Research on Ethical Leadership

Discuss about the Ethical Leadership for Organization Development Journal.

The beginning of the 21^st century has seen several researches in the fields of ethical leadership. This type of leadership has become a topic of scientific enquiry. There also have been established measures and a corpus of research along with theoretical work which is responsible for the assessment of the previous circumstances and the effects. There have been several unethical acts of organisation leaders which have received an immense of attention and there are speculations regarding the events and issues which have led to the rise of unethical issues in the organizations which has led to the need for ethical leadership (Alshammari, Almutairi & Thuwaini, 2015).

Ethical behaviour is considered to be proper, right and just as opposed to the unethical considerations of being wrong or unjust. Therefore it can be said that ethics is the code of values and moral principles guiding the behaviour of humans (Mayer et al., 2012). It can be stated that ethical leadership is an assemble which seems to be a bit ambiguous and includes several diverse elements. Instead of considering ethical leadership to be stopping people from performing the correct thing, researchers aim to make people understand it as something that enable them to do the proper thing.  All in all it can be stated that “ethical leadership is a form of leadership which enables individuals to demonstrate conduct for common good which is acceptable as well as appropriate in each area of their lives (Branson & Gross, 2014)”.

It is stated by researchers that ethical leaders always are aware of doing the best thing. It might be difficult in exactly defining the meaning behind what is right but a true ethical leader is not afraid of doing anything which they truly consider to be right (Yukl et al., 2013). This is true even in case it is unpopular, unprofitable or even inconvenient. The different characteristics of “ethical leadership” are discussed as follows:

1. Justice: An “ethical” leader is found to be just and fair at all times. These leaders do not have any favourites and are responsible for treating every person equally. Under the guidance of ethical leaders “no employee has any reason to fear biased treatment on the basis” of any sort of demarcations or alterations, be it gender, nationality, ethnicity or any other factor.
2. Respect towards others: One of the main noteworthy traits of “ethical leadership” is the respect which is provided to the followers. A leader who is ethical shows huge admiration for all team members and also listens to them in an attentive manner and their contribution are also valued. They are compassionate and generous at the time of considerations of opposing viewpoints (Hassan, Wright & Yukl, 2014).
3. Honesty: In this connection it can be said that any person who is “ethical will also be honest as well as loyal”. This is because of the reason that for effective ethical leaders, there is a huge amount of importance on the idea of trust and dependability. Ethical leaders are responsible for conveying fats in a transparent manner irrespective of their negative popularity.
4. Humane: the humane attitude and nature of the ethical leaders are very popular. The leader also needs to be ethical as well as moral. Ethical leaders are those who place huge importance on kindness and act in ways which are always beneficial to them.
5. “Focus on teambuilding”: “Ethical” leaders help in the fostering a sense of community and team spirit within a particular organisation. At a time when an ethical leader strives towards the achievement of goals, the goals under consideration are not merely personal goals. These leaders make genuine efforts for the achievement of goals which benefit the entire organisation apart from themselves.
6. “Value driven decision making”: “In ethical leadership, the decisions are checked at first to ensure that they are in accordance with the organisational values as a whole. Only the decisions meeting such criteria are implemented”.
7. Encouraging initiatives: It is possible for employees to succeed and flourish under the guidance of ethical leaders. Employees get rewarded for their innovations and ideas which helps them in the improvement of the way in which things are done. Employees also received praise for taking a step towards their goals instead of waiting for other people to do it for them (Shapiro & Stefkovich, 2016).
8. Leadership by example: Ethical leadership is the idea of doing things rather than only speaking about them. The high expectations which an ethical leader possesses from the employees who work under him are also to be considered at the individual level. The leaders can only expect leaders to do the right thing by means of leading by example.
9. Valuing awareness: It is natural for an ethical leader to continuously discuss the high values and expectations which they place on their own selves, other employees as well as the organisation concerned. By the regular communication and discussing of values it is ensured that there is a consistent understanding across the organisation (Steinbauer et al., 2014).
10. Zero tolerance for ethical violations: It is natural for an ethical leader to expect his subordinates to do the right thing at all points except the time which is convenient to them. It is unnatural for a leader of such high value to wither overlook or tolerate ethical violations.

