MGMT 372 - Chapter 13

Principles of Distributive Justice

-An equal share or opportunity -According to individual need -According to that person's rights -According to individual effort -According to societal contribution -According to merit or performance

Conduct Theories

Duty driven, relates not only to consequences but also to whether action itself is good Focuses on the actions of the leader and their moral obligation and responsibilities to do the right thing

Heifetz's perspective

Emphasizes how leaders help followers to confront conflicting values & to effect change from conflict. The leader's duties are to assist the follower in struggling with change and personal growth

The Deontological Perspective

Focus on the intrinsic nature of the person or action independent of the consequences. Focus on intentions of the person/leader and their moral obligation and responsibilities to do the right thing

Kohlberg's Stages of Moral Development

Preconventional Morality Stage 1: Obedience and punishment Stage 2: Individualism and exchange Conventional Morality Stage 3: Interpersonal accord and conformity Stage 4: Maintaining the social order Postconventional Morality Stage 5: Social contract and individual rights Stage 6: Universal principles

True

True or False? Several prominent leadership scholars, including Heifetz, Burns, and Greenleaf, have made unique contributions to our understanding of ethical leadership. The theme common to these authors is an ethic of caring, which pays attention to followers' needs and the importance of leader-follower relationships

True

True or False? The values promoted by the leader have a significant impact on the values exhibited by the organization

Character Theories

an ethical theory that emphasizes the character, personal virtues, and intent of the individual - virtue-based theories

Burn's Perspective

argues that it is important for leaders to engage themselves with followers and help them in their personal struggles regarding conflicting values. The resulting connection raises the level of morality in both the leader and the follower

Destructive Leaders

charisma, personalized power, narcissism, negative life themes, ideology of hate

Moral Person Components

courage, temperance, generosity, self-control, honesty, sociability, modesty, fairness, and justice

Three Approaches to Conduct

ethical egoism, utilitarianism, and altruism

Ethical Leaders Are Just

ethical leaders are concerned about issues of fairness and justice. Justice demands that leaders place issues of fairness at the center of their decision making. As a rule, no one should receive special treatment or special consideration except when his or her particular situation demands it. When individuals are treated differently, the grounds for different treatment must be clear and reasonable, and must be based on moral values

Preconventional Morality

first level of Kohlberg's stages of moral development in which reasoning is based on self-interest, avoiding punishment, and rewards

Bedi, Alpaslan, and Green

found that ethical leadership was positively related to followers' perceptions of the leader's fairness and the followers' ethical behavior

Conformers

go along with destructive leaders to satisfy unmet needs such as emptiness, alienation, or need for community

The Ethical Leadership Style Questionnaire (ELSQ)

is a self-reporting measure of ethical leadership that does not measure whether one is or is not ethical, but rather assesses the leader's style of ethical leadership

Ethical Egoism

states that a person should act so as to create the greatest good for her - or himself

Utilitarianism

states that we should behave so as to create the greatest good for the greatest number, the morally correct action is the action that maximizes social benefits while minimizing social costs

Toxic Leadership

suggests that toxic leaders are characterized by destructive behaviors such as leaving their followers worse off than they found them, violating the basic human rights of others, and playing to followers' basest fears. Furthermore, Lipman-Blumen identifies many dysfunctional personal characteristics destructive leaders demonstrate including lack of integrity, insatiable ambition, arrogance, and reckless disregard for their actions

Ethical Leaders Serve Others

the idea behind this is contributing to the greater good of others, leaders should be concerned for their workers and care for them, and clarifying and nurturing a vision that is greater than oneself

Telelogical Approach

theories about conduct emphasize the consequences of leader behavior

Criticisms of Ethics and Leadership

-it is an area of research in its early stage of development, and therefore lacks a strong body of traditional research findings to substantiate it -relies primarily on the writings of just a few people who have written essays and texts that are strongly influenced by their personal opinions about the nature of leadership ethics and their view of the world -most of the research on ethical leadership has focused primarily on the Western world and Anglo-American countries -generational difference in ethical perspectives First, because millennials are more individualistic than older employees, they are less likely to view the intensity of moral decisions in the same way and less likely to look to their leaders for guidance on making ethical decisions. Second, because millennials see their work as less central to their lives, they are less likely to view ethical dilemmas at work as particularly problematic. Third, because millennials value highly extrinsic rewards, they are less likely to respond to ethical appeals to do the right thing for the organization

Strengths of Ethics and Leadership

-it provides a body of timely research on ethical issues -this body of research suggests that ethics ought to be considered as an integral part of the broader domain of leadership -this body of research highlights several principles that are important to the development of ethical leadership

Susceptible Followers

Conformers and colluders

Stage 1: Obedience and Punishment

At this stage, people see rules as fixed and absolute. Obeying the rules is important because it is a means to avoid punishment. The individual is egocentric and sees morality as external to self.

Stage 3: Interpersonal Accord and Conformity

At this stage, the individual makes moral choices based on conforming to the expectations of others and trying to behave like a "good" person. It is important to be "nice" and live up to the community standard of niceness.

