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Lesson#43
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ETHICS IN LEADERSHIP
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ETHICS IN LEADERSHIP
Ethics
Ethics” is derived from the Greek word “ethos,” which means “character”.
“Character” is defined as
“the combination of qualities or features that distinguishes one person from
another.” It is also defined
as “the public estimation of the person — reputation.”
Ethics are the moral values, beliefs, and rules that establish the right or
appropriate ways in which one
person or group should interact, deal and behave with another person or group.
Organizational ethics
are a product of societal, professional, and individual ethics.
Ethics is the study of morality (right and wrong) and the choices people make in
their relationships with
others. Leaders deal with numerous ethical issues in organizations including
power, moral standards,
moral consistency, moral mistakes etc. Different approaches have been suggested
for dealing with these
issues, such as following universal moral laws, greatest good for the greatest
number, having a primary
concern for others’ welfare, promoting high moral character in leaders, and
persistently striving to be
just, prudent, and truthfulness in one’s behavior. Creating an ethical
organizational climate requires
leaders to have and present role model ethical behaviors, and reward ethical
policies and practices,
punish unethical behavior, discuss ethical assumptions and practices, and use
charismatic/transformational leader behaviors in a socially responsible manner.
Many leaders are
turning to spiritual/religious practices to help them deal with ethical issues.
Ethics is the study of morality (right and wrong) and the moral choices people
make in their
relationships with others.
A. Ethics concerns how we should behave in the roles that society gives us.
B. Leaders are often in roles that can determine the well-being of others and
they sometimes
influence the broader good.
o Technically good (effective)
o Morally good.
Ethical values rest on principles stressing the importance of treating everyone
fairly and equally. To
make ethical decisions, an organization purposefully implants ethical
instrumental values in its culture.
Ethical values are a product of societal, professional, and individual ethics.
o Ethics
– Is a derivative of the Greek word ethos, meaning customs, conduct, or
character
– Is concerned with the kinds of values and morals an individual or society
ascribes as
desirable or appropriate
– Focuses on the virtuousness of individuals and their motives
o Ethical Theory
– Provides a system of rules or principles as a guide in making decisions
about what is
right/wrong and good/bad in a specific situation
o Ethics & Leadership
o What leaders do and who leaders
are is determined by the nature of the leaders’
behavior and their virtuousness.
o What choices leaders make and how
they respond in a particular circumstance are
informed and directed by their ethics.
Ethics is…
o Ethics is the study of morality
o Central principles of ethics:
o Reversibility – Would you want
someone to do this to you?
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o Universality – Would you want
everyone to do this?
o Other questions
o Am I treating others with respect?
o Am I violating the rights of others?
o Am I treating others only as a means
to my own ends?
o Am I being honest with others and
with myself?
Ethics is…
o Right vs. Wrong
o Also known as your
conscience/principles
o Usually a spontaneous decision
_ You instantly know right from
wrong
o Brainstorming exercise
_ list of “wrongs”
_ List of “rights”
o Who you are when no one is looking
o If your mom & dad were watching,
would you still do it?
Ethics is…
o Ethics vs. Morals
Ethics and morals are NOT always the same
Morals = personal view of values
o i.e. beliefs related to moral issues
such as drinking, gambling,
o Can reflect influence of religion,
culture, family and friends
Ethics = how a moral person should behave
o Ethics go beyond cultural, religious,
and ethnic differences
Ethics is not about “getting caught”
o Even if you get away with something,
it may still be unethical
o Ethics is not defined by what happens
to you, but by your thoughts and actions
Ethics is not about placing blame
o Do not judge other’s based on their
personal beliefs
Ethical behavior is the display of moral attributes
o Judgment
o Behavior
o Self-discipline
o Character
However, what “ethical behavior” really boils down to in its simplest form is:
Knowing the difference
between right and wrong and behaving accordingly
Character Traits Reflect Ethics:
o Honesty
o Courage
o Compassion
o Even-handedness (impartiality)
o Respect for Others
Some Common Ethical/Legal Issue:
o Conflict of Interests
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o Confidentiality
o Use of Position for Personal Gain
o Personal Contracts
o Outside Employment
o Personal Investments
o Use of Government Time
o Behavior On Duty and Off Duty
o Discriminatory Practices
Why Be Ethical?
o What benefits do you receive by
acting ethically?
o Character Counts
o Self-respect
o What benefit does the community
receive?
o Challenges to acting ethically:
Rationalizations
o If it’s necessary, it’s ethical
o If it’s legal, it’s ethical
o I was doing it for you
o I’m just fighting fire with fire
o It doesn’t hurt anyone
o Everyone’s doing it
o It’s okay as long as I don’t gain
personally
How to Be an Ethical Person?