Ethical leaders are capable of the creation of “a congenial environment with productive relationships at three different levels the individual team and that of the overall establishment”. The proper nurturing of these relationships is bound to have certain beneficial outcomes. These can be defined to be the following:

• Well-being of individuals: Maintenance of a constructive working ambience is a crucial

“responsibility of a leader who is strong and also ethical. Ethical leaders who lead by example might influence others to do the same thing. In general the people get affected by the interactions which occur around them. In general people are affected by the interactions which occur around them.”  Positive nature of communication among the co-workers might help influencing the productivity on the job as also the attitude (Yidong & Xinxin, 2013).

• Energy of the team: Ethical leadership us capable of involving “the management of conduct and collaboration within a team. Typically it can be seen that morale is higher in the workplace when people get along well with each other. At the time when co-workers work as a team it helps in building relationships in the workplace and assist the overall performance of the group”. In general strong leaders are capable of leading by example.
• Organisational health: The importance of maintenance of affirmative attitude in the place of work is connected quite a lot with the improvement of the overall health of an organisation. At times when people show respect for each other’s opinions, it helps in the creation of a productive work environment. An ethical organisation results when people from different communities work together in a scenario of mutual respect when it is possible for them to grow personally and build friendships and contribute towards the overall goal (Winterich, Mittal & Aquino, 2013).

Defining Ethical Behavior and Leadership

 In the backdrop of an organisation, “ethical leadership” and its concept is extremely important and it calls for a manager to derive the meaning of the core values and to enforce them in all particular situations of life. This is for the overall and common good. The 4-V model of ethical leadership is responsible for demonstration of all the different sides of ethical leadership. This model is actually a framework which is responsible for the alignment of internal factors, beliefs and values with the external factors which imply the behaviours and actions which are considered in service with the aim of approaching the common good (Miao et al., 2014).

Based on this model it can be stated that the leaders who aim cause a change require to make “an inner journey of integrity” and also that of “outer commitment to the common good”. It starts with the inner journey of the person, which is the first step, when the persons realize their core values and also identify a vision which is responsible for making the world different and this also enables the individuals to realize their “core values” and also identify a vision by which the world can be seen to be a different place. The second step comprises of the leadership development approach to move towards an outer commitment of life and behaviour of the people takes place in ways that are responsible for serving the common good. The ultimate goal of the “leadership is to shape the world in a visionary and inclusive scenario” and this is also responsible for allowing the organisational members to meet the needs and potentials as they come and go (Palanski, Avey & Jiraporn, 2014).

It is also to be mentioned that the “4-V model of leadership” includes the 4 different “sides of ethical leadership including that of values, vision, voice and virtue”. Values are the crucial factor within the model. In order to develop the “ethical leadership” the leader needs to begin with a proper knowledge as to the core values of the individual (Schaubroeck et al., 2012). Secondly the vision is the ability of the leader to “incorporate his or her actions within the framework of an existent system”. Being the third side voice needs to be claimed for articulation of the vision to the others in order to be motivated into action. Fourthly, virtue which is the common good is to be fostered by the leaders with the practice of virtuous behaviour so that people can strive to do the correct things (Avey,  Wernsing & Palanski, 2012).

Characteristics of Ethical Leadership

The key additional elements of the 4-V model are that of “service, polis and renewal”. Service is responsible for connecting vision to the values which are tested by means of service and the vision is often revealed. Polis or politics indicate that an organisation is engaged in the art of politics at the time voice is given to the purpose of vision in the public context. “Renewal is defined to be the territory where voice returns to values and voice can be expressed in various ways”. It is desirable that the leaders consider if the actions are consistent with morals and aim (Shin, 2012).

