Is Ethical Leadership Possible - Assignment Example

? Business Ethics Lecturer: Business Ethics Seminar Three: Business Stakeholder Engagement Guiding Reflective Question Student Reflection What’s the possible impact of Power, Legitimacy and Urgency in one of the examples of business stakeholder engagement? In that example, what do I think are both the benefits and the limitations (the possible problem areas) in this engagement activity? Power, legitimacy and urgency, can impact business performance in an organization. Crane and Matten (2010) argues that salience models employed by stakeholders can impact business either negatively or positively. He further argues that those stakeholders that have greater power, urgency and legitimacy may impact business performance. For instance, PricewaterhouseCooper Company engages in policymaking process in the company. Therefore, in case they apply greater power and other salience models, they may end up creating a hindrance to effective organizational performance. However, there are both benefits and limitations of employing salience model in this engagement activity. The benefits include significant contribution to the thought leadership and developing effective solutions to global challenges. However, the problems may include posing challenges and create threats to global issues. What is a possible future employer of me actually doing in terms of stakeholder engagement activities? What do I think of their activities? Can I see any link with Power, Legitimacy and Urgency, and why they chose this stakeholder engagement activity? The possible future employee in terms of engagement activities will participate in effective decision-making process, informing talent strategy, advisory panel, engaging in corporate responsibility reporting and participating in other significant corporate roles. Their activities enhance quality services in business activities; hence, it is vital to conduct business in accordance to the organization requirements and guidelines. Engaging stakeholders in business activities is vital but it is recommendable to classify them according to their work performance. This is because stakeholders differ and some have varied interests in business activities. For instance, the salience model is widely employed by many stakeholders in business activities across the globe; thus, employing an effective stakeholder management strategy can enable one to meet their need and expectations successfully. Therefore, there is a significant link among power, legitimacy and urgency because this stakeholder engagement will lead to better management and influencing other towards achieving organization goals efficiently. What could/should, if I had the choice and decision-making power in my future employers company, the company be doing, which it currently isn’t, in terms of stakeholder engagement activities? How, using Mitchell’s et al’s. (1997) “salience” (importance) attributes (Power, Legitimacy and Urgency); can I rationalize that as a good activity for them to be doing? In case I had a choice and decision making power in my future employers company, the stakeholders in the company would not participate in some responsibilities such as accounting management roles, recruiting employees and other minor company activities. This is because some stakeholders may apply their power, legitimacy and urgency in a manner that may pose challenges to effective performance; thus making employees to become unproductive. Stakeholders can affect the business outcome positively or negatively (Crane and Matten, 2004). For instance, some stakeholders may use power to take control of investors in case the company is privately held rather than publicly traded. By using Mitchell’s salience model attributes, I can rationalize good activities for stakeholders such as planning, decision-making process, direct management and project coordination process. Seminar Four: Ethical Leadership Debate Guiding Reflective Question Student Reflection What was the definition of ‘ethical leadership’ adopted by the participants in the debate? What is the role of the directors as envisaged by Codes of Corporate Governance and wider society? Are these expectations consistent with the ideas of ethical leadership? Ethical leadership entails effective leadership styles through instilling a sense and setting a tone or controlling ways that shapes moral behaviors of employees. It is the role of directors to develop a reputation for ethical leadership that follow good moral principles (Crane and Matten 2010, p.207). It is the responsibility of directors as envisaged by corporate governance codes and wider society to employ effective leadership skills and approaches in managing business ethics. They can apply value based approach and asses organizational culture and draft ethical codes of conducts in the work place. What are the structures of codes of corporate governance that support the ethical behavior of directors? In whose interest are these structures conceived? Do they promote ethical leadership as you understand it? The structures of corporate governance codes that support ethical behaviors of directors include the independence of supervisory and non-executive directors. The size of the board matters, and the regular meetings of supervisory bodies and employee influence these meetings; hence these structure aim to meet employees and stakeholders’ interests. Therefore, they work towards promoting ethical leadership through formulating effective codes of