Ethical leadership is of great significance to the prosperity of an organization. Ethical leaders usually motivate their employees to work hard. In that regard, ethical leadership requires a cocktail of ethical values ranging from rationality to independent and critical thinking. Most organizations nowadays have ethical leaders responsible for the good relationship among the members. Ethical leaders are usually more concerned about the welfare of other people rather than other motives. My focus on ethical leaders will be on corporate leaders, specifically chief executive officers. My leader of choice is Mike Duke, the chief executive officer of Wal-Mart retailers, which is one of the largest retailers in the United States. For its prosperity, …show more content…
Different individuals value different principles and my preferred standards are for the good of the majority while excluding self interests. As already stated in the introductory segment, ethical leaders are always concerned about the welfare of others. My own personal values aim to accomplish that (Brown, Treviño, & Harrison, 2005). My core ethical lenses are autonomy and rationality. This value emphasizes more on responsibility and this will ensure that my personal views on benefiting the majority are fulfilled. Responsible leaders respect humanity first before any other benefits accrued to the organization. A good decision is the one that fulfills the desire of many, even if it means the company will lose. But with rationality, a good leader will balance all these for the benefit of both …show more content…
With this value, I can be able to apply my wisdom on offering practical solutions that bring optimism to others. This will also show my self interest in the issue at hand. My key choice is responsibility, which comes from the application of autonomy and rationality. With this value, I can make choices that are good for the benefit of the majority. My ethical tool is the use of critical thinking, which is an important value when it comes to problem solving. Solving problems requires critical analysis of the situations at hand and making conclusions that benefit the majority (Ciulla, 2005b). Since it is a known fact, that one cannot make all people happy, you only strive for what is of benefit to the majority.
The values that I have mentioned in the inventory are my strongholds and I do believe that I can comfortably adapt them when working in different environments. My ethical tool of critical thinking to solve problems can be used in any situation to offer reasonable solutions. Critical thinking can be used at work, at home, and even in my social life, by allowing me to make rational decisions when solving problems at hand without any bias (Spangenberg & Theron,
The values that impact my decisions include: accountability, truth, honor, spirituality, reliability, kindness, ambition, family and compassion just to name a few. My grandfather was a successful business man in the 1930’s through 1980’s. He was a firm believer that you are only as good as your word. He did business with a hand shake and a smile. Teaching his grandchildren that if a man’s word is of no value, neither is he. Furthermore, he taught us the importance of sticking with your fundamental beliefs and principals. The value that is non-negotiable in my life is integrity. I believe it is important to be ethical, honest, truthful, reliably and trustworthy in every aspect of life. I am inspired and driven professionally by compassion, kindness and a belief in healing those that are
Leaders who treat their employees with fairness, honesty, and provide frequent, accurate information are seen as more effective. According to Robbins and Judge (2014), “trust is a primary attribute associated with leadership and followers who trust a leader are confident their rights and interest will not be abused” (p.193). The old General Motor Corporation had eleven different CEO’s from 1923 until 2009 each with their own unique leadership style, which directed employees toward the organization goals. Unfortunately, many of the top level managers under the CEO’s had the tendency of filtering out information that did not match up with their pre-conceived notions about a particular issue and they lacked upward communication. One consumer goal of General Motors was to build trust in the company so people would be repeat customers, but building trust between employees and establishing an ethical culture was not a top priority of the organization. Goal directed leadership alone is important, but differs from a structure of leadership based on ethics. It is important to note, that effective leadership may not be the same as leadership founded on ethical principles. Business competence must exist, along with personal leadership accountability in ethical decisions. Within the General Motors organization, ethics and leadership did not interconnect; there were misalignment between the
Specifically, six themes regarding ethical leadership emerged from the study. Survey respondents from all societies prioritized these six traits as necessary for ethical leadership. First, ethical leaders are accountable. They abide by rules and regulations and take personal responsibility while holding others accountable. Second, ethical leaders have consideration and respect for others. They are approachable, treat others with respect, and demonstrate empathy. Third, ethical leaders are fair. They make objective decisions and do not show favoritism. Fourth, ethical leaders have a strong character. They are sincere and they lead by example, demonstrating integrity and courage. Fifth, ethical leaders have a collective orientation. They promote teamwork and collaboration while protecting the interests of the company. Finally, ethical leaders are open and flexible. They share information, communicate effectively, and are open to diversity (Resick et al, 2011). Though cultural dimensions affect leadership practices and expectations, these attributes and behaviors emerged consistently as the requisite traits for ethical
After analyzing the results of the Ethical Leadership Self-assessment, I realized that in order for me to achieve the performance goal/objectives and development goals previously mentioned of the second assignment, I have to implement an action plan. After thinking for while about what I was missing I came up with three actions methods that would help me accomplish my goals. The methods I found most important are the proactive method, motivation method, and goal-oriented method. I realized that at this moment of my life I am lacking these methods. I am lacking motivation, lacking proactivity, and lacking goal orientation. By following these methods, I would not only help myself personally but professionally.