o Do no harm
o Avoid causing physical, mental,
or emotional harm
o Benefit others
o Offer assistance and improve the
lives of others, even if it may inconvenience you
o Be just
o Treat everyone equally or Follow
the Golden Rule
o Be faithful
o Keep promises, tell the truth, be
loyal, and maintain respect and good manners
o Respect autonomy
o Everyone has the right to decide
how they live their lives, as long as they do not interfere with the
welfare of others
Respects Others:
Treat others as ends in themselves and never as a means to ends
o Treat other people’s values and
decisions with respect
o Allow others to be themselves with
creative wants and desires
o Approach others with a sense of
unconditional worth and value individual differences
o Leader behaviors
• Listens closely to subordinates
• Is empathic
• Is tolerant of opposing viewpoints
Serves Others:
Follower-centered - Based on the altruistic principle of placing followers
foremost in the leader’s
plans
o Beneficence - Leaders have a duty
to help others pursue their own legitimate interests and
goals
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o Leaders are stewards of the
organization’s vision; in serving others they: clarify, nurture,
and integrate the vision with, not for, organization members
o Leaders have an ethical
responsibility to make decisions that are beneficial to their
followers’ welfare
o Leader behaviors
• Mentoring behaviors
• Empowerment behaviors
• Team building behaviors
• citizenship behaviors
Shows Justice:
Ethical leaders are concerned with issues of fairness; they place issues of
fairness at the center
of their decision making
o Leader behaviors
• All subordinates are treated in an equal
manner
• In special treatment/special consideration
situations, grounds for differential
treatment are clear, reasonable, and based on sound moral values
Manifests Honesty:
Honest leaders are authentic but also sensitive to the feelings and attitudes of
others
o They are not deceptive
o They tell the truth with a balance of
openness and candor while monitoring what is
appropriate to disclose in a particular situation
o Leader behaviors
• Don’t promise what you can’t deliver
• Don’t suppress obligations
• Don’t evade accountability
• Don’t accept “survival of the fittest”
pressures
• Acknowledge and reward honest behavior in
the organization
Builds Community:
Concern for the common good means leaders cannot impose their will on others;
they search
for goals that are compatible with everyone.
o Concern for others - Is
the distinctive feature that delineates authentic transformational
leaders from pseudo-transformational leaders
o Transformational leaders and
followers reach out beyond their own mutually defined goals
to the wider community
o Leader behaviors
• Takes into account the purposes of
everyone in the group
• Is attentive to interests of the community
and the culture
• Does not force others or ignore the
intentions of others
Leading with Integrity:
“Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things”.
– Peter F. Drucker
“Leadership always comes down to a question of character”.
– Warren Bennis
Key Questions
o What is ethical leadership?
o How do I lead with integrity?
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o What can I do to strengthen the
ethical culture of my organization?
Ethical issues
Power
o The basis for a leader’s influence on
followers
o The more power a leader has, the more likely
that followers will comply with the
leader’s wishes
o The greater a leader’s power, the
greater the potential for abuse
o Corrupting influences of power
o Power may become desired as an end in itself
and be sought at any cost
o Power differences may cause followers to give
the leader false positive feedback and
create an elevated sense of self-worth on the leader
o The leader may devalue followers’ worth and to
avoid regular contact with followers
or mistreat them
o A leader’s failure to acknowledge the ethical
limits of power causes a loss of credibility and
trust and does devastating damage to the leader and his constituency
o Moral standards for a leader’s
behavior
o Should leaders be held to a higher
moral standard?
o we would probably have a shortage of leaders
o we would most likely become disillusioned with
them when they were unable to meet
the higher standards
o Should leaders be held to the same
standards as everyone else, and be expected live up to
those standards.
o Moral consistency
o If leaders’ behavior does not match their
stated values, they will lose the trust of their
followers and colleagues
o a leader’s moral inconsistencies are open to
public scrutiny
o Leaders who do not behave consistently with
their stated ethical values risk being labeled
hypocrites.
o The relationship between ethics and
effectiveness
o Leaders sometimes achieve worthwhile
goals using questionable tactics.
o Existence of a double standard when
judging some leaders.
o Judging a leader as “good” involves complex
assessments of the leader’s achievements and
the means used to reach those achievements.
o Leaders also make moral mistakes that
cause unfortunate consequences, although their
intentions were ethical.
