(H) Ethics in leadership Flashcards
definition ethics
greek word ethos which meas conduct, customs or character
Ethics is about the values and morals found desirable or appropriate by individual or society. also concerns person virtuousness and his/her motives. theory of ethics stems on system of rules that guide us to make decisions based on what is right and what wrong in certain situations.
ethic in leadership perspective
is about who leaders are and what they do. ethical issues are always somehow involved in decision making
Theory that describes how people think about the moral issues, created by Kohlberg’s stages of moral development. this classification system of moral reasoning has 6 stages (name them):
Level 1 Pre-conventional Morality -Stage 1 Obedience and punishment -Stage 2 Individualism and exchange Level 2 Conventional Morality -Stage 3 Interpersonal accord -Stage 4 Maintaining the social order Level 3 Post-conventional Morality -Stage 5 Social contract and individual rights -Stage 6 Universal principles
describe Kohlberg’s stages of moral development
level 1:
Level 1 Pre-conventional Morality : judging morality of an action by its direct consequences
- Stage 1 Obedience and punishment: individual is egocentric and sees morality as external to self. rules are followed to avoid punishment
- Stage 2 Individualism and exchange: individual makes moral decisions based on self-interest. do not adhere to community but are willing to exchange favors
describe Kohlberg’s stages of moral development
level 2:
Level 2 Conventional Morality: judging morality of actions by comparing society’s views and expectations
- Stage 3 Interpersonal accord: coices are based on conforming to others expectations, and trying to behave as a ‘ good person’
- Stage 4 Maintaining the social order: decisions are made in ways to show concern for society. For society as a function, its important to obey laws, respect authority and community rules
describe Kohlberg’s stages of moral development
level 3:
Level 3 Post-conventional Morality: people have developed their own set of ethics and morals that guide their behavior
- Stage 5 Social contract and individual rights: decision based on his/her views of what a good society should be, such as one supporting values of liberty or fair procedures for changing laws. However they recognize that other people might have different opinion
- Stage 6 Universal principles: moral reasoning based on internalized universal principles of justice that apply to everyone. decisions made need to respect the viewpoints of alle parties involved
ethical theories can fall into two main categories:
- theories about character of leader
- theories about conduct of leader
ethical theories about the conduct of the leader subdivided
subdivided in 2 categories:
- emphasize the duty which governs the action of leaders
- theories that emphasize the consequences on the actions of the leader
teleological theories
want to answer ethical questions by looking at whether the conduct/behavior lead to desired consequences. so consequences of actions of an individual decide whether particular behavior is good or bad
To asses consequences of conduct/behavior, three approaches exits regarding moral conduct:
- ethical egoism: person needs to act in a way to create greatest good for him/herself, thus high concern for self-interest and low concern of others interest
- Utilitarianism: person should behave in a way to create the greatest good for greatest amount of people, thus medium concern for self an for interest others
- Altruism: actions of person are moral if their primary purpose is to serve best interest of other people, so low self-interest and high concern for others interest. Authentic leadership is built on this principle.
deontological theories
determines if action is ethical, not only looking at its consequences, but if the action itself is good as well. Morality of a leader’s action is key here, occurs when leader had moral right to perform these actions, if these actions further the moral rights of others, and if these do not infringe on the rights of others
Virtue-based theories
looks at ethics assessing character of leader. virtues lie in heart of individual person, and in the disposition of the individual. believed that person can learn these virtues
virtue theories are currently gaining popularity again, view that more attention needs to be given to the training and development of moral values. instead of telling people what to do, people should be helped on how to become virtuous.
essence of virtue based ethics is being/becoming good person, and although it can be learned, many are already persen in one’s disposition
Heifetz’s perspective on ethical leadership
made observations and analyses on high amount of world leaders. created unique approach to ethical leadership, emphasizes how leaders help their followers to confront and address conflict by effecting changes.
leaders need to use authority to mobilize people to face tough issues and changes. authority to make people pay attention to issue. also provide a holding environment where followers feel there is empathy, trust and nurturance
Burns’s perspective on ethical leadership
theory on transformational leadership places strong emphasis on morals, values and follower needs. about importance of leader to engage with followers, and help followers in their personal stuggle, this connection wil raise morality level in both
so leader responsible to help followers asses their own needs and values to progress to higher level of morality.
Burns unique perspective as it makes ethics characteristic of leadership process
-many criticism, how to decide what better set of morals, is leadership of corrupt leaders actually leadership, if it does not raise moral functioning of an individual,
