Ethical Leadership Paper

Top executives within an organization exercise their due diligence to find the most effective and ethical leader to enhance the company. However, time after time organizations will uncover an ugly truth, that not all leaders, and employees alike have the best intentions and consistently behavior ethical. Ferrell, Fraedrich & Ferrell (2013), examines the scenario in which Warren Buffett discovered a leader for one of his conglomerate businesses, David Sokol acted unethically (p. 138). This leads to question whether Buffet was too trustworthy or should he be more intentional on making his leaders adhere to ethical compliance? In short, the answer to that question is “ that ethical leadership includes role modeling through visible actions,

Toxic Leadership is a legitimate problem that severely affects the ability of a unit to accomplish its mission in garrison or combat. The Army is a flexible and adaptable organization trained to fight and win our nation’s wars against a complex, ever-changing enemy, however quite often the greatest enemy often comes from within. Consequently, leaders who look out for themselves rather than for the welfare of the Soldiers or unit, as Ulmer (2012) stated, “…are unconcerned about, or oblivious to, staff or troop morale and/or climate. They are seen by the majority of subordinates as arrogant, self-serving, inflexible, and petty.” (p. 48). They leave a unit with low morale, poor esprit de corps, and a degraded ability to accomplish its mission.

Ethics is the most important thing that helps us to become professional leaders. To begin with, we define ethics as the way how one should act (normative ethics), how to choose the right things to do, and how we can implement these choices (descriptive ethics), and studies the way that human beings should properly live. It is also referred to morality, and it is the aspect of ethics that we refer to as personal integrity. We can interpret ethics by asking ourselves how we should act and what person should I be, and what should I do. Being an ethical leader is the most important thing in our lives and in management when I hopefully become the manager of my own company. There are a certain number of ways of how I will get into the habit of making ethical decisions to demonstrate ethical leadership and I will be using five of those characteristics. Firstly, I should treat people fairly and justly as a leader. I will treat them equally, and based on their roles or character, gender, etc. Secondly, I should give respect to all my customers and employees. In this situation, I will be kind to them

Ethics are significant for all people, especially for someone in a leadership role. Frequently, some leaders turn to immoral and unethical behaviors and decisions. Defining and applying an ethical decision to a difficult situation can make a huge difference between positive and negative consequences for organizations (University of Oklahoma College of Liberal Arts, n.d.). Ethics in Leadership offers a general idea of applied ethics related to leadership situations in society and organizations. For a leader, it is a challenge to exercise power wisely, without unnecessary selfishness and keeping moral integrity. The study of ethics allows individuals to examine and view ethical issues from several prospectives, identify the problem for a better understanding, and to practice ethical thinking in developing a useful solution (University of Oklahoma College of Liberal Arts,

A type of ethical leadership is servant leadership. It takes the focus off of the individual leader. It is defined as “helping others to accomplish shared objectives by facilitating individual development, empowerment, and collective work that is consistent with the health and long-term welfare of followers” (Yukl, 2013, p. 348). By shifting the focus off of one’s self and showing this kind of care for subordinates, a leader can motivate, inspire trust, and increase job satisfaction. As long as a leader remains humble, transparent, and focused on the shared vision for the team, then he/she can positively influence an organization with this leadership style.

Ethical leadership and ethical decision making are a challenge for any organization or institution. Within your professional area/industry, analyze how and why ethical practices and behaviors are critical to your discipline and to the success of organizations. Justify your response in detail with three examples of current ethical practices and discuss the key theoretical concepts and industry guidelines involved. These examples can be from your own professional experience or through research of the literature of case studies. Support your statements and analyses with citations and other support from the academic literature.

