Leaders lead people, and leaders should always do the right things. Most employees tend to look for ethical guidance from others, and a leader within a workplace should therefore be the essential source of such guidance. According to Economy (2013) communication, support and facilitate employees, as well as having integrity are some qualities that make a good leader. Leaders with integrity would make good ethical leaders. According to Gulla (2010) “When acting with integrity, we do what is right – even when no one is watching. People of integrity are guided by a set of core principles that empowers them to behave consistently to high standards. The core principles of integrity are virtues, such as: compassion, dependability, generosity, honesty, kindness, loyalty, maturity, objectivity, respect, trust and wisdom.” (p.19) By having a leader like this you can expect them to keep high standards which could benefit an organization as well as the employees. Leaders can be counted on to do the right things and to demonstrate high standard of ethical and moral conduct. Sometimes being ethical is being effective and sometimes being effective is being ethical. In other words, ethics is effectiveness in some cases. If a le...
Ethical leaders help give meaning to their employees‟ work and ensure that organizational decisions are based on sound moral values(Piccolo, Greenbaum, Den Hartog, & Folger, 2010).Ethical leaders are always making efforts to incorporate moral principles in their beliefs, values and behaviour; they are committed to higher purpose, prudence, pride, patience, and persistence (Khuntia &Suar, 2004).In conceptualizing of ethical leadership, Trevino, Hartman &Brown (2000)present a matrix comprising unethical leadership weak moral person, weak moral manager, hypocritical leadership weak moral person, strong moral manager, ethical leader strong moral person, strong moral manager, and ethically silent or neutral leadership (weak/strong moral person, weak moral manager). In a similar fashion, Trevino &Brown (2004) propose an executive must be perceived as both a “moral person” and a “moral manager to have a reputation of ethical leadership. “A “moral person” is related to good character; the leader is honest and trustworthy, show concern for employee welfare and is seen as approachable. Whereas, a “moral manager,” is one who leads others on the ethical dimension, allow employee to know what is expected, and holds them
Surveys have been conducted and only a mere 47 percent of employees that participated in the surveys reported that leaders in their workplaces are honest and lead with integrity. In addition, only 56 percent of employees felt that ethical and integrity issues are communicated and practiced at work. (Smith 2000) What does it mean by behaving ethically and what can be done to create an ethical workplace?
The case study of Jacob Franklin, aged 25, offers an analysis of how unethical decisions can damage a company and the repercussions that these decisions cause. Jacob was aware of the unethical situations happening around him, but he was new and unexperienced to the business and it seems that at some point, his hands were tight and he did not have much control to change them. On the other hand, he had plenty of opportunities to make ethical decisions.
Employees of companies must consider their actions before making decisions and remember they have an ethical responsibility to the organization and use high moral standards to influence their decisions. Ethical responsibility is crucial and goes beyond personal values, it takes into account which actions provide the greatest benefit for the greatest number and produces the least amount of harm. Not all decisions are black and white, many fall into gray areas. When individuals make unethical decisions it can damage the name of the organization. In the business world the reputation of an organization is based on its integrity. A company must acquire and maintain customers to survive and grow in today’s competitive global market. Rational
leaders have the ability to offer for employee’s rewards, upgrades, and a good work environment, Otherwise, employees are mostly expected to pay attention to their leader. Also, leaders communicate, and inform employees about the important of preserve ethics, and consider doing the right things when they face ethical dilemmas. (Berscheid, Graziano, Monson, & Dermer, 1979 )5
According to the theory of diffusion of responsibility, every person in an organization shares the moral accountability of a company’s actions. However, it therefore follows that no singular individual can hold moral responsibility (Shaw, 205). With knowledge of the Milgram Experiment, that those in a lower chain of command are prone to obeying the command of-higher ups, corporate executives can exploit their employees, who are free from moral responsibility and do not have to think twice before carrying out unethical
Setting standard behavior expectations in the workplace is important for all levels of management. A “culture of respect, trust and honest communication” can make or break the ability of a company to establish and maintain ethical business operations (Long, 2013). When joining Oracle in the 1990’s, many employees were greeted with the public reputation of its sales force. Teams functioned under a boundary less structure, not limited by structure or management and highly flexible and responsive (Robbins, Decenzo & Coulter, 2013). Sales would risk any relationship to meet their quota which had been doubled from the previous year and ethics took a backseat.
