Transcript The Natur of Organizational Control

Nice Guys lose, Don’t they?
Ethical Dilemmas
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Orientation
 Why leaders can’t ignore ethics
 Ethical issues often unwelcome in pursuit of
economic success
 Focus of dilemmas on whether cost of ethics
damages profits
 Is leadership ultimately a moral process?
 Ethical behaviour vital dimension in understanding
leadership process
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Platforms of Understanding
 Where does ethics appear on personal leadership
map?
 Leadership literature largely ignores ethical
dilemmas
 Ciulla explores what is meant by ‘good’ leadership
 MacGregor Burns and ethical implications of
transformational leadership
 Greenleaf’s ‘servant leadership’ explores ethical
development of followers
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Ciulla’s Exploration of Ethical Leadership
 Focuses on understanding how to confront
moral dilemmas of leadership
 Dilemma rests on beliefs about conduct and
achievement
 Ethical ‘tokenism’ – way ethics are integrated
in leadership texts
 Ethics seen as matter of practical knowledge
not needing theoretical exploration
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Significance of ‘Good’ Leadership
 Broader implications of ethics for organization
not understood
 Simplistic notion that good leadership only
associated with effectiveness of results
 Focus on describing what leaders do rather
than ethical consequences of leader’s actions
 Ciulla’s good leadership addresses moral wellbeing & development of followers
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Voices of Ethical Leadership
 MacGregor Burns - Transformational Leadership
places strong emphasis on followers’ needs, values &
morals
 Leader attempts to move followers to higher
standards of moral responsibility
 Leader differentiated from follower with more
developed sense of ethical values
 Leader engages with followers & helps in personal
struggles regarding conflicting values & process
 Addresses weaknesses of coercive authoritarian
leader styles
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Greenleaf – Servant Leadership
 Leadership about attending to moral needs of
followers
 Good leadership – followers take on ethical
values of leader
 Followers developed into morally responsible
and autonomous leaders
 Ethics at the heart of leadership – treat others
as you wish to be treated
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The Manipulative Leader
 Manipulation an influence process
 Use implies relationships with low concern for
moral issues
 Manipulative leaders argue for ‘best’ interests of
others
 Leadership style can be highly effective and
associated with integrity
 Leader’s role to influence through non-coercive
means
 Strategies of seduction - When does manipulation
become morally acceptable?
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Ethical Dilemmas of Leadership
 Good leadership means more than productive
leadership
 Should successful leadership styles that ignores wellbeing of followers be encouraged?
 Ignoring ethical responsibilities removes dilemma
 Concern with ethics as means to achieving ends
(compliance) unable to deal with non-ethical and
productive possibilities, or with ethical and
unproductive possibilities
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Summary (1)
 Morality versus effectiveness of performance is
the fundamental ethical dilemma
 Dealing with dilemmas, leaders often seek
pragmatic justification of actions (including
tokenism, and ethical rhetoric)
 Tension between commercial well-being and
ethical probity increasingly ‘on the agenda’
 Equating good leadership with short-term
productivity can hide ethical dilemmas
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Summary (2)
 Attention to ethics aligned with business success
 Ethical Imperative – maps of Burns & Greenleaf offer
moral certainty for leaders
 If leadership is a moral process then ethical dilemmas
remain to be worked through in practice
 As role models, leaders have an obligation to align
values of followers to the ethical values of leadership
 Morality of leaders then helps develop a moral as well
as an economically sensitised culture
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