It is vital that leaders lead by example this will give them credibility and set the tone for the entire organization. When leaders are inconsistent in doing this they send mix messages and are not effective in creating an environment that promotes ethical behavior. When we view the behavior of our leaders as poor there is a sense of mimicking what is observed consequently the students that we serve will view the unethical behavior that we display in our classes and it becomes a never ending cycle. It is imperative that leaders take the initiative to ensure the people in the organization are following the appropriate behavior that is exemplified by the

The research of Thomas W. H. Ng and Daniel C. Feldman provides quantitative data, which validates the effectiveness of Ethical Leadership through the meta-analysis of 101 ethical leadership related studies conducted over the last 15 years. Somewhat in nascent form, Ethical Leadership (Ng & Feldman, 2015) is viewed as conduct predicated on exhibiting positive role mode actions while promoting moral member conduct through collaboration, communication, and reinforcing behavior (Ng & Feldman, 2015). Leaders who employ EL are considered to weigh their ethical values significantly during their transactions with assigned team members. Furthermore, EL also suggests there is a correlation between how well a leader assess their own values and beliefs prior to exercising referent and reward power behavior.

A recent study conducted in 2010 among UK and some European companies, revealed that the most prominent ethical issues to organisations includes harassment, bribery, corruption and facilitation payments, and whistle blowing (Wesley et al. 2011). Thus, it is important that ethics must indeed embark from the top. Leaders cannot escape from their responsibility to establish a moral example for their followers. The ethical actions and behaviour of top management have to be consistent with their teaching, otherwise formal ethical training and codes are bound to have a slim chance of success. The outcome of organisational goals is dependent on the leader’s

The results of article two showed that whistle blowing is impacted strongly by ethical leadership behavior. Results showed that moral intensity of issues was moderated by the relationship between leader-member exchange (LMX) and ethical leadership as related to whistle blowing.

Ethics and Leadership Webster's Dictionary defines ethics as "the principles of conduct governing an individual…" Some ethical issues arise in more than one context. One of the ethical themes is the treatment of vulnerable people. Social work, nursing, and even the military all interact with people on a daily basis who have some sort of an expectation or dependence on their leadership and behavior. The workers in these fields make decisions that directly affect or influence the lives of other people. This is a huge responsibility that must be taken seriously.

For an effective and long term success for managers in leadership position, managers have to set an example with high moral standards and conduct that is shown in their daily activities. This kind of leadership qualities must be exerted in their everyday talk, actions, and conduct in the work environment. Today, there’s more demand to be more progressive and efficient in the work place with no room for error (Veiga, Golden, & Dechant, 2004). Also, there has been an increase in consciousness about an individual’s rights, bring in the concern about an employees’ treatment within a jobsite. Issues of ethical and moral conduct of leadership are being scrutinized more than ever before (Veiga et al., 2004).

that organizations should strengthen their ethical leadership behaviors by selecting leaders who will be able to gain the trust of employees to gain a fair perception about the company (Xu, 2014, p. 495). They should do this by continuously practicing their ethical codes and procedures and hire leaders with high moral standards (Xu, 2014, p. 500).

“A leader is the man who has the ability to get other people to do what they don't want to do, and like it.” Harry Truman’s words illustrate the importance of obedience to leaders. Members of the military are told what to do everyday; some of those soldiers disagree with their orders Does that mean they abandon the mission and possibly risk lives? No, they put aside their values and do what they are told. Soldiers past and present discard values to follow orders because they are taught to obey their superiors commands,and to disobey an order means the chain of command may collapse.

Ethical Leadership is the process of motivating employees through values, principles and beliefs that significantly border on the conventional norms in the organization. It reflects the dimensions of organizational leadership; conduct and culture with the chief responsibility of leading the organization by making ethical decisions that fundamentally influence the attitudes and interactions of employees. The core function of ethical leadership is to create codes and doctrines that motivate employees and build their trust. These leaders are in tune with the needs and aspirations of their employee, therefore they easily gains trust and respect from the followers. They help those around them feel a sense of pride in their work by recognizing the unique contributions that each individual team member makes toward the entity as a whole and they inspire others by giving them a clear vision towards a purpose or a goal and support them as they realize their own accomplishment. Ethical leadership focuses on moral value and fairness in decision making as well as considering how the decisions, affect employees whether positively or negatively as well as how the decisions will impact the organization. As a result, leaders constantly make efforts that incorporate moral principles in their behavior and be perceived as approachable persons of good moral standing, with a genuine concern for the welfare of employees.