CPD 410 Learning and Actions
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School
Old Dominion University *
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Course
410
Subject
Philosophy
Date
Feb 20, 2024
Type
Pages
9
Uploaded by jlitz002
Learning and Actions Paper
1
Learning and Actions
Jacob Litzenberg
Old Dominion University
CPD 410: Leadership Ethics
Professor Garrett Shelton
December 4, 2023
Learning and Actions Paper
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Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to review the information that has been covered in this
course (CPD 410: Leadership Ethics) and how I will take the information and transform it into
practice. In half of the paper, I will take some time to educate you on my significant learnings,
and in the back half, I will reserve to share specific action plans on what I will do with those
learnings.
Learning and Actions Paper
3
What I have learned in CPD 410
In just a blink of an eye, we are reaching the end of our 7 weeks together enrolled in CPD
410: Leadership Ethics under the helm of Professor Garrett Shelton ODU Chief of Police. I have
to admit I was curious going into the course not sure what I would gain from taking the course.
The course is described in Banner
as how ethical principles can be used to guide effective
leadership practices. Students will gain an understanding of how ethical principles in the
workplace have developed over time. They will also explore the connections between individual
ethics and workplace behaviors, in addition to leadership strategies that promote ethical
behavior by workers.
In week 1 of the course, we were asked how we would define leadership. I wrote the
following response:
To simply put I would define leadership as one's ability to lead others.
Leadership generally is someone in a position with authority over an individual(s). Leadership
for me is also someone who is a visionary and has the ability to help grow you and other peers
and colleagues. Whether that be a staff team or coaching little league sports leadership can take
many different forms.
This was such a simple question but I loved the conversation it provoked
and engaged amongst fellow peers. I learned from this discussion that leadership has so many
different meanings to everyone. Pushing into week 2 we were engaged in discussing how our
morals impact leadership. During this week we discussed and learned about Kohlberg’s six
stages of moral development and three levels. The three levels consist of Pre-Conventional,
Conventional, and Post-Conventional. These stages help us to understand our own moral
reasoning and our sphere or influence surrounding each stage as we progress from childhood to
adolescence. Additionally, we were introduced to a lecture by Dr. Keith Ng regarding ethical
Learning and Actions Paper
4
principles in business and how to think and manage ethically. This was a lecture we referenced
on multiple occasions particularly to review various leadership ethic theories and how they relate
to moral reasoning. Carrying on into week 3 was perhaps when my favorite topic of this course
was introduced. We were introduced to the term “mensch”. I believe I speak for the majority of
the class when I say this was a new term I was not previously familiar with. I described a mensch
in our week 3 discussion board as:
A Mensch, in simplistic terms is a good person. A mensch is a
term that refers to someone who is generally kind and considerate. Further, if you are titled with
this term you are expected to act with honor and integrity. Often those that are coined as a
mensch are motivated by a sense of values. A mensch should be someone you admire and look up
to.
I learned also through fellow peers that a mensch is a Yiddish term and comes from Jewish
descent also. Further, I learned a mensch is someone who has passed through all of Kohlberg’s
six stages of moral development and has made predetermined decisions to live according to their
principles and values. Some examples of a mensch would be Mother Theresa, Jesus, and
Confucius. It seems that the term mensch is the aspiration of what mankind was meant to
develop into. We are social beings and the fruit of our interactions and relationships are the
keystone of humanity (The JC, 2015). In week 4 we were extremely blessed to have some time
to work on all of our end-of-the-year assignments. Jumping into the week of Thanksgiving,
Week 5, I love how the course aligned with a discussion on gratitude and resilience. It is no
surprise that as leaders we are often faced with challenges and unexpected complications from
time to time. It is easy for us to react negatively, but in week 5 we learned the importance of
turning to gratitude during these difficult times and displaying resilience as a leader. Some of my
favorite learnings from this week came from simple highlights from a document on resiliency
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