Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
MT
INTD670-1702-CS32-02
Instructor: Lewis
Abstract
Both leadership and ethics have been discussed in current times and when we look back
at history we try to understand why there has been an increasing amounts of business scandals
that have involved unethical practices that have resulted in the collapse of high reputable
organizations. This paper will discuss how leadership uses ethics in an organization and how it
effects our personal and workplace lives, and in the communities and societies that we live in. It
will also discuss the various decision making and problem solving models leaders can use to
make sound decisions and how to implement and manage organizational changes, resolve
workplace.
LEADERSHIP AND ETHICAL DECISION-MAKING 3
Introduction
Where was the ethical leadership when news broke out of the business scandals that
involved such high emulated and then reputable corporations such as, Goodyear, Avon, Enron,
WorldCom, and Siemens. In our current culture, there is no room for unethical leadership.
However, the unethical leadership from these organizations was so overwhelming and the
consequences they faced prevented these organizations from rebounding. A closer look at
conflict in the workplace will give an understanding on the different types of conflicts and ways
to address each one. As environments change the need for organizational change management
can help organizations make a successful change to stay competitive in their market with their
products and services and establishing different communicating stages that employees can use to
provide feedback on the change processes. Stress in the workplace comes from problems that
are results of poor decision making. Using a more rational approach can reduce stress. When
leaders lose their morality and values in the work place they also lose the trust of their employees
and have a hard time establishing what is right and what is wrong according to business ethics.
Business ethics provides a way to handle ethical issues in the organization that can address the
right from the wrong and handle small problems before they become too large to handle.
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Not everyone was born to lead and leaders at one time, early in their lives were followers.
The word Leadership is not about labeling or branding its about innovation, impact,
or management position is that they come from different backgrounds and the roles they play in
an organization are also different but one can agree that their skills are very important to the
organization. Very few do not know they possess leadership skills until a crisis or conflict
situation arises that requires the ability to motivate others and build their confidence to trust and
respect you. Organizations have different levels that require different leadership approaches and
individuals must be able to identify these approaches to effectively lead their groups. The four
style approaches that the class discussed were; Directing, Coaching, Supporting, and Delegating.
The directing style normally includes a difficult situation that requires a leader to maintain a
level head and use knowledge and experience to handle the situation. With coaching style one
must feel comfortable using a great deal of hands-on approach and patience to address
weaknesses that employees need to improve on. With supporting style a leader plays the role
behind the scenes, waiting to provide motivational support and instill confidence to workers
that lack self-confidence and struggle in their job performances. With delegating a leader can
Conflict Resolution
There is nothing more damaging in an organization that disrupts good order and
employees or managers create a situation that is incompatible or mutually exclusive when the
LEADERSHIP AND ETHICAL DECISION-MAKING 5
goals or values of others are not respected (Editorial Board, 2015). The process discussed in
class required an effective means of understanding the type of conflict and finding the right
technique style to deal with the conflict. The five techniques for dealing with conflict that were
The goal to dealing with conflict involves certain guidelines that effectively communicate
solutions to de-escalate the conflict. The most important one to follow is not to address both
parties in the heat of the moment. Learning to identify conflict, using guidelines to address it,
communicating both verbally and non-verbally are the results of using conflict resolution.
Individual that can resolve their own conflicts build a stronger working relationship, work stress
is reduced, and most importantly employees will develop conflict resolution skills that they can
carry for everyday life and feel more empowered in daily decision making.
Economic changes bring growth and prosperity and organizational change is about
management modifying its current organizational structure to those economic changes that allow
them the ability to adapt and survive by continuing to make a profit and staying competitive.
During our class discussion on change management models we addressed that the reason an
organization should implement a change in their process is to stay abreast with those economic
changes. Many organizational environments have strategies they like to follow to make changes
to their organization. Furthermore, we learned that there are two types of changes an
organization can make. The first one is making a strategic change that deals with a more broader
area in an organization such as a policy change; going after a certain market, or merging with
LEADERSHIP AND ETHICAL DECISION-MAKING 6
another company. The second one is with operational change and we learned this change deals
with implementing a change to correct or fix a certain work processes found in one of the
help implement a new organizational change, in our group discussions we addressed that certain
change management models like using, John Kotters Model of change which its eight-step
process, Kurt Lewins Three Step Process of unfreezing-change-refreezing, and McKinseys 7-S
Model (Editorial Board, 2015). These three change management models can be used to provide
significant changes to any organizational system that will even address the needs and
following a new change in the organization brings an uneasy feeling and resistance to change.
