Strategic Leadership and Decision-Making: Ethics and Values
A SEMINAR PRESENTATION
BY
UKAOBI JESSICA CHINYERE
TOPIC: STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP AND DECISION-MAKING: ETHICS AND VALUES
APRIL, 2010
INTRODUCTION
Values and ethics are central to any organization. What exactly do we mean by values and ethics? Both are extremely broad terms, and we need to focus in on the aspects most relevant for strategic leaders and decision makers. What we will first discuss is the distinctive nature of ethics; second, we will take a look at work ethics; third we will look into strategic leadership and decision making; fourth we take a closer look into the positive and negative leadership climates and how they influence work ethics; fifth we will see the essence of participative management on ethical standards in an organisation; sixth we will explore the actions strategic leaders can take to build ethical climates in their organizations; and then we will draw out some recommendations before we finally conlude.
THE CHARACTER OF VALUES AND ETHICS
Values are what we, as a profession, judge to be right. They are more than words-they are the moral, ethical, and professional attributes of character …
Values can be defined as those things that are important to or valued by someone. That someone can be an individual or, collectively, an organization. One place where values are important is in relation to vision. One of the imperatives for organizational vision is that it must be based on and consistent with the organization's core values. In one example of a vision statement we'll look at later, the organization's core values - in this case, integrity, professionalism, caring, teamwork, and stewardship- were deemed important enough to be included with the statement of the organization's vision. When values are shared by all members of an organization, they are extraordinarily important tools for making judgments, assessing probable outcomes of contemplated actions, and choosing among alternatives. Perhaps more important, they put all
BY
UKAOBI JESSICA CHINYERE
TOPIC: STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP AND DECISION-MAKING: ETHICS AND VALUES
APRIL, 2010
INTRODUCTION
Values and ethics are central to any organization. What exactly do we mean by values and ethics? Both are extremely broad terms, and we need to focus in on the aspects most relevant for strategic leaders and decision makers. What we will first discuss is the distinctive nature of ethics; second, we will take a look at work ethics; third we will look into strategic leadership and decision making; fourth we take a closer look into the positive and negative leadership climates and how they influence work ethics; fifth we will see the essence of participative management on ethical standards in an organisation; sixth we will explore the actions strategic leaders can take to build ethical climates in their organizations; and then we will draw out some recommendations before we finally conlude.
THE CHARACTER OF VALUES AND ETHICS
Values are what we, as a profession, judge to be right. They are more than words-they are the moral, ethical, and professional attributes of character …
Values can be defined as those things that are important to or valued by someone. That someone can be an individual or, collectively, an organization. One place where values are important is in relation to vision. One of the imperatives for organizational vision is that it must be based on and consistent with the organization's core values. In one example of a vision statement we'll look at later, the organization's core values - in this case, integrity, professionalism, caring, teamwork, and stewardship- were deemed important enough to be included with the statement of the organization's vision. When values are shared by all members of an organization, they are extraordinarily important tools for making judgments, assessing probable outcomes of contemplated actions, and choosing among alternatives. Perhaps more important, they put all
References: Barnard, C.I. (1968). The Functions of the Executive, Cambridghe MA: Harvard University Press Denga, D.I. (1986), Guidance and Counselling in Schools and Non-School, Setting, Calabar, Centanir Press Iwu, I.I. (1995), Work Ethics and Productivity in Nigeria: Implications for National Development, Owerri, Ark Publishers McGregor, D. (1966). Leadership and Motivation Cambridge, M.A: MIT Press Nwachukwu, C.B (1999), Contemporary Public Administration, Owerri, Management Information System Unit Ogunna, A. E. C. (1999), Public Administration in Nigeria: Theory and Practice, Umuahia, Great Versatile Publishers Ltd. Simon, H.A. (1957). Administrative Behaviour, N.Y.: Free Press Smith, M.R (1973). I Hate To See A Manager Cry. Reading, M.A: Addison Wesley