Approaches to Ethical Behavior
o Categorical Imperative -- obligation
ethics. Specifies that individuals should always do what is
right, regardless of the consequences
o Utilitarianism, -- consequential ethics or
ethics of responsibility. Ethical decisions must be based
on their consequences.
o This approach maintains that we
should behave so as to create the greatest good for the
greatest number of people
o Identifying all the relevant
consequences of a decision can be difficult, especially when
leaders represent diverse groups or when their decisions have far reaching
effects
o Altruism
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o Altruistic leaders are concerned for the
welfare of others and their actions are designed to
help others even if it results in a cost to themselves
o Confucius equated altruism with the golden
rule “do unto others as you would have them
do unto you”
o Virtue ethics. The central idea of virtue
ethics is that leaders and other individuals who have high
moral character are most likely to make wise ethical choices in their behavior
and decision making.
o virtues are “deep-rooted dispositions, habits,
skills, or traits of character that incline
persons to perceive, feel and act in ethically right and sensitive ways”
o Advocates of virtue ethics tend to describe
the character traits and qualities of the ideal
leader as an ethical role model.
o Moral Learning. Involves gradual
changes in beliefs, attitudes, values and habits obtained through
prolonged effort by a leader to behave in a just, prudent and truthful manner.
Moral learning is a
process of human development
o a positive process that causes leaders to want
to create benefits for people
o causes leaders to make decisions and act in
accordance with their conscience
o Moral learning focuses on an ethic of
excellence
o teaches leaders to strive for a higher good
and to take the “most ethical” approach, even if it
is costly in terms of the leader’s personal preferences, income, career, or the
welfare of
other stakeholders
o Elements of moral learning
o Leaders must first become sensitive to ethical
problems.
o Leaders must also become competent in making
moral judgments
o Leaders must be motivated to behave ethically
and to make ethical decisions
o Leaders must be willing to take moral action
o Sources of moral learning
o role models
o hardships
o a value driven mission
Ethics Management Tools
o Exemplary leadership
o Ethics training
o Codes & Oaths
o Audits
Ethical Leaders
o Are ethical role models
o Sustain an ethical climate that
creates trust
o Promote the ethical development of
their subordinates
o Ethics Training
o Types
_ Compliance training
_ Values training
o Effectiveness
o Codes
o Implement codes of conduct.
Ethics - Where to Start? A Code of Ethics
Types of Codes of Ethics:
o Two Basic Types
o Compliance Based
o Integrity Based
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Qualities of Leadership
o Two Goods
o Morally Good.
o Technically Good.
o Self-knowledge.
o Self-control.
o Confidence.
o Charisma.
o Consistency.
o Effectiveness.
o Humility.
Leadership is a process whereby an individual inspires a group to achieve a
common goal by the power
of their integrity and wisdom.
Becoming a Wise and Ethical Leader
o Read, Read, and Read
o Think broadly and deeply about ethics
o Set an appropriate ethical example
o Make serving others (not your career)
your top priority
o Lead from trust and respect, not
power & authority
o Delegation and shared responsibility
o Listen to and facilitate others
o Find a mentor and be a mentor
o Bottom Line
o Are your people growing as effective
leaders themselves?
Creating an Ethical Climate
o The ethical climate of an
organization is the shared perceptions among organizational
members of the organization’s policies, practices and procedures regarding
ethical
behavior.
o Specific actions by leaders also
contribute to this ethical climate.
o Role modeling
_ Emphasize visible behaviors
and include demonstrations of how to implement
specific values.
o Directive behavior
_ clearly specify ethical
policies and practices through organizational codes of ethics,
continuing education and training on ethical issues,
_ implement internal ethics
committees to respond to employees’ concerns and
questions
_ insure regular coverage of
ethical issues in the company communications
o Contingent reward and punishment
behaviors
_ reward individuals and groups
who accomplish goals by acting in ways that are
consistent with organizational values
_ identify and reward
organizational citizenship behaviors
o altruistic behavior – going out of
their way to help other employees
o conscientiousness –doing a better job
than expected
o courtesy –giving advance notice of
upcoming projects
o civic virtue –regular attendance and
active participation in meetings
o sportsmanship –not complaining and
not making mountains out of mole
hills
o discipline employees who fail to
adhere to company values
o Participative leader behavior
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_ ethical leaders provide forums
for dialogue and discussion of ethical assumptions
and practices in the organization
o understanding different ethical
approaches helps people assess their own
and others’ behavior, and knowingly select ethical courses of action
o discussing sound ethical actions or
decisions can also provide useful
reference points for organizational members
o involving followers in discussions of
real ethical incidents in the
organization encourages everyone to examine organizational responses and
processes and makes ethical assumptions and approaches clearer to
everyone involved
The number one rule - which is commonly echoed in all management courses - is:
“Lead by example.”
To create an ethical team/organization every member need to make sure the
compliance of ethical
behavior but main responsibility rest on leader to exhibit ethics and also make
sure that others do the
same. |
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