Many organizations struggle with a new change and often fail at implementing those new
changes which then resort back to the old way of doing business. Unsuccessful organizations
do not seem to understand the importance of breaking away from old practices; they produce the
same results which is why organizations must ensure transformational change is managed to
ensure success.
It was well discussed that the key element to ensuring business success continues after
how employees are adapting to the new change and allow ways to communicate up the chain
with any issues that the new change has brought. Earlier in our discussions it was mentioned that
as economic change takes place organizations must also change. This is done by making
LEADERSHIP AND ETHICAL DECISION-MAKING 7
changes within their own organization. In todays business environment companies are required
to implement changes and manage those new changes to survive and stay competitive.
Stakeholders are aware that an effective communication plan must also be implemented into the
new change and are aware that the early stages of change management are extremely dangerous
to the organization because they fear employees will resort to old habits or worse, practice
unethical procedures. Three types of communication that can be applied to any organization are
exchanging information between two or more people and formal follows the path of
downward, upward, and lateral communication within the organizational chart and in-formal is
more personal that involves work-related small talk (Editorial Board, 2015). These forms of
communicating allow for organizational leaders and managers to use transparency [emphasis
added]to allow others to see clearly, and integrity [emphasis added] in being informed in the
Before coming to class, we all had to decide as to what time to leave the house, what to
wear, and what route to take and avoid traffic. I learned that daily we all make decision but
never take the time to consider if that decision was a good one or a bad one. The outcome that
we experience in our decision-making process, good or bad, helps to determine if we made the
right decision or not. In todays class, we discussed the Rational Model and how it involves
using our brains (cognitive) to each of the six-step process involved in decision making. Every
day requires making decision to solve problems at the organizational level and personal. By
LEADERSHIP AND ETHICAL DECISION-MAKING 8
using the rational model approach (figure 1) can help us to ensure we have gathered as much
Figure 1.
(flatworldknowledge.com)
The series of steps, if followed as the chart shows, begins with addressing there is a
problem, at mid-point you evaluate the alternatives, and end with evaluating the decisions. By
using this model to help in decision making processes you can disregard any barriers that can
affect making a sound decision for oneself or as a team. The barriers we discussed were with
LEADERSHIP AND ETHICAL DECISION-MAKING 9
groupthink, bias, bureaucracy and culture crisis barriers. All these barriers have one thing in
common and that is to disrupt any cognitive critical thinking in a teams ability to challenge,
present alternatives, and express opinions that can lead to disasters. In one case, the Bay of
Pigs gave us a clear understanding how groupthink can prevail when majority group needs to
conform with what has already been laid out. A good example was with then, President
Kennedys decision to support the CIAs plan despite the concerns of some of his own
administration to go forward with the plan to attack Cuba with the Bay of Pigs Invasion on
April of 1961 (History.com). What I learned from this is that when one person does not speak
their mind it gives the illusion that they approve what others are saying. My understanding of
This weeks takeaways included ethical decision making, ethical theories, and millennial
generation. The classroom reviewed and discussed the various decision making processes and
the ethical decision-making facets that help make ethical decisions. These decisions are of great
importance as they have the power to provide leaders and managers the ability to make key
decisions that will eliminate unethical alternatives. Leaders daily must make decision that
impact internal and external organizational leaders that address issues of a personal and
professional nature. However, how does a leader choose what decision style to use when a group
is involved? Decision making involves making a cognitive process which results in the
selection of a course of action (Liphart, 2014). In other words, leaders must know the
differences between analytical, conceptual, agony, and intuitive decision making styles. Each
one has its own indicator that can help to process the gathered information to which one of these
LEADERSHIP AND ETHICAL DECISION-MAKING 10
styles will be used by managers or leaders to make an ethical decision. In addition, it was
discussed that Millennials are very technologically incline to work alongside organizations that
drive change. They want a strong leadership and management structure in the workplace and
many want to be told what to do. Experts say that Millennials will represent 75 percent of the
workforce by 2030 (Fromm, 2015). With this knowledge, it has been made clear to me that
Millennials do not get the credit they deserve. Yes, it is true they all received trophies just for
participated in a team sport and that individual effort was not a key factor. However, as they get
older and start thinking about marriage and having kids they will put in the effort to work hard
and be recognized for their contributions to the organization and receive their trophy of lifes
accomplishments.
