Ethics and Leadership in Teams - Essay Example

Leaders have to rely on subjective judgments in order to balance the interests and competing values. Although the principles of ethics outline the work concepts (Chapman, 2010), yet there are no well-defined criteria of ethical considerations in decisions. Every stakeholder interprets ethics in such a way that it safeguards his interests. The subjectivity of judgments originates in the lack of objectivity of ethical considerations. “We are rethinking how we lead, by placing less emphasis on carrots and sticks and more on inspiration and putting humanity at the center of our organizations” (Seidman, 2010).

All that is stipulated is laws and regulations that have to be respected while making decisions. Respecting the laws, all judgments that are made about accountability, rights, and social relationships have to be subjective. 3. Teamwork promotes learning more than individual work (Fleming, 2007). In this process, four fundamental stages apply. First is assessment, the second is planning, the third is execution, and the fourth is an analysis of outcome and modification. Whenever a team assembles for some task that is important for the achievement of organizational goals, the team conducts feasibility studies and assesses the positive and negative outcomes of the actions they are about to undertake.

At this stage, there is a lot of subjectivity in the assessment of risks and opportunities because they are yet to materialize. This stage is followed by planning in which the leaders decide the course of action they would adopt in order to achieve the target. While planning, factors that leaders take care of are cost-effectiveness and reputation enhancement. Resources needed to execute the project are assessed in accordance with the course of action planned. Then comes execution. This is the stage in which results of the planned course of action are achieved.

Because of several environmental and external factors that are beyond the control of the team, the original plan needs to be modified. No matter how many modifications are made, the organization can not altogether escape losses that occur because of unforeseen reasons. After the completion of the project, the leaders assess the potential challenges that were experienced during the project so that they are taken care of in future planning. With more and more experienced, the team increases its chances of success.

Thus, learning occurs in a cyclic process.