Moral Leadership & Ethics
The current business environment has a major dilemma; moral and ethical leaders are becoming more difficult to find and identify. According to a research study conducted by the Watson Wyatt group, 44 percent of the employees surveyed said that the top management within their company was not honest (CNNMoney, 2004). In order to fully appreciate the conclusion for the above survey one must understand what ethics and morals mean in today’s business communities. Ethics are defined in today’s business communities as acceptable guidelines for behaviors within a group or company, and morals are defined as a particular individual’s values of right and wrong (DuBrin, 2010).
So how can our company ensure that our leaders are being moral and ethical leaders? Well according to The quest for moral leaders: Essays on leadership ethics, we can start by ensuring that our leadership always abides by the principles of ethical and moral leaders (Ciulla, Price, & Murphy, 2005). There are five principles that an ethical leader should always abide by and they are: 1) always be honest and trustworthy; 2) be attentive to all of their stakeholders; 3) work to build community; 4) always respect each and every person; and 5) they should accomplish silent victories. Each of these principles provides a key element to having ethical and moral leadership as well as having a successful company since one must have the other.
Principle one says leaders should always be honest and trustworthy. This is a crucial quality of any successful leader since is it a key factor of acquiring additional employees as followers in ethical practices within any organization. It goes without saying that people will follow the lead of those they trust most.
Principle two which says leaders should be attentive to their stakeholders is vital because without stakeholders, the company could not grow and therefore would not thrive. Ethical and moral leaders will take into account how decisions will impact each of
So how can our company ensure that our leaders are being moral and ethical leaders? Well according to The quest for moral leaders: Essays on leadership ethics, we can start by ensuring that our leadership always abides by the principles of ethical and moral leaders (Ciulla, Price, & Murphy, 2005). There are five principles that an ethical leader should always abide by and they are: 1) always be honest and trustworthy; 2) be attentive to all of their stakeholders; 3) work to build community; 4) always respect each and every person; and 5) they should accomplish silent victories. Each of these principles provides a key element to having ethical and moral leadership as well as having a successful company since one must have the other.
Principle one says leaders should always be honest and trustworthy. This is a crucial quality of any successful leader since is it a key factor of acquiring additional employees as followers in ethical practices within any organization. It goes without saying that people will follow the lead of those they trust most.
Principle two which says leaders should be attentive to their stakeholders is vital because without stakeholders, the company could not grow and therefore would not thrive. Ethical and moral leaders will take into account how decisions will impact each of
References: Ciulla, J.B., Price, T.L., & Murphy, S.E. (2005). The quest for moral leaders: Essays on leadership ethics. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar CNNMoney (January 16, 2004). “Is Your Boss a Crook?" Retrieved August 13, 2012 form: http://money.cnn.com/2004/01/15/pf/boss_ethical/index.htm DuBrin, A. (2010). Leadership: Research findings, practice, and skills (6th ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western, Cengage Learning.