethical leadership we see, as stated in the Webster-Merriam dictionary, ethical is defined as “following accepted rules of behavior: morally right and good”. When we think of someone who is ethical we, first, think of someone who ‘follows the rules’. By following the rules I mean someone who in the eyes of the majority is morally sound. Having strong morals is what I believe the key is to an ethical person. On the other side of the definition of ethical is defining it as having inside oneself the desire to do what’s right over what is wrong. When we speak about someone who is ethical this desire is one that is not dependent on external forces i.e. no one can sway an ethical person’s mindset.
What makes you a great leader? That one of the many questions many of the people are trying to seek the answer to. Unlike during the Trait Era in the study of leader where people are born with leadership ability, we are living in the contingency era where leadership can be taught and become something that can be adopted (Nahavandi, 2015) . Some of the methods that are used to enhance people’s leadership ability are by evaluating and assisting various factors and personality of the person to determine the strength and weakness of the person. So what is personality? The definition of personality is a set of psychological characteristics that makes each person unique and constitutes a person’s character and temperament (Nahavandi, 2015). Like the core
Leaders should lead by example. What a leader does and how they do it, serves as an example for others to follow. A leader’s behavior and actions are an important and effective way to influence the behavior of the people the lead. Leaders must treat other with dignity and respect. Leaders take responsibility for their actions, maintain their integrity by doing the right things and develop personable and commutative vision for their organizations. Leaders instill a sense of discipline; enforce organizational standards of the organization and do not turn a blind eye or overlook problems.
The basis of good leadership is honorable character and selfless service to the organization. In employees' eyes, leadership is everything a leader do that affects the organization's objectives and employee’s wellbeing. A respected leader concentrates on what he or she is [be] (beliefs and character), what a leader knows (job, tasks, human nature), and what a leader does (implement, motivate, provide direction).
Palmer, D. 2009. Business leadership: three levels of ethical analysis, Journal of Business Ethics. 88(3): 525-536.
Leader’s values can influence leadership styles, and this can create a domino effect which could build a successful organization or completely destroy the organization . The basic values which identify me as a leader are responsibility, ambitious and capability.
One very important aspect of a great leader is to lead by example. Any person in a position to guide others cannot ask the team to do one thing and act in the complete opposite way. This is a sure way to show that the leader has a need to show power and quickly loose respect from those who should be learning from him or her. Being a role model is importan...
In today’s ever changing business field, it is more important than ever that great managers are also exceptional leaders. While being a leader may not be easy, it is something that all managers need to strive to achieve. Through constant education and practice every manager can sharpen their leadership skills. Through the reading and the Leadership Assessment there are five leadership principles that are most important to todays leaders including; creating a sense of responsibility, education, ability to lead by example, giving praise where it is do, and empathy. If today’s managers apply these five principles, they will be well on their way to being outstanding leaders. Through these five principles and what was learned in the Leadership Assessment I was able to hone in on what makes a great leader.
- The leaders who work directly with employees must to have willingness to listen to feedback and support them in working. Leaders must treat them with respect and positive attitude.
Ethical leadership organizational ethics and socially responsibility are inseparable (Johnson). Leadership is not a inherited gift or family heritage; it is not a degree from an ivy league graduate school. Becoming a leader is an intentional process of growth that must be lived out experientially (Mullane). Ethical leaders demonstrate three distinctive characteristics, knowledge, action and character. Leaders have to have the ability to say “yes” or even “no” to a never ending series of challenges. A leader needs to be able to define their values, character and leadership style. When accepting the role of leadership you become encumbered by ethical issues and concerns. .
What do Kenneth Lay, Bernard Ebbers, Conrad Black, Dennis Kozlowski, and Scott Thompson have in common? Yes, they were all in high ranking leadership positions, worked for very large companies, and were men. Unfortunately for the companies they worked for, they also lacked any sense of ethical leadership. Ethics are very important in the business world, and managers need to do all they can to hire and retain ethical people.
“Ethics can be defined as moral principles that govern or influence a person’s behaviour and values are the context in which an organisation or society’s norms are established and justified” (buzz text book).Ethics are the guidelines helping us tell the difference between the is wrong and right. Most people are encouraged by ethics to normally do the right things. Ethics and values are based on individual beliefs and standards in society that one if from, they vary from person to person. Leadership is the authority and capability for one to lead people in an organization in order to achieve goals. They are the main role players in all the organizations and are crucial to their success. Ethics in a business means taking the precise way’