Ethics and Leadership in Global Environments

Name

Institutions

 

 

Within leadership models, are stipulations and tenets that leaders within any organization should follow to ensure better success rates in meeting objectives. Models based on effective leadership stipulate the position is subject to responsibