The objective of this essay is to critically evaluate why followers and public give too much credit or blame to leaders for organisational outcomes. The content of this essay comprises an analysis of what makes leaders effective and how followers view the leaders’ influence on organisational outcomes. I will discuss a number of theories (attribution, contingency, initiation and consideration) and examples of leaders from international organisations; including James Burke Chief Executive Officer of Johnson and Johnson and Tony Hayward Chief Executive Officer of British Petroleum (BP). These leaders influenced their employees, the public and world media and were subjected to credit or blame. An effective leader is one who achieves …show more content…
My argument is not that ethical leaders are more effective as leaders, merely that followers appreciate leaders that are ethical in their approach; thus increasing trust in leaders. We want our leaders to be trustworthy, transparent and forthright, with the ability to know if they are not. During the Tylenol tampering scandal at Johnson and Johnson (1982) where seven people died, CEO James Burke and his team led a company culture that admitted the problem and set out to rectify it. He did not wait for the problem to fade away or just react to regional problems. He launched a Public Relations (PR) campaign and recalled several products whilst remaining calm and in control under the spotlight. He launched a further recall in 1986 costing Johnson and Johnson more than $200 million, when one person died after ingesting a capsule laced with cyanide (Yang, 2007). By doing so, James retained employee and customer loyalty. His achievement was of dealing with a crisis; he did not know cyanide was being planted into bottles, nevertheless he dealt with it. He remained trustworthy, transparent and engendered confidence. As an example, whilst at Johnson and Johnson, had James used questionable means for the success of the business, the organisation and the public would probably have forgiven him, following his conduct in the Tylenol tampering scandal. Not because they eventually forgot, but due to the importance in which
Managers and leaders do not welcome crises because they don't realize that problems and crisis if handled with intelligence become an opportunity for the company. The purpose of writing this paper to discuss the case of "Johnson & Johnson" that became a hero in the eyes of public (Rehak, 2002) and gained their market share back with the help of their effective public relations plan. They accomplished this by making good relations with public and by proving how much they were concerned about the safety of their consumers.
Leaders are expected to act consistently with their vision and the values they advocate to their team. If a leader’s words or actions are contrary to the values they expect in others, they will be faced with cynicism and contempt. Followers expect their leader to act in their best interests, putting their welfare before their own. An ethical leader is honest, open and truthful to their followers. When leaders lose this trust, their followers will quickly disregard them.
Mostly, how ethics produce effective leaders will stress how good leadership is impossible without ethics. Throughout this paper, the reader will develop an understanding of what is personally required to
Ethical leadership surrounds the idea that there are behaviours which are accepted as “good” or “bad” and that leaders can base their views and styles on these behaviours. There have been many cases throughout history of highly ethical leaders and some very unethical leader. An example of an ethical leader would be Abraham Lincoln for his ideals to abolish slavery as a leader even facing opposition.
A week after the poisonings, Tylenol’s market share fell from 34 percent to 4 percent (Marketing Fact Book, n.d., as cited in Raeburn, 1982). Sales were sharply declining. Although the company had emergency plans for incidents such as plant fires, Johnson and Johnson had no specific crisis communication plan. Nothing like this had ever happened to Johnson and Johnson or any other company. Johnson and Johnson would need to react quickly in order to preserve the company’s reputation and maintain Tylenol’s market share. This paper will show how Johnson and Johnson responded to the tampering crisis and what other companies can learn from their actions.
The company must act by performing good deeds” (EMAN 630, slide 9). It was obvious that Johnson and Johnson did more than talking but performed good deed, such as keeping communication channel open to the public, engaging media profession, aiding police and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in locating the responsible party, and dealing with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) (Johnson and Johnson’s Tylenol scare, n.d). Tylenol crisis has demonstrated how effective public relations are in time of organizational difficulties, challenges or
In generally, ethical leadership means that the leaders organized their company to a better performance ethically. Ethical leader need both knowledge and strong knowledge. Strong ethical leader must have the right kind of integrity and can make decision and lead ethically. Ethical leader is able to make the consideration and discussion of ethics or ethical questions and issues part of the culture of the group, organizations and initiative. Besides, ethical leader are ethical all the time, they’re ethical over time, proving again and again that ethics are an integral part of the
Johnson & Johnson used authoritarian decision making to proactively alert the consumer of the error. Retailers, doctors, and the public were immediately alerted about the deaths and the situation that was at hand (Kochanny, 2015). Johnson & Johnson management was forced to pull 31 million bottles nationwide costing more than $100 million was swiftly pulled from shelves; in addition, they inspected factories where the product was manufactured (Kochanny, 2015). In essence, the leadership at Johnson & Johnson responded quickly and effectively to the crisis. The way leadership handled the response save the organization from the damage that was brought upon them. Johnson & Johnson took a very dramatic, yet effective leadership approach that did not attempt to mask the problem, which allowed the organization to rebrand
James Burke quickly assembled a seven-person team and informed them that their top priority was “how to ensure safety” and once that was taken care of then “how to save the Tylenol brand”. This crisis was the first time Johnson & Johnson started to proactively engage the media and help write the story of what was actually occurring. Johnson & Johnson chose to recall all Tylenol products nationally, stopped production and media and issued statements broadly to warn the country of the immediate dangers. The issue was identified as product tampering after the product had shipped to the retailers. The Tylenol capsules had been laced with significant amounts of
At the end of the day, the best explanation for fostering an ethical behavior is not a difficult one, but an encouraging approach by the leaders of the organization (Mullane 2009). Ethical behavior is essential and must be reflected in the leaders and shaped by those they led. Ethics-based approaches to leadership believes that the leader is not always the one with all the knowledge. Such an approach believes that the followers are just as important as the leader and that the followers should be the main focus and encouraged. Ethics-based approaches believe the leader should put aside his or her personal interests. The following pages will review some perspectives regarding ethical leadership.
Ethical leaders espouse moral values, altruism, civic virtue, good citizenship behavior and conscientiousness both in their personal and professional lives. They imbibe the same core values in their followers. They demonstrate moral judgement in their decision making process, influenced by the long term interest of the stake holders. Also ethical leaders hold their followers accountable for their conduct and establish a reward and vicarious learning process for ethical conducts
The Tylenol tampering incident that occurred in the early 1980’s set off a nationwide panic once the news hit the wires. This was at a time long before the Internet and even before 24 hour news networks. This was an example of true “breaking news”. People became frantic, checking medicine cabinets and calling family and friends, warning them of the cyanide in the capsules. Johnson & Johnson, the parent company, was instrumental in contacting the media channels, providing them with details and facts about the poisoning. What Johnson & Johnson did was not only admirable, but an important part of the rebuilding trust with the consumer. The company made the immediate decision to be proactive by being truthful and getting out in front of the
Plato once asked whether you would rather be "an unethical person with a good reputation or an ethical person with a reputation for injustice." Ethical leadership has long been a debate in regards to its importance and place in the universal business world.
Leaders who are ethical are people-oriented, and also aware of how their decisions impact others, and use their social power to serve the greater good instead of self-serving interests.
In order to be a successful ethical leader there are many activities that can be promoted to encourage ethical behavior in one’s organization. An ethical leader will create programs that endorse integrity in business. Programs can include setting guidelines for dealing with ethical issues, open discussion on ethical issues, and establish a protocol for people to get advice (Yukl, 2010). By establishing programs an ethical leader is really changing and encouraging moral behavior which can affect an organizations work environment and improve moral. By empowering your employees to know how to handle ethical dilemmas you create a new found trust.