“In fact, ethics has everything to do with management. Rarely do the character flaws of a lone actor fully explain corporate misconduct. More typically, unethical business practice involves the tacit, if not explicit, cooperation of others and reflects the values, attitudes, beliefs, language, and behavioral patterns that define an organization’s operating culture. Ethics, then, is as much an organizational as a personal issue. Managers who fail to provide proper leadership and to institute systems that facilitate ethical conduct share responsibility with those who conceive, execute, and knowingly benefit from corporate misdeeds”(Paine, 2016).
George R. Boggs, in the Handbook of CEO-Board Relationships and Responsibilities, warns that “a CEO’s termination can result in, at the least, negative publicity, and at the worst, litigation” (p. 40). The events that occurred at JCC; financial irresponsibility, reports of lack of oversight and accountability; political interference, followed by the actions taken by the board; the suspension and firing of the president and the termination of 21 others, provides a picture of an institution whose morale is nonexistent.
While reading Daniel Terris’s opinion on Lockheed Martin’s ethical program, I noticed he observed that the company does not commit enough effort to counteracting ethical violations when pertaining to those in higher leadership positions. I would have to agree with the author, throughout the book I began to realize that the ethical program was geared more towards the employees who were located at the “bottom of the food chain”. Top level leadership has no issues displaying and voicing that they stand behind the ethical program and those in charge of it; for instance, the CEO Brain Sears at times sits in on the training sessions to listen and view the different perspectives of the employees (Terris, 2005). Although it is important for the Lockheed
According to Gilbert (2007), “without consistency of ethical leadership from top to bottom, employees will receive mixed messages, will become doubtful of the organization’s commitment to its vision, mission, and values, and may or may not choose ethical behaviors or make ethical decisions” (69). A lack of ethical leadership will lead to the ethical erosion of an organization which could ultimately lead to organizational failure. I also realized that a leader needs to possess all four of the disciplines of ethical leadership: Noble purpose, Ceaseless Ambition, Candor and Passion (Gilbert, 2007). Prior to this assignment, I had not associated ambition and passion with ethical leadership; I knew they were both important leadership traits but not in association with ethics. However, I now understand that without the driving force of an ambitious and passionate leader, an organization will not move forward or progress. Simply having a noble purpose is not sufficient. My senior leader’s perceived lack of ambition and passion sent the message to leaders and staff that she was detached, disconnected and unapproachable. By not being connected at the point of service, leaders can miss subtle changes in culture that can be destructive to the organization and to their leadership. Strong ethical wisdom and thereby,
It is not uncommon that leaders encounter situations where they are faced with making choices that have the potential to impact others for better or worse. It is important that good leaders choose a direction that will have the least negative impact while having a positive outcome if possible. If the actions cannot be considered ethical, a different approach or action should be considered. The choices made in problematic situations will ultimately identify the true character of the leader. It is ideal that a good leader do what is right in all situations as their actions are constantly observed by others and subjected to scrutinization. Leaders who display ethical qualities will be most effective at gaining or maintaining a leader and follower relationship. Additionally, if a leader models ethical decisions and behaviors, followers can be expected to take after them. Ethical behaviors in leaders are found to be reflected by a reduction of unethical behaviors in followers ( Mayer et al., 2009; Mayer et al., 2012). Ethical leaders create environments and structures that influence followers to behave more ethically (Schaubroeck et al.,
For the corporate culture in Enron, Enron employees and internal executives are largely influenced by groupthink. In Enron’s corporate culture, Enron’s members usually misuse motivation to help company achieving lofty growth goals. Enron promoted individuals who were highly motivated by monetary rewards and promotions (Bills 2001, paras 6-9). For example, company provided an incentive to employees to take risks on making profits, no matter the actions is ethical or not. No matter on peer influences or pressure from groupthink, it directly promotes
The management team of any company must remain keenly aware of the ethical image they are propagating. Not only must the management of the company maintain a personal commitment to high moral and ethical standards, they must expect the same of their subordinates and all associated with the company. Management must place a high priority on the execution of sound values and ethical principles in order to move the company in the right ethical direction. Managers could have high personal ethical commitments, but if they allow their subordinates to operate under lower ethical standards, then they, too, are responsible for the poor ethical performance of the company.