Business Ethics
On this weeks class discussion and review we went over some very important questions
on how organizations regulate their own internal processes and procedures that incorporate
ethical standards in business. So, what is business ethics? One that comes to mind is business
ethics is defined as the study and examination of moral and social responsibilities which
connect with current organizational practices on decision making (Dictonary.com). Many try to
understand business ethics and the methodologies used for governing the company to implement
policies, laws, and regulations from the highest of levels to the lowest on the chain. To really
understand what business ethics means one must look at other factors and try to understand how
they work to really get the definition. Some personal key takeaways that were taken in during
this discussion that helped with my understanding were in the field of corporate governance,
roles of the Board of Directors, organizational and social responsibilities, and instrumental and
LEADERSHIP AND ETHICAL DECISION-MAKING 11
social contract approaches. My takeaway of corporate governance is that its there to increase
corporate accountability and not only address crisis situations but to learn from them and
implement a change process to ensure that it never happens again. Take what happened with
Enron back in 2001. Enron Corporation was an American energy company that was based out of
Houston, Texas and at one point was the worlds biggest energy trader (Barboza, 2002). The
result of Enrons failures makes for a great groupthink discussion for group members to all agree
on the importance of having strong corporate governance in place. So, who was to blame for the
fall of Enron? Was this the work of solely one person or should the entire Board of Directors
and the CEO be to blame? Boards of Directors and CEOs are constantly putting out fires as
they are the ones in the front of the line when a crisis arises. These leaders share the
responsibility of confronting all crises and implementing a strong system that instills ethics and
turned down because they do not align with their own interests. Furthermore, the scope of
ethics, responsibilities and obligations are not only shared with stakeholders but with external
organizations like clients, suppliers, communities and government. To really understand the
meaning of business ethics and how it relates to business responsibilities a clear and
ensure benefits reach the greatest amount of people all the times. This concept of organizational
responsibility can have a different meaning from one organization to another however; the final
responsibility is always the same, to increase profits for its shareholders. My takeaway of
corporate social responsibility helped me to understand that each theory; Ethical, Economic, and
Legal responsibilities provide a business hierarchy various responsibilities that can be applied to
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having integrity, making a profit or meeting all legal obligations that can benefit everyone in the
organizational structure.
Conclusion
The unethical actions of corporations like Goodyear, Avon, Enron, WorldCom, and
Siemens clearly showed the world that if organizations stray away from ethical values,
disregarding code of conduct, and deception results not just losing ones job or career. Everyone
that had a hand in those companies from employees, suppliers, communities, vendors,
government, stakeholders, lost more than a job or career. As stated earlier in this paper, there is
no room for any type of unethical practices in our culture today. Leaders and managers must
allow their decision to follow their ethical values and those of their organizations. What is at
stake here involves more than just themselves, its employees, shareholders, customers and
communities. This paper explained in detail on the various decision making models that can be
used to address conflicts and find alternative solutions to solving those conflicts. It also
various stages, organizational and social responsibilities that are involved with business ethics,
and how Millennials bring a new breath of life and their way of thinking into the workforce that
when combined with the other generations will take leadership and ethics to a new level.
LEADERSHIP AND ETHICAL DECISION-MAKING 13
References
Stincelli, E. (2015). The Four I's of Leadership: Inspiration, Influence, Innovation, and Impact.
innovation-and-impact
Editorial Board. (2015). Leadership and ethical decision making. Words of Wisdom LLC
Portolese, L., Upperman, P., & Trumpy, B, (2017). The Art of Leadership and Supervision, v.
http://catalog.flatworldknowledge.com/bookhub/reader/12235?e=portolesediasleadsup_1
_0-ch08_s01
of-pigs-invasion-begins
Liphart, J. (2014). Decision Making Styles: How Do You Decide? Retrieved from
https://blog.udemy.com/decision-making-styles-2/
Fromm, J. (2015). Millennials In The Workplace: They Don't Need Trophies But They Want
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jefffromm/2015/11/06/millennials-in-the-workplace-they-
dont-need-trophies-but-they-want-reinforcement/#5a6bba9c53f6
ethics
Barboza, D, (2002). ENRON'S COLLAPSE: THE OFFICE; Morale and Occupancy Are Low At
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/24/business/enron-s-collapse-office-morale-
occupancy-are-low-headquarters-houston.html