Employee turnover is a crucial challenge in the organisations. The employees are considered to be crucial assets of the organisation and the organisational costs which are incurred due to the reasons of job quitting, “subsequent hiring of replacement personnel, new-hire training and administration” are considerable. There has been an increased interest in the development and the promotion of ethical leadership (Eisenbeiss, 2012). “Ethical leadership is considered to be uniquely important due to the impact of the leaders on the organisational conduct and organisational performance”. In this context it has been defined that “ethical leadership is the demonstration of normatively appropriate content through personal actions and interpersonal relationships and the promotion of such conduct to followers through two way communication, reinforcement and decision-making.” “Ethical leaders are transparent and they are capable of engaging in open communication, promotion and rewarding ethical conduct among the followers. In case there is a transparency of the leaders, engagement in open communication with the followers and clarification of expectations and responsibilities, the employees become clear on whatever is expected from them. The bond between the ethical leaders and their employees are bound to be stronger thereby creating a pleasurable environment and this causes a higher commitment and this also decreases the turnover intention (Chughtai, Byrne & Flood, 2015)”.

Employees are the most crucial assets in any particular organisation and therefore the goals and objectives of the organisation are dependent on the performance of the employees. Ethical leadership is considered to play an crucial role in the relationship between organisational culture and employee outcomes (Dion, 2012). Ethical leadership is considered to be more likely to bring about the effectiveness of a leader, willingness of employees to put in extra effort, job satisfaction of the employees and also an ideal environment to allow the flourishing of ethical leadership. This is ultimately bound to lead to the increase in the job performance of the employees. There are several researches which have also shown that the influence of the ethical leadership on the employee job performance is considerable and hugely positive (Jordan et al., 2013).

4-V Model of Ethical Leadership

Microsoft is an organisation which “illustrates the 4-V Model of ethical leadership. The use of leadership helps Bill Gates in notably releasing the key tensions within the leadership” at the time of the globalisation process of Microsoft. The passion intensity, integrity and ore values have been developed by the leader of Microsoft. Philanthropy plays a huge role in the organisation (Kalshoven, Den Hartog & De Hoogh, 2013). Organisations like Starbucks, Goldman Sachs, Patagonia, Intel also abide by the values of ethical leadership. These organisations believe in serving the common good. The leaders are also capable enough of aligning his actions regarding the correct things to do. In the globalization process, majority of the competitors of the companies do not give major importance to the concept of humanity. The focus on ethical leadership is responsible for increasing the overall brand image of the patronizing companies. In conclusion it can be said that ethical leadership is an effective tool by which the leaders become capable enough of managing their organisations (Resick et al., 2013).

Conclusion:

Leadership is responsible for playing an important role in organisational success.  Having the presence of ethical leadership within a particular organisation is responsible for playing an important role in organisational performance and for having successful performance, the organisations need a follower who is capable of properly guiding his or her followers. Possessing an ethical and effective leadership can help the organisations sustain in their impact of worldwide business. It has been suitably found and stated that ethical leadership is facilitated by a transformational style of leadership. The personal characteristic traits also go a long way in the determination of ethical behaviour and this fosters the ethical culture in the organisations. The choice of correct and proper leaders for a particular task is not easy and therefore the leaders who are chosen need to be proper and ethical. It is desirable that the leaders are genuine and are capable of showing the true qualities of ethical leaders. Moral, ethical and genuine leaders are bound to instil the same qualities in their followers thereby leading to a category of people who are worthy and genuine.

It is considered that ethical leadership is the most important for a particular organisation and it is imperative for any company to succeed. There might be instances where people might react unconstructively to their ethical leaders when the leaders behave in an proper and ethical way which is out of the reach of the others.  Therefore it is necessary that the companies are aware of the existent different leadership styles and there is still the creation of a rapport and trustworthy environment for the employees. The establishments also need to induce the concept of ethical leadership and also to control the degree of the ethical view of a particular leader. Putting the employees under immense pressure at the time of dictating them with the ethical standards that they need to be maintained can lead to poor “job performance” and an amplification in the amount of alleged stress.

