Leadership, Trustworthiness and Ethical Stewardship

1199 Words3 Pages

Given the increase in organizational downsizings, layoffs, asset write-offs and executive bailouts, how important is the trust factor in defining a good leader? Without an established trust relationship a leader is unable to be effective. The problem to be investigated is the value of trustworthiness and ethical stewardship in the construct of the organizational leadership model. This paper shall explore the co-functions of trust and ethical stewardship and its impact on leadership effectiveness.

Introduction

In 2012, there is very little allegiance or loyalty among organizational members. This is partly due to the recent increase in corporate scandals and the outsourcing of many jobs to foreign countries. Once upon a time in America, one could work a job and retire on that same job after twenty-five or thirty years. The days of working longevity and retiring from the same job are pretty much history. Because of this, organizational members have become distrustful of management. Covey realized that “low trust is the first chronic problem that all organizations face” (Covey, 2004, p. 107). This lack of trust undermines employee commitment and impairs wealth creation (Caldwell et al., 2010, p. 497). This paper will explore and discuss the value of trust and ethical stewardship and its impact on leadership effectiveness.

Trust and Ethical Stewardship

According to Ingenhoff and Sommer, “there is a confusing variety of different definitions

of trust” (Ingenhoff and Sommer, 2010, p. 340). Most logical people will never follow a leader that they do not trust- morally, ethically or intellectually. The author feels that a leader should be moral, ethical and intellectually knowledgeable of the subject m...

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...ess, and ethical stewardship. Journal of Business Ethics, 96 (4), 497-512. Doi:10.1007/s10551-010-0489-y

Covey, S. (2004). The 8th habit: From effectiveness to greatness New York: Free Press

Friedman, M. (1970). The social responsibility of business is to increase its profits.

New York Times, New York, NY. pp 32-33,122-124, 126. Retrieved from: http://www.colorado.edu/studentgroups/libertarians/issues/friedman-soc-resp-business.html

Ingenhoff, D. & Sommer, K. (2010). Trust in companies and in CEOs: A comparative study of the Main influences. Journal of Business Ethics, 95 (3), 339-355. Doi:10.1007/s10551-010-0363-y

Jennings, M. (2012). Ethical Theory, Philosophical Foundations, Our Reasoning Flaws and Types of Ethical Dilemmas In R. Dewey (Ed.), Business ethics; Case studies and selected readings (pp. 34-37). Mason, OH; South-Western Cengage Learning.

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