conducts to be followed in the company (Aronson 2009). What are the ethical tensions within a shareholder company and how may ethical leadership address these? Ethical tensions within a shareholder rise from contradictions from the corporate responsibility in profit sharing, stakeholder equity and accounting for externalities. The boards of directors are ethical leadership who address this issue. What are the challenges in really delivering ethical leadership and how much of this is caused by the profit maximisation that underlies shareholder focus? Challenges in delivering ethical leadership results from poor leadership management. This may impact the performance of leadership roles; thus contributing to poor organizational performance This stems from poor corporate responsibilities and strategies employed in leadership management. This happens to a larger extent through profit maximization issues. Creating a sustainable profit is often an ethical problem especially retaining high profits and reducing employees’ salaries as well as profit sharing often creates ethical problems in many organizations. Is ethical leadership possible – support this with examples from research Ethical leadership is possible if only leaders use their knowledge and objectivity but not by their personal beliefs in making effective decisions. Developing ethical culture change and learning are two significant ways for achieving effective ethical leadership (Crane, Matten and Crane 2007, p. 206). For instance, leaders can employ codes of conducts and set regulations or objectives that employees should follow. What was your experience of the seminar activity (positive and negative)? Has your confidence in either presenting/ discussing / defending your views improved? Do you have an understanding of good and bad debating practice? From the seminar activity, I now understand that bad ethical leadership can impact the performance of the organization. It is through effective ethical leadership that managers can overcome organizational challenges. Therefore, it is significant to understand the corporate culture and employ effective leadership style or approaches for creating organizational change. Seminar Five: Exploring Ethical Dilemmas and Vignettes (1) Guiding Reflective Question Student Reflection What are the ethical issues raised by the cases studied? What are the common themes between them? Where these the themes identified by your peers? The ethical dilemma identified in the vignette “No such thing as a Free Drink?’ is the social work ethics. The current account for social work ethics is becoming problematic in offering an account for social work values. Therefore, this case reveals the way ethical dilemma occurs in the work place. For instance, sometimes the friend might report his friend to the manager about the free drinks but this will on the other hand put the friend, the bartender at risk of losing his job. The bartender may be wrong by undercharging the friend because this may lead to loss of profits in business. Despite the fact that the friend enjoys free drinks, it does not make him comfortable at the fear of his friend being discovered and fired from the job. The common theme identified in this case is morality in business and making proper decision in business (Dobson, 1996). These themes are identified by the peers in the place whereby they attempt to introduce the subject of the conflicting ethical dilemma in the work place. Identifying the problem: How do Individual Factors impact upon the ethical dilemma identification by the people in the case study? Are there any Organisational Factors here which may influence ethical dilemma identification by the various actors in the case study? Could, or perhaps should, professional codes of ethics and corporate codes help here? And if not, why not? Do perceptions of reward and punishment can affect ethical business dilemma identification by the actors at all? Are these things important? The individual factors impact upon the ethical dilemma identified in the case is through creating conflicting issues upon supporting the friend to continue enjoying the friend drinks. Organisational factors in this case that can influence ethical dilemma such as poor payment and mistreatment in the work place may all lead to ethical issues. Therefore, professional codes and corporate codes of conduct will help in reducing such incidences that happens in the work place. These codes can lead employees and en able them to become productive in the work place. The perceptions or reward and punishment may impact ethical business; thus, the important aspects are training employees to exercise maximum corporate social responsibility, motivate and treat them in a manner that can enable them to become productive. Develops a response: Can you link your solution to and rationalise it using any of the various moral philosophies? What kind of influence does the concept of moral intensity (p.164-165 of C&M) have on your response? Have you in your response considered all the relevant individual, organizational, opportunistic and moral intensity considerations together as a whole? The best solution is to create effective employee relations as a moral concern of business ethics. This is through employing moral philosophies in determining the ongoing relationships among employees and their leaders. Employing shareholder theory is an effective theory that seeks to legitimate moral managerial fiduciary duties; hence can benefit the company (Crane, Matten and Crane, 