Every individual has certain values and ethics that he/she stands by. Values give us a sense of what is important while ethics gives us a sense of what is right and wrong. Together, these qualities help guide us through our everyday life: what actions to take and what decision to make. Sticking to ethical standards allows you to stay clear of trouble; therefore, strengthening people’s trust in you. In return, this leads to gaining people’s respect and cooperation, which may result in leadership responsibilities. Therefore, we believe that personal values and ethics will affect a person’s career success. However, there are times where individuals will make unethical choices--some situations might question your resolve. This can be caused by
In today’s business environment, the success of a corporation significantly depends on the ethical behavior of its employees. Ethics is a basic part of leadership. Ethical leaders can lead employee in executing ethics in the organization. Also, ethical leader can encourage employees to perform, and act in ethical
I will explore my Leadership Philosophy and give my Definition of Leadership - Leadership is the ability to get members from diverse groups to willingly follow your vision to achieve a specific goal. Leadership experiences throughout my career have been both positive and negative. While I have had numerous influences, my most memorable were negative experiences from my first Master Chief as a non-rate to my Executive Officer as Petty Officer First Class. The traits most prevalent in both were temperamental, uncooperative, and abrasive. Conversely, positive influences in my career showed trust and empowerment, making for a positive work environment.
Often when the terms “ethical leadership” is used, it is stated without any meditative thoughts (Fluker, 2009). Nonetheless, when most people discuss ethical leadership, they often includes the values or moral character that are instilled in a particular leader. According to Ciulla (2014), “leadership ethics is the study of ethical problems and challenges that are distinctive to and inherent in the processes, practices, and outcomes of leading and following” (p. 5). Undoubtedly, in many organizations, employees differ about what is ethical. Therefore, it is vital that leaders demonstrate how ethical behavior is applied to the organization. Within my organization, there is a clear ethical tone. For instance, the culture of the organization
The major areas of my values and ethics can be summarized in six words: excellence, personal integrity, responsibility, ambition, accountability, and determination. Excellence guides me when setting targets in all my undertakings; I normally strive to achieve my best. Personal integrity and accountability enable me to make sound judgments to avoid engaging in actions that will hurt me and/or other people around me. Responsibility is important to me as it enables me to identify the part I need to play in my family, at the workplace, and in the community. Lastly, ambition and determination are applicable in providing me with the momentum needed to ensure that all my initiatives and tasks are done to completion.
Although I have many core values, including diligence, happiness, helpfulness, true friendship, freedom, and intelligence, the most significant in my life are love, morality, honesty, and forgivingness. Throughout my life, these particular values have proved key to becoming the person I wished to be. “The term leadership involves our self-images and moral codes” (Values in Leadership). In order to lead and to be someone who upholds their values, one must be fully aware of what is important to them and what drives them.
Organizations are constantly tested with various moral and ethical problems and dilemmas. Organizational leaders are the key to establishing an ethical climate in the workplace. By understanding and improving their own moral reasoning, and the biases that affect moral judgment, they enable themselves to make better decisions. This has a catalytic effect that positively increases organizational climate, ultimately improving all organizational behavior.
The term “ethics” refers to an external set of rules that have been established by an institution or organization, for example, a university, and the members are expected to follow them. On the other hand, integrity refers to an individuals’ internal set of principles that guides their actions and behavior (Czimbal and Brooks n.p.). As a rule, people are usually rewarded when they follow ethical codes of conduct by an external committee or board that monitors their behavior. For a person of high integrity, the benefits are usually intrinsic. Moreover, such individuals always make the right decisions even when they are not being watched. Therefore, this feature of character is often influenced by a person’s upbringing. In
Ethical leadership is having an understanding of who you are, what your core values are, having the courage to live them all, in your personal life as well as your work life. Ethical leadership involves leading in a manner that respects the rights and dignity of others. Ethical decision making and leadership are the basis of ethical organizations. Leadership is a relationship between leaders and followers. The foundation of this relationship is trust. The leaders themselves must be ethical in their decisions and actions in order to influence others to behave accordingly. Ethical leadership is to know one’s core values and having the courage to live them through one’s life. Ethics and leaders go hand in hand; ethics is the heart of leadership.
Good, strong, ethical people can have an immeasurable impact on a company as well. “Ethical leadership creates an ethical culture. Top managers provide a blueprint for a firm’s corporate culture. If these leaders fail to express desired ethical behaviors and goals, a corporate culture evolves on its own to reflect the values and norms of the company” (Ferrell, 2015). “Leadership has a significant impact on ethical decision making because leaders have the power to motivate others and enforce the organization’s norms, policies, and viewpoints” (Ferrell, 2015). Often employees will look to management and top leadership for clues as to what is acceptable and what is not. It is not only important to have good role models in those top positions, but to have a culture where they can fully express their ethical
Every person needs to have some basic principles to guide their lives. These principles for example can define, in a clear and simple way, what is right and what is wrong. They help shape how we will live our life and facilitates the decisions we may need to take specially at difficult times or crossroads. These principles are molded by parents, relatives and groups we may be part of as we grow and help to form our character as individuals. As we become adults most of those principles are part of us and who we are.