Stage 5: Social Contract and Individual Rights

At this stage, the individual makes moral decisions based on a social contract and his or her views on what a good society should be like. A good society supports values such as liberty and life, and fair procedures for changing laws, but recognizes that groups have different opinions and values. Societal laws are important, but people need to agree on them.

Stage 2: Individualism and Exchange

At this stage, the individual makes moral decisions based on self-interest. An action is right if it serves the individual. Everything is relative, so each person is free to do his or her own thing.

Stage 4. Maintaining the Social Order

At this stage, the individual makes moral decisions in ways that show concern for society as a whole. In order for society to function, it is important that people obey the laws, respect authority, and support the rules of the community.

Stage 6: Universal Principles

At this stage, the individual's moral reasoning is based on internalized universal principles of justice that apply to everyone. Decisions that are made need to respect the viewpoints of all parties involved. People follow their internal rules of fairness, even if they conflict with laws.

Criticisms of Kohlberg

Kohlberg's model of moral development has been criticized for focusing exclusively on justice values, for being sex-biased since it is derived from an all-male sample, for being culturally biased since it is based on a sample from an individualist culture, and for advocating a postconventional morality where people place their own principles above those of the law or society. Regardless, it is essential to understanding what forms the basis for individual's ethical leadership

Ethical Theory

Provides a system of rules or principles as a guide in making decisions about what is right/wrong and good/bad in a specific situation Provides a basis for understanding what it means to be a morally decent human being

Ethical Leaders Respect Others

To do so means always to treat others as ends in themselves and never as means to ends, must also allow people to be themselves with creative desires and wants, means that a leader listens closely to followers, is empathic, and is tolerant of opposing points of view. It means treating followers in ways that confirm their beliefs, attitudes, and values

True

True or False? Self-interest is an ethical stance closely related to transactional leadership theories

Ethical Leaders Are Honest

When leaders are not honest, others come to see them as undependable and unreliable. People lose faith in what leaders say and stand for, and their respect for leaders is diminished. As a result, the leader's impact is compromised because others no longer trust and believe in the leader. But being honest is not just about telling the truth. It has to do with being open with others and representing reality as fully and completely as possible. For leaders in organizations, being honest means, "Do not promise what you can't deliver, do not misrepresent, do not hide behind spin-doctored evasions, do not suppress obligations, do not evade accountability, do not accept that the 'survival of the fittest' pressures of business release any of us from the responsibility to respect another's dignity and humanity"

Conductive Environment

When the environment is unstable, the leader is often granted more authority to assert radical change. When there is a perceived threat, followers often accept assertive leadership. People are attracted to leaders who will stand up to the threats they feel in the environment. Destructive leaders who express compatible cultural values with followers are more likely to succeed

Altruism

is an approach that suggests that actions are moral if their primary purpose is to promote the best interest of others From this perspective, a leader may be called on to act in the interests of others, even when it runs contrary to his or her own self-interests. Authentic transformational leadership is based on altruistic principles and altruism is pivotal to exhibiting servant leadership

Ethics

is concerned with the kinds of values and morals an individual or a society finds desirable or appropriate and is concerned with the virtuousness of individuals and their motives. Dates back to Plato and Aristotle - the Greek word ethos which translates to "customs" or "conduct" or "character"

Leadership Ethics

is concerned with what leaders do and who they are, has to do with the nature of leader's behavior and their virtuousness, the choices leaders make and how they respond is directed by this

Leader's Ethical Reponsibility

leader's have the responsibility to treat followers with dignity and respect - as human beings with unique identities This "respect for people" demands that leaders be sensitive to followers' own interests, needs, and conscientious concerns

Colluders

may respond to destructive leaders because they are ambitious, desire status, or see an opportunity to profit they may also go along because they identify with the leader's beliefs and values, which may be unsocialized such as greed and selfishness

Virtue-based Theories

moral theories that focus on who leaders are as people, in this perspective, virtues are rooted in the heart of the individual and in the individual's disposition. Furthermore, it is believed that virtues and moral abilities are not innate but can be acquired and learned through practice

Frisch and Huppenbauer

reported that these ethical leaders cared about other stakeholders, such as customers, suppliers, owners of companies, the natural environment, and society. Although all of us have an ethical responsibility to treat other people as unique human beings, leaders have a special responsibility, because the nature of their leadership puts them in a special position in which they have a greater opportunity to influence others in significant ways

Common Goal

requires that leaders and followers agree on the direction to be taken by the group. We need to pay attention to how the changes proposed by a leader and followers will affect the larger organization, the community, and society. An ethical leader is concerned with the common good, in the broadest sense

Principles of Ethical Leadership

respects others, serves others, shows justice, manifests honesty, builds community

Conventional Morality

second level of Kohlberg's stages of moral development in which reasoning is based on society's views and expectations

Postconventional Morality

third level of Kohlberg's stages of moral development in which the person's behavior is governed by moral principles and reasoning based on conscience and creating a just society

Plaisance

this figure found in a study of 24 exemplified leaders "an overarching emphasis on notions of care and respect for others, professional duty, concern for harm, and proactive social engagement—all of which characterize higher stages of moral development" "