INTRODUCTION
Ethics is from the Greek word ethos meaning custom,
practice and usage. Ethics refers to
broadly accepted principles, judgments or ideas about:
- what are right and wrong
- good and evil
- correct and incorrect behaviour / conduct
- moral and immoral etc
Organizations of all sizes and types are only as ethically
“sound” as the people that they employ and how fairly they think they are being
treated. An ethical culture will not
emerge unless leaders play their full part in the process in bringing it into
being and sustaining it.
ETHICS THEORY
Philosophers usually divide ethical theories into three
general subject areas:
- meta-ethics
- investigates where ethical principles come from, and what they mean
- focus on issues of universal truths, the role of reason in ethical judgments, and the meaning of ethical terms themselves
- normative ethics
- a more practical task to arrive at moral standards that regulate right and wrong conduct
- involve articulating good habits that should be acquired, duties that should be follow, or consequences of our behaviour, when it comes to others
- applied ethics
- involves examining specific and controversial life issues, such as abortion, infanticide, animal rights, environmental concerns, homosexuality, capital punishment, or nuclear war
- also examine a range of organizational issues
Corporate
ethics are standards of behaviour or judgments about what is considered to be
organizational right and wrong. It allows
individuals to act within certain boundaries when they face different
circumstances or have to make a variety of different business-related decisions. Three standard approaches to ethical policy:
- Respect
- Responsibility
- Results
ETHICAL
LEADERSHIP
Great leaders teach through words and through actions. Thus, ethical leadership should be effective and
efficient at implanting a solid corporate governance model, providing an
ethical approach, and consistently setting an example to people at all levels. An “ethical business dilemma” is often not
just a choice between right and wrong but a choice between two “rights”. Leaders can examine dilemmas from three
different perspectives:
- To anticipate the consequences of each choice and attempt to identify who will be affected, and in what ways
- Use moral rules, assuming that the world would be a better place if people always followed certain widely accepted standards (such as telling the truth)
- Emphasize caring, which is similar to the so-called “Golden Rule”
It is not enough to be ethical in one’s individual actions
to be an ethical leader. There are four
components of ethical leadership that should be understood and developed:
- Purpose – has reasons and acts with wider organizational purposes
- Choice – has the knowledge to judge and act prudently
- Responsibility – to make decisions and act, also recognizes that all those involved and affected must have the authority
- Trust and Growth – inspires trust throughout the organization and its environment
HONESTY AND
ETHICS
Honesty is the quality most appreciated by subordinates in
any leader. Everyone values honesty, or
would urge that people be, as often as possible, as honest as they can be. Adding honesty to the four components of
ethical leadership will add specificity:
- Purpose and honesty
Purpose gives meaning to our life. We need to be honest with ourselves and others
and share the same purpose. If purposes
are not shared, it will be found, over time that we are working at
cross-purposes and that our efforts have been for nothing.
- Choice and honesty
Choice is the essential activity
that defines us as human beings. If
those we deal with have not been honest with themselves and others, we may be
making choices based upon bad information, or worse, our choices may have been
made for us through the dishonesty of others.
- Responsibility and honesty
As the drivers or decision-makers of
our own situation and lives as a whole, we are the cause of the actions we
take, and is responsible for them. If
those we deal with have not been honest with themselves and others, they will
be unable to exercise their authority prudently, and we will be unable to fix
responsibility for the actions and consequences that affect us. Where authority is not exercised prudently, we
will find ourselves in a world of grey where we can count on neither
individuals nor groups.
- Trust/growth and honesty
Trust and growth are typically how
individuals evolve in life and in the workplace. Trust between people is a fundamental need for
development and growth individually and collectively.
SUMMARY
One means of raising ethical awareness is to form an ethics
committee. The committees would raise
awareness of ethical issues, formulate ethical codes and advise senior
management grappling with ethical dilemmas.
Leaders should use their power with restraint, since it
always holds the potential for treating others as poorly or even “inhumanely”
when taken to extremes. Stewardship asks
leaders to acknowledge their own human faults and limitations rather than
hiding behind their status and power. To
be an ethical leader is not just a matter of following a few simple rules. The leader’s responsibility is complex and
multi-dimensional, rooted less in technical expertise than in simple human
integrity or character.
SHARED FROM:
Business
Ethics by Dr. Jon Warner
March 22, 2013
Ethical
Leadership by Dr. Jon Warner
October 12, 2012
Ethics
in the Workplace by Dr. Jon Warner
May 17, 2012
Workplace
Relationships and Ethics by Dr. Jon Warner
May 8, 2012
Developing
Ethical Leadership Skills by Dr. Jon Warner
May 7, 2012
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