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The importance of ethics in leadership
Ethics and leadership in business
Diversity and ethical leadership
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In the business world these days, we must take into consideration many factors in becoming successful individually and as a team. One major important factor I’ll be talking about is how ethics influence leadership. How I value the importance of having good ethics, my leadership experiences in life, and how I will apply these values in my future career.
Today we live in such a diverse environment, which means we are surrounded by a lot of different culture, ethnicity, and religion. To become a successful leader you must learn to deal with the differences, one could possess and practice a code of ethics which should include valuable guidelines of principles. Knowing wrong from right; basically sums up what ethic is really all about. Kenneth R. Andrews, in Ethics in Practice (March 1989), “Contends that there are three aspects to ethical behavior in organizations: the development of the individual as an ethical person, the effect of the organization as an ethical or unethical environment, and the actions or procedures developed by the organization to encourage ethical behavior and discourage unethical behavior.” (n.p.) I believe that if you understand, apply, and educate others about the value of morals, honesty, and having good ethics, you’ll become a better leader in all aspect of life.
When I was a manager for my prior company I worked for, I had an assistant. My assistant’s name was Michael; he was three times my age. One day, we had a young African American female customer come in and applied for a loan, Michael assisted her with the paper work, and kindly denied her for the loan. As I manager, I overviewed the young lady’s loan application and found that she was actually qualified for a loan, and so I confronted Michael...
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... how to solve an issue or preventing an issue, comes with the knowledge of knowing what is right and what is wrong, and since we’re dealing with different cultures in our civilization these days, people have different prospective on things, so it’s important to understand and to keep an open-mind at all times because with time passing; things change, acknowledging all the differences is a great key in becoming a successful leader in today’s business world!
Works Cited
National Defense University in, Strategic Leadership and Decision Making (p.15) http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/ndu/strat-ldr-dm/refer.html
Kenneth R. Andrews, in Ethics in Practice (March 1989) (n.p.)
UOK, Values & Ethics Code(p. 4) http://getinvolved.uky.edu/Leadership/pdf/Values%20and%20Ethics.pdf
Management Study (2011)
http://www.managementstudyguide.com/leadership-ethics.htm
To apply this system of moral values effectively, one must understand the structural levels at which ethical dilemmas occur, who is involved in the dilemmas, and how a particular decision will affect them. In addition, one must consider how to formulate possible courses of action. Failing in any of these three areas may lead to an ineffective decision, resulting in more pain than cure.” Ken Blanchard states, “Many leaders don’t operate ethically because they don’t understand leadership; these executives may have MBA’s from Ivey League schools or have attended leadership training; they may routinely read the best-selling management books, however, they don’t understand what it means to be a leader.” They don’t model a way of ethical behaviors.
The importance of ethical leadership is emphasised in theories of ethical leadership such as transformation theories which seek to raise the consciousness of followers by appealing to ideals and moral values rather than to materialistic desires or negative emotions such as fear and jealousy; Servant leadership theory which explains why the primary concern of the leaders should be to nurture, develop, and protect followers; Spiritual leadership theory which explains how leaders can enhance the spiritual meaning in the work experienced by followers; Authentic leadership theory which describes an ideal leader whose behavior is guided by strong positive values, (Yukl, 2010). In addition, all these theories emphasise the importance of leadership
Looking at the first word in ethical leadership we see, as stated in the Webster-Merriam dictionary, ethical is defined as “following accepted rules of behavior: morally right and good”. When we think of someone who is ethical we, first, think of someone who ‘follows the rules’. By following the rules I mean someone who in the eyes of the majority is morally sound. Having strong morals is what I believe the key is to an ethical person. On the other side of the definition of ethical is defining it as having inside oneself the desire to do what’s right over what is wrong. When we speak about someone who is ethical this desire is one that is not dependent on external forces i.e. no one can sway an ethical person’s mindset.
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German Philosopher, Immanuel Kant once said, “In law a man is guilty when he violates the rights of others. In ethics he is guilty if he only thinks of doing so” (1800). The word ethics refers to “character” and “conduct” (Northouse, 2015, p. 330). It is deeply “concerned with the virtuousness of individuals and their motives” and “the kinds of values and morals an individual or a society finds desirable or appropriate” (Northouse, 2015, p. 330). Thus, “in regards to leadership, ethics is concerned with what leaders do and who leaders are” (Northouse, 2015, p. 330). Ethics in leadership allows leaders to make decisions regarding what is virtuous or not in a situation. All throughout the history of American government, difficult decisions have been made and the fight for ethics has always been “implicitly or explicitly involved” (Northouse, 2015, p. 330).
Thus make being an ethical leader slightly harder than a normal ethical person. So, we must take a deep interest in this topic. Having to know the traits that describe ethical or unethical leadership will make us more careful in acting as a leader, or choosing someone as a leader. Of course we don’t want an unethical leadership or being an unethical leadership. Because the effects or consequences is not only on us, but to others, especially those who work under the
The learnings of culture with in organisations were influential in my coaching performance. At the time I started to study culture and diversity of leadership I had culture difficulties at my current place of work as a high level coach. We had recently hired a new male coach who would work alongside me to coach our senior athletes.
“Good leaders develop ideas. Great leaders develop people. The best leaders develop new leaders”, these are the words that were quoted by one of my teachers in high school who influenced and taught me some of the essential lessons in regards with being a good and effective leader. I always remember this saying every time I am working in a group or if I am given a task to lead a team. I’ve been involved in a lot of group activities in the past wherein I’ve witnessed a lot of group relationship that inspired me as well as taught me of the do’s and don’ts when it comes to leading people and getting along with your groupmates. Based from these practical learning experiences, I believe that I still have a lot of things that I need to learn and skills
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
With so many constant changes today with different generations, legal and political circumstances and ever-changing and improving technology sources, organizations have new and recurring issues arising every single day. The reasons for these issues vary widely and develop because of so many different situations. The outcome of the situation depends on many factors including the issue at hand, the management style and the ethics of the organization to simply name a few. These outcomes can certainly make or break an organization if not handled appropriately. The issue I have found to be the most significant is leadership. Within leadership, there is the opportunity for many issues in itself.
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
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