Ethical Leadership Lessons from Carly Fiorina's HP Tenure
This paper examines the rise and fall of Carly Fiorina as Chief Executive Officer of Hewlett-Packard through the framework of ethical leadership. Drawing on Craig Johnson's case study, the paper explores how Fiorina's failure to demonstrate key leadership elements—including vision execution, support structures, integrity, compassion, and humility—contributed to declining stock value, employee dissatisfaction, and her eventual dismissal in 2005. The analysis also considers workplace incivility and the board of directors' ethical failures. Finally, the paper applies McGregor's Theory X and Y and the servant leadership model as alternative frameworks that could have addressed the ethical and organizational breakdowns observed during Fiorina's tenure.
- Introduction: Overview of Fiorina's tenure and paper scope
- Analysis and Discussion: Leadership Elements and Ethical Failures: Vision, support structures, and ethical leadership breakdown
- Failure of Ethical Leadership: Character, Execution, and Incivility: Integrity, compassion, humility, and workplace incivility failures
- Critical Thinking and Evaluation: Leadership Theories: McGregor's Theory Y and servant leadership as remedies
- Conclusion: Ethical leadership lessons from Fiorina's HP downfall
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What makes this paper effective
- The paper anchors its argument in a concrete, well-known corporate case study, making abstract leadership concepts tangible and easy to follow.
- It moves logically from descriptive analysis (what happened at HP) to normative evaluation (what should have been done differently), giving the essay a clear two-part structure.
- Multiple leadership frameworks—ethical leadership theory, McGregor's Theory X and Y, and servant leadership—are applied to the same scenario, demonstrating breadth of theoretical knowledge.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper consistently integrates cited scholarly sources to support each analytical claim rather than relying on assertion alone. For example, definitions of ethical leadership (Lu & Lin), leader character traits (Fehr, Yam & Dang), and workplace incivility (Taylor & Pattie) are each introduced with a citation before being applied to the Fiorina case. This "define-then-apply" technique is a foundational move in applied leadership and management writing.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with a brief introduction situating Fiorina's tenure and the article under review. The "Analysis and Discussion" section identifies specific leadership elements (vision and support) and connects their absence to ethical leadership failure. A second analytical section deepens this by examining character traits and workplace incivility. The "Critical Thinking and Evaluation" section then shifts register, proposing two theoretical remedies. The conclusion synthesizes the ethical implications without introducing new material. References follow APA-adjacent formatting throughout.
Introduction
This paper examines the controversial tenure of Carly Fiorina, the former Chief Executive Officer of Hewlett-Packard (HP), using the ethical leadership construct. In his article, Craig Johnson generates several questions that relate to leadership and management practices. The evaluation of HP's former Chief Executive Officer is influenced by the fact that the company experienced a decline in productivity within a short period after the CEO joined the organization. Fiorina entered a largely successful firm and introduced significant changes within a short time, which had considerable impacts on the firm's operations. The dramatic changes introduced within a short time culminated in the decline of the value of the company's stock within five years and the eventual unceremonious removal of the CEO. This paper responds to Johnson's article by examining how it demonstrates the principles—and failures—of ethical leadership.
References
Bishop, W. H. (2013). The elements of leadership in a global environment. Global Business and Organizational Excellence, pp. 78–85.
Fehr, R., Yam, K. C., & Dang, C. (2015). Moralized leadership: The construction and consequences of ethical leader perceptions. Academy of Management Review, 40(2), 182–209.
Johnson, C. (2008). The rise and fall of Carly Fiorina: An ethical case study. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 15(2), 188–196.
Landis, E. A., Hill, D., & Harvey, M. R. (2014). A synthesis of leadership theories and styles. Journal of Management Policy and Practice, 15(2), 97–100.
Latham, J. R. (2014). Leadership for quality and innovation: Challenges, theories, and a framework for future research. Quality Management Journal, 21(1), 11–15.
Lu, C., & Lin, C. (2014). The effects of ethical leadership and ethical climate on employee ethical behavior in the international port context. Journal of Business Ethics, 124, 209–223.
Miller, R. (2014). The five elements of effective leadership. American Management Association, pp. 36–39.
Schultz, J. R. (2013). The elements of leadership. Global Business and Organizational Excellence, pp. 47–54.
Sharif, M. M., & Scandura, T. A. (2014). Do perceptions of ethical conduct matter during organizational change? Ethical leadership and employee involvement. Journal of Business Ethics, 124, 185–196.
Taylor, S. G., & Pattie, M. W. (2014). When does ethical leadership affect workplace incivility? The moderating role of follower personality. Business Ethics Quarterly, 24(4), 595–616.
Waldman, D. A., & Balven, R. M. (2014). Responsible leadership: Theoretical issues and research directions. The Academy of Management Perspectives, 28(3), 224–234.
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