Ethical Leadership Description - Annotated Bibliography Example

Ethical Leadership: Annotated Outline I. Definition of Ethical leadership Mumford introduces ethical leadership from a general perspective anddefines ethical leadership as “leadership characterized by behavior consistent with appropriate norms and promoting this behavior to followers” (p. 211). Malan and Smith (2001), Brown and Treviño (2006), Siebens (2007) and Van Gils, et al. (2010) also provided definitions of ethical leadership. These, together with the Mumford (2010) definition will be compared for common ground. II. Characteristics of Ethical Leaders Brown, Hartman, Klebe and Treviño (as cited in Siebens, 2007) offered one of the clearer characterizations of ethical leadership by describing ethical leaders to be visible role models who equitably gives rewards and sanctions, and conveys ethics and values. Brown and Treviño (2006) mentioned other positive characteristics of ethical leaders, including: agreeableness, conscientiousness, moral reasoning and locus of control. Sternberg (2009) acknowledged integrity, ethical decision making and role modeling as common characteristics shared by ethical leaders. Kalshoven, et al. (2011) listed people-orientation, power-sharing, role clarification and concern for sustainability as desirable qualities of ethical leaders. Treviño, et al (2010) considers the creation of an ethical culture in the organization is considered by as salient attribute of ethical leadership. In this regard, ethical leadership will be differentiated from hypocritical leadership and ethically neutral leadership. Bibb (2010) provided an interesting exposition of a few characteristics of ethical leaders which are antithetical to the concept of strong leadership. This will concluded the section on characteristics of ethical leaders 3.0. Models of Ethical Leadership Selected models of leadership will be described, compared and contrasted in this section: A. Van Wart’s (2008) model of ethical and exemplary leadership asserts that “the person of good character will recognize ethical issues, reflect on ethical issues, integrate the collective good into appropriate decisions; the person with high character will also make a substantial contribution or exhibit sacrifices courage for the common moral good” (p.101). B. Van Wart (2008) described another important model of ethical leadership called the ethics-based approach causal chain which posits that “leadership styles grounded on social consciousness, self-discipline and courage [are directed towards] performance goals for the greatest common good, empowerment of followers and quality of decision; [and the realization of these goals are influenced by] … consciousness of ethical responsibilities, self-discipline and the courage of conviction” (p. 102). C. Caldwell, et al. (2002) created the model of the four umpires, which constitutes a framework for understanding a leader’s perspective better. In this model, umpires are suggested to be using Schein and Senge’s five beliefs model in contextualizing their identity. Such perspective is believed to wield a substantial influence on the ethical responsibility of leaders in each quadrant of the model. In this model, the umpire represented as the facilitating idealist is said to conform to the stewardship model of ethical leadership. D. Nevarez and Wood (2010) cited general models of ethical leadership such as the Anderson and Davis Model, the Markkula Center Model, and the Nevarez and Wood Leadership Framework. The diagrams of these three models and the Van Wart(2008) and Caldwell (2002) models will be included in the paper. E. The studies of Mayer, et al. (2009), Avey, et al. (2011) and Kalshoven, et al. (2011) revealed that a number of factors influence ethical leadership including organization citizenship behavior. Likewise, there are moderating effects of some variables on ethical leadership and its correlates, such as follower self-esteem and supervisory ethical relationship III. Ethical Leadership in Politics Uhr (2003) underscored that ethical leadership necessitates political leaders to recognize their partnership with the followers, that is, their constituents. In which case, the most common type of political leadership in the modern era is charismatic leadership. Daft (2008) argued that ethical leaders in the world of politics utilize their power to serve the objectives of their geographic sphere of influence, respect the rights of their constituents and association, and attempt to dispense fairness and equality in all their dealings with others. The main issue that politicians had to consider with their leadership is to be aware about how to use power and politics both ethically and responsibly Edwards and Wayne (2010) maintained that character is an important attribute of ethical leadership in the political arena. This will be examined more closely using real world examples of politicians, whose ethical leadership were challenged at some point in their career, including former presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush Pelletier and Kottke (2009) are interested in probing whether the temptation to abuse power among politicians who compromised ethics during their terms as public servants, was, indeed greater than their concern for encouraging an ethical culture. Using this as a hint, political profiles will be analyzed. IV. Ethical leadership in education Shapiro and Stefkovich (as cited in Nevarez & Wood, 2010) suggested four main ethical models as practically tailor fit to facilitate the decision-making process among educational leaders. These models are known as the ethics of justice, critique, care, and the profession. These will be discussed in sufficient detail in the paper. A. Gross and Shapiro (2009) indicated questions which educational leaders need to reflect on in regards to the ethic of justice, such as: “Is there a law, right or policy that relates to a particular case? If there is a law, right or policy, should it be enforced? And if there is not a law, right or policy, should there be one?” (p. 97) B. Shapiro and Stefkovich (2011) explained that the ethic of critique is grounded on the critical theory, which focuses on analysis of social class and its inequities. This paradigm asks such questions as: “Who makes the laws, rules and policies? Who benefits from them? Who has the power? Who are silenced?” (Gross & Shapiro, 