Chapter 5: Ethics and Leadership

Question 1

Leadership ethics

Answer 1

the study of ethics applied to organizational leaders, examines the goals of organizations, organizational values, and the behaviour and misbehaviour of leaders.

Question 2

we need to recognize the two clear schools of thought surrounding the notion of ethical leadership.

Answer 2

The first is steeped in philosophy whereby the notion of the leaders, who are imbued with ethics, act as a driver of ethical conduct in the organization (This view is about ‘having’ ethics)

The other notion of ethical leadership is more transactional in nature and derived from the behavioural sciences whereby ethical leadership’s sole purpose is to provide conditions for organizational success (This view is about managing ethics.)

Question 3

Some of the primary philosophical approaches to ethics

Answer 3

1) utilitarianism,
2) deontology,
3) philosophical egoism,
4) ethics of virtue and
6) ethics of responsibility

Question 4

Utilitarianism (aka ‘consequentialism’)

Answer 4

forward looking

Under the banner of utilitarianism, the right or wrong of actions and behaviours are directly assessed against potential consequences and whether those consequences prescribe to the basic consequentialist principles of the greatest good for the greatest number, or the ends justify the means

Question 5

Deontology (aka Kantianism)

Answer 5

backward or present looking

To this point, it is not the consequences of an action that make it ethical, but whether the action was simply the right thing to do. Actions that mislead, conceal fraudulent behaviours or misinform are unable to be morally justified by their motivations

Question 6

Philosophical egoism

Answer 6

focuses on the beliefs of reality through a social lens. Where leadership is constructed through social rules, people will follow if it avoids punishment (Dion, 2012). Social acceptability of behaviour is paramount to achieving one’s self-interest, and therefore social approval directs the moral path

Question 7

Virtue ethics:

Answer 7

it is the system of beliefs that take precedence, rather than behaviours. Virtues may be moral (courage, justice and prudence) or intellectual (i.e. wisdom)

Question 8

Ethics of responsibility:

Answer 8

while there are some differences between exact viewpoints surrounding this framework, the key understanding is that everyone is responsible for themselves through an open set of possibilities . It is right to assume that others also have their own self-responsibility orientating their conduct according to their own parameters of truth.

Question 9

Reflecting on these brief definitions of primary philosophical approaches, it can be seen that ethics concern

Answer 9

the morality of outcomes, the morality of process, social expectations, self-expectations and the ‘truth’ according to the decision maker.

Question 10

leadership models to capture those components that promote ethical behaviour

Answer 10

Mainstream models include authentic leadership, transformational leadership, charismatic leadership and servant leadership

Question 11

application of an ‘ethical prism’ to authentic leadership traits

Answer 11

whereby authenticity refers to integrity and sincerity, which are considered virtuous and by implication connected to virtue ethics

Question 12

transformational leadership

Answer 12

include influence or charisma, inspiration and stimulation of others in their definition

Question 13

Servant leadership

Answer 13

reported to have evolved through ethics and altruism in response to a recognized need for communal leadership

Question 14

authentic leader criticism

Answer 14

may be true to their own values, these values may be inclined toward selfish or bad behaviour

The potential for destructive outcomes for those whose values do not align with the leaders

Question 15

transformational and charismatic leaders criticism

Answer 15

may certainly have ethical, virtuous or moralistic drivers, the association with ethical leadership must be questioned in all leadership models on a case-by-case basis

Question 16

Resick et al. (2006) and DuBrin (2015)

Answer 16

identified the dimensions of ethical leadership to include ‘character and integrity’, ‘ethical awareness’, ‘people orientation’ (including altruism), ‘motivating’, ‘empowering’ and ‘accountable’.

along with many others, included integrity, trustworthiness, honesty and empathy in the mix

Question 17

For Engelbrecht et al. (2017),

Answer 17

trust and integrity constructs act to influence followers, leading to higher levels of engagement and outcomes for the organization

Question 18

As for leadership ethics, Ciulla and Forsyth argue that

Answer 18

‘The moral foible people fear most in leaders is personal immorality accompanied by abuse of power’

Question 19

organization’s culture

Answer 19

defined by the actions, behaviours and values of senior leaders.

Question 20

An ethical leader

Answer 20

promotes the confidence of employees, leading not only to improved worker engagement as an outcome of a leader trust relationship

Question 21

corporate social responsibility (CSR)

Answer 21

defined as a self-regulating business model that helps an organization be socially accountable to its employees, shareholders and society.

Question 22

‘millennials’

Answer 22

(born between the 1980s and early 2000s)