2007). Hence, considering the moral issues will benefit the stakeholders; thus improving business performance. Seminar Six: Exploring Ethical Dilemmas and Vignettes (2) Guiding Reflective Question Student Reflection What are the ethical issues raised by the cases studied? What are the common themes between them? Where these the themes identified by your peers? The ethical issues raised in the cases study of a beautiful deal is the issue of benefiting the company and hurting their relationship with the existing supplier, Beauty To Go Company (Crane, Matten and Crane, 2007).The ethical dilemma arises between leaving this company and starting and allowing Real Cosmetic Company to start supplying products since they will enable the company to save 2 percent of the total cost. However, this will destroy relationship that will pose future risks to the company and impact their future performance. The common theme in this case study is reducing supply costs through going for similar products, which are cheap and opting to maintain relationship. These themes are identified whereby the European Retailing Company want to take an offer of deviating supply of commodities from their usual friendship company. This may hinder effective performance since they do not know the way the new company will continue to operate. Identifying the problem: How do Individual Factors impact upon the ethical dilemma identification by the people in the case study? Are there any Organisational Factors here, which may influence ethical dilemma identification by the various actors in the case study? Could, or perhaps should, professional codes of ethics and corporate codes help here? And if not, why not? Do perceptions of reward and punishment can affect ethical business dilemma identification by the actors at all? Are these things important? The individual factors in this case may impact organizational performance in the future. This is because Real Cosmetics may be performing some questionable business of offering identical products that are slight ethical to a cheaper price. The managers of the European Retailer Company may end up saving costs at short term but end up affecting business in the long run for losing a good supplier. The organizational factors, which may influence ethical dilemma by various factors, may include the managerial aspects and legal issues. The manager may be in a dilemma in making effective managerial decision of improving the business environment. Managers always face varied challenges in social responsibility and this might pose numerous challenges to successful business performance (Northouse, 2007). However, employing professional codes of conduct in business practices is crucial. This is because it will help the manager to make vital decision that can create benefits in the present and future business activities. The perceptions of reward and punishment can impact ethical business dilemma identified. These aspects are significant because they both motivate managers to work hard towards achieving organizational objectives (Thyssen, 2009). Develops a response: Can you link your solution to and rationalize it using any of the various moral philosophies? What kind of influence does the concept of moral intensity (p.164-165 of C&M) have on your response? Have you in your response considered all the relevant individual, organizational, opportunistic and moral intensity considerations together as a whole? The solution to this case is making a better decision that benefits the company. The role of the company is to make profits at the lowest production cost; thus, they have to first focus on their self-interests. Sometimes, when an ethical dilemma like this one arises in an organization, the manager should focus on organizational culture ethics of right and wrong. This moral philosophy enables employees to be aware of their moral obligation with outsiders. Therefore, the moral intensity theory have an influence of encouraging mangers to make effective decision through focusing on different variables and perceive them differently (Mellahi, Morrell and Wood, 2010). This will enable them to make better choice; thus an opportunity for achieve the best as a whole. References Aronson, E. (April 08, 2009). Integrating Leadership Styles and Ethical Perspectives. Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences, 18, 4, 244-256. Crane, A., & Matten, D. (2004). Business ethics: A European perspective : managing corporate citizenship and sustainability in the age of globalization. Oxford [etc.: Oxford University Press. Crane, A., Matten, D., & Crane, A. (2007). Business ethics: Managing corporate citizenship and sustainability in the age of globalization. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Crane, A., & Matten, D. (2010). Business ethics: Managing corporate citizenship and sustainability in the age of globalization. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Dobson, P. (January 01, 1996). There is no such thing as a free drink when he considers the legality of some credit marketing practices. Solicitors Journal, 140, 40, 1026-1027. Mellahi, K., Morrell, K., & Wood, G. (2010). The ethical business: Challenges and controversies. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Northouse, P. G. (2007). Leadership: Theory and practice. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications. Thyssen, O. (2009). Business ethics and organizational values: A systems-theoretical analysis. Basingstoke [England: Palgrave Macmillan. Read More