Impact of Ethical Leadership on Employee Outcomes

References:

Alshammari, A., Almutairi, N. N., & Thuwaini, S. F. (2015). Ethical leadership: The effect on employees. International Journal of Business and Management, 10(3), 108.

Avey, J. B., Wernsing, T. S., & Palanski, M. E. (2012). Exploring the process of ethical leadership: The mediating role of employee voice and psychological ownership. Journal of Business Ethics, 107(1), 21-34.

Branson, C. M., & Gross, S. J. (Eds.). (2014). Handbook of ethical educational leadership. Routledge.

Chughtai, A., Byrne, M., & Flood, B. (2015). Linking ethical leadership to employee well-being: The role of trust in supervisor. Journal of Business Ethics, 128(3), 653-663.

Dion, M. (2012). Are ethical theories relevant for ethical leadership?. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 33(1), 4-24.

Eisenbeiss, S. A. (2012). Re-thinking ethical leadership: An interdisciplinary integrative approach. The Leadership Quarterly, 23(5), 791-808.

Hassan, S., Wright, B. E., & Yukl, G. (2014). Does ethical leadership matter in government? Effects on organizational commitment, absenteeism, and willingness to report ethical problems. Public Administration Review, 74(3), 333-343.

Jordan, J., Brown, M. E., Treviño, L. K., & Finkelstein, S. (2013). Someone to look up to: Executive–follower ethical reasoning and perceptions of ethical leadership. Journal of Management, 39(3), 660-683.

Kalshoven, K., Den Hartog, D. N., & De Hoogh, A. H. (2013). Ethical leadership and follower helping and courtesy: Moral awareness and empathic concern as moderators. Applied Psychology, 62(2), 211-235.

Mayer, D. M., Aquino, K., Greenbaum, R. L., & Kuenzi, M. (2012). Who displays ethical leadership, and why does it matter? An examination of antecedents and consequences of ethical leadership. Academy of Management Journal, 55(1), 151-171.

Miao, Q., Newman, A., Yu, J., & Xu, L. (2013). The relationship between ethical leadership and unethical pro-organizational behavior: Linear or curvilinear effects?. Journal of Business Ethics, 116(3), 641-653.

Palanski, M., Avey, J. B., & Jiraporn, N. (2014). The effects of ethical leadership and abusive supervision on job search behaviors in the turnover process. Journal of Business Ethics, 121(1), 135-146.

Resick, C. J., Hargis, M. B., Shao, P., & Dust, S. B. (2013). Ethical leadership, moral equity judgments, and discretionary workplace behavior. Human Relations, 66(7), 951-972.

Schaubroeck, J. M., Hannah, S. T., Avolio, B. J., Kozlowski, S. W., Lord, R. G., Treviño, L. K., … & Peng, A. C. (2012). Embedding ethical leadership within and across organization levels. Academy of Management Journal, 55(5), 1053-1078.

Shapiro, J. P., & Stefkovich, J. A. (2016). Ethical leadership and decision making in education: Applying theoretical perspectives to complex dilemmas. Routledge.

Shin, Y. (2012). CEO ethical leadership, ethical climate, climate strength, and collective organizational citizenship behavior. Journal of Business Ethics, 108(3), 299-312.

Steinbauer, R., Renn, R. W., Taylor, R. R., & Njoroge, P. K. (2014). Ethical leadership and followers’ moral judgment: The role of followers’ perceived accountability and self-leadership. Journal of Business Ethics, 120(3), 381-392.

Winterich, K. P., Mittal, V., & Aquino, K. (2013). When does recognition increase charitable behavior? Toward a moral identity-based model. Journal of Marketing, 77(3), 121-134.

Yidong, T., & Xinxin, L. (2013). How ethical leadership influence employees’ innovative work behavior: A perspective of intrinsic motivation. Journal of Business Ethics, 116(2), 441-455.

Yukl, G., Mahsud, R., Hassan, S., & Prussia, G. E. (2013). An improved measure of ethical leadership. Journal of leadership & organizational studies, 20(1), 38-48.