S. Congress. Almost without exceptions, the largest and most destructive examples of contemporary financial fraud and corporate malfeasance have been perpetrated by individuals with high levels of education, professional expertise, and previous (legitimate) accomplishments. Similarly, some of the most important political disputes ongoing in connection with major governmental policy disputes go a long way toward undermine any suggestion that certain members of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate deserve respect. Collectively, all of those examples illustrate that advanced education, professional expertise, and past achievements are insufficient to justify respect without another crucial component: integrity (Liker, 2003; Maxwell, 2007).

The Essential Role of Integrity in Relation to Respect

In principle, integrity is a prerequisite to the entitlement to the respect of others. Integrity refers to the commitment of an individual to do what is right and just even in the face of opportunities to benefit personally from pursuing what is personally...

At its core, integrity means making decisions and arguing for positions on the basis of objective principles and adhering to those principles even when their implementation is contrary to our personal interests. In that regard, the current political debates in connection with healthcare and stimulus funding in particular demonstrate that management and law degrees and high levels of professional achievements do not entitle one to respect where one misuses the authority of elected positions to benefit one's personal or partisan political interests at the expense of others.
References

Harari O. (2002). The Leadership Secrets of Colin Powell. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Kinicki a. And Williams B. (2005). Management: A Practical Approach. New York:

McGraw-Hill.

Liker JK. (2003). The Toyota Way: 14 Management Principles from the World's Greatest

Manufacturer. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Maxwell, JC. (2007). The 21 Irrefutable Rules of Leadership. Georgia: Maxwell

Motivation Co.