Leadership ethics and organizational decision-making

Leadership Ethics

Ethics and Morals for the Business Leader Today

In the world today, instant communication and rapid changes in technology have shrunk the world to a veritable "global village." This means that no single sense of morality or religion can claim its own right to exist more than any other systems in existence. There are many different moral codes and principles in the world today. While some may be more questionable than others, the basic, most commonly accepted principle of business morality appears to be to provide as much value as possible for as fair a price as possible, while impacting he environment as little as possible. This is a very simple view of morality and moral codes. A business leader, I believe, has to constantly consider his or her moral compass, he things that influence it, and the outcomes of applying his compass in his or her daily life and business actions.

The first dimension of a business leader's moral compass is personal integrity. This is necessarily based on the moral compass. My own personal integrity is, for example, based upon he shared modern values in what Thompson (2009) refers to as the "free world." We value the principles of equality, freedom, and human rights. This translates to my own personal sense of integrity in terms of living and working in such a way that I promote and support the freedom and equality of both myself and others. In this, I recognize the rights of both myself and others to live in such a way that life is infused with meaning and satisfaction. Hence, the moral compass I use to inform my personal integrity are based upon the values considered to make human life meaningful today.

One could then also refer to this as my Wisdom Tradition, where democracy, freedom, and equal rights for all are at the core of the value system. I recognizes the right of each human being to have a meaningful life, whether this be in the workplace or at home. As a leader, it is my responsibility to promote the principle of meaningful work among my workforce, regardless of the specific job involved. As such, I must combine what I value with promoting the welfare of those working in my organization (Thompson, 2009, p. 16).

Of course, my moral compass also informs my moral vision of what might be termed the "good" life. The word "good" in this sense can be seen in several senses. The first important thing to understand here is the fact that "good" has different meanings for individuals, and also for cultures. As pointed out by Haidt (2012), what is considered "right" or "good" in one culture may be considered "wrong" or "bad" in another. A culture that is based on a specific family structure, for example, may consider it good to assign the roles of housekeeping and childrearing to women, while the financial security of the family is ensured by men. A culture that is based on the principle of complete equality, on the other hand, would make choice the basis of role assignments. Women may choose to stay home and raise children. Mothers also have the choice to hire a nanny to be able to fulfill her professional ambitions. So, when it comes to my moral vision of he world, I would have a world in which tolerance is the main principle. Even cultures where values diverge significantly are now living and working together in the same countries, cities, and companies.

My Wisdom Tradition informs this by promoting equal rights and choice as the core principles. As long as a specific cultural tradition or choice does not affect the well-being or freedom of others, my moral vision for he world is that this should be tolerated, no matter how strange it may seem.

I think the symbol that most strongly influences this vision for me is the Statue of Liberty. She is perhaps he ultimate symbol of the value of freedom, not only by means of improving oneself, but also by leading others towards freedom by means of the light of wisdom. Since the principles of freedom, democracy, and self-actualization in one's work informs most of the Western world and Western business today, I believe the Statue is a suitable symbol of these values for me as a business leader.

My moral code is basically a culmination of all the statements made above. It includes he principles of freedom, choice, and democracy. I consider these principles, if applied, as essential to fulfill my moral vision of he world, where all people can work together in harmony to fulfill both individual and collective goals.

There are various ways in which to ensure one's moral fitness. One good way is to use workbooks on the subject, such as the one created by Thompson (2009). Thompson asks various pertinent, critical thinking questions about one's personal views on morality and leadership. These are a very good exercise to ensure not only that my moral fitness is intact, but also to ensure that I maintain a conscious awareness of my own morality, the principles, that govern it, and the possible need for change within any of these principles. Such workbooks also promote personal and moral growth, which is essential to maintain, especially for those in leadership positions.

When considering all that has been said above, a key defining moment for me, in terms of my moral compass, was a conflict that arose when it came to promoting a chosen candidate to a key leadership position. There were two candidates in the company that were particularly suitable to the position. One was a young woman who has shown full commitment to the company and proved to have an excellent work ethic. Another was a young man with the same qualities, but with a few minor shortcomings in terms of experience and intellectual prowess. A challenging factor was that the young woman was expecting her first baby. Regarding this, the general consensus was that she should be overlooked for the position, since it was possible that her ability to commit the time and energy required would not be at the same level after she has her baby. The decision was then finalized and carried out, but met by confusion and outrage by the female candidate. When she was told the reason for the unsuccessful application, she threatened to sue us. It was only after involving a mediator that we were able to resolve this conflict. If I were faced by a similar conflict in the future, I would attempt to resolve the conflict by talking to all parties involved first before involving outside parties.