2009, p. 97) C. Sensenig (2010) indicated that the central theme of ethic of care rests upon nurturing relationships with others as the basis of what is moral or right. This paradigm answers questions such as: “Who will benefit from what I decide? Who will be hurt by my actions? What are the consequences of a decision I make today? What are the unintended consequences of a decision? … If I am helped by someone now, what should I do in the future about giving back to this individual or to society in general?” (Gross & Shapiro, 2009, p. 97). D. Gross and Shapiro (2009) delineated the components of the ethic of the profession as personal and professional codes, professional codes of appropriate organization, the ethic of the community, as well as the standards of the profession, and placed the best interest of students as the central focus. Accordingly, questions asked in this paradigm are: “What is in the best interest of the students? Are there any ethical codes from my profession that are appropriate? And how does a decision dovetail with my own ethical personal and professional beliefs, and those of the community?” (p.98). Robinson and Moulton (2005) also outlined several ethical theories which are applicable to the educational sector, including: the principle of fairness, the principle of maximizing benefits, the principle of universalization, and the principle of treating others as ends in themselves. Nevarez and Wood (2010) identified the following areas as the most challenging for ethical leadership in education: truth or reputation dilemma; tension between scholastic and real-world values; market demands vs. academic standards; deficiency of ethical harmony in a pluralistic society; benefit of local vendors and making profit for the college; temptation to bend the law; violation of the duties of loyalty, care and obedience; tensions between candor and respect; ethics in the systems level; dealing with unethical practice which has been tolerated by the previous leader etc. These ten areas of ethical challenges in the academic leader will be elucidated in the paper. Pelletier and Kottke (2009) suggested strategies for the creation of ethical climates, including development of an organizational code of ethics, rigorous and on-going audits of procurement practices, support ethical concerns presented by employees, etc. Implications of the application of the educational paradigms of ethical leadership will be discussed in the light of current problems in the educational sector. 5.0. References The following references comprise the body of literature and studies consulted in the development of the paper: Avey, J., Palanski, M. & Walumba, F. (2011). When leadership goes unnoticed: The moderating role of follower self-esteem on the relationship between ethical leadership and follower behavior. Journal of Business Ethics, 68(4), 573-582. Bibb, S. (2010). The right thing: An everyday guide to ethics in business. West Sussex, GBR: John Wiley & Sons. Brown, M. E. (2006). Ethical leadership: A review and future directions. The Leadership Quarterly, 17(6), 595-616. Caldwell, C., Bischoff, S. J. & Karri, R. (2002). The four umpires: A paradigm for ethical leadership. Journal of Business Ethics, 36(1), 156-163. Daft, R. L. (2008). The leadership experience (4th ed.). Mason, OH: Thomson / South-Western. Edwards, G. C. III & Wayne, S. J. (2010). Presidential leadership: politics & policy making. Boston, MA: Wadsworth / Cengage Learning. Gross, S. J. & Shapiro, J. P. (2009). Fear versus possibility: why we need a new deel for our children’s future. In H. S. Shapiro (Ed.), Education and hope in troubled times: Visions of change for our children’s world (pp. 90-103). New York, NY: Routledge. Kalshoven, K., Den Hartog, D. N. & De Hoogh, A. H. B. (2011). Ethical leadership at work questionnaire (ELW): Development and validation of a multidimensional measure. Leadership Quarterly, 22(1), 51-69. Malan, F. & Smith, B. (2001). Ethics and leadership in business and politics. Landsowne, ZAF: Juta. Mayer, D. M., Kuenzi, M., Greenbaum, R., Bardes, M. & Salvador, R. (2009). How long does ethical leadership flow? Test of a trickle down model. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 108(1), 1-13. Mumford, M. D. (2010). The Psych 101 Series: Leadership 101. New York, NY: Springer Publishing. Nevarez, C. & Wood, J. L. (2010). Community college leadership and administration: Theory, practice, and change. New York, NY: Peter Lang Publishing. Pelletier, K. L. & Kottke, J. L. (2009). Déjà vu all over again: Progress and reversals in battling government corruption. Journal of Leadership, Accountability & Ethics, 7(2), 78-93. Robinson, G. M. & Moulton, J. (2005). Ethical problems in higher educations. Lincoln, NE: iUniverse. Shapiro, J. P. & Stefkovich, J. A. (2011). Ethical leadership and decision making in education: Applying theoretical perspectives to complex dilemmas (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Routledge. Sensenig, D. T. (2010). Ethics in educational leadership. In C. A. Lentz (Ed.), An anthology of doctoral writers: The refractive thinker [Vol. 4: Ethics, leadership and globalization] (pp. 1-22). Las Vegas, NV: The Refractive Thinker Press. Siebens, H. (2007). Facilitating leadership. Philadelphia, PA: Garant / Coronet Books. Sternberg, R. J. (2009). Reflections on ethical leadership. In D. Ambrose & T. Cross (Eds.), Morality, ethics, and gifted minds (pp. 19-28). New York, NY: Springer Science + Business Media. Treviño, L., Loban, M. & Kumari, R. (2011). Ethical leadership. In D. Shriberg & A. Shriberg (Eds.), Practicing leadership: Principles and applications (pp. 32-35). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. Uhr, J. (2003). Just rhetoric? Exploring the language of leadership. In P. Bishop, C. Connors & C. Sampford (Eds.), Management, organization, and ethics in the public sector (pp. 123-144). Burlington,VT: Ashgate Publishing. Van Gils, S., Van Quaquebeke, N. & Van Knippenberg, D. (2010). Tango in the dark: The interplay of leader’s and followers’ level of self-construal and its impact on ethical leadership. In B. Schyns & T. Hansbrough (Eds.), When leadership goes wrong: Destructive leadership, mistakes & ethical failures (pp. 285-304). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing. Van Wart, M. (2008). Leadership in public organizations: an introduction. Armonk, NY: M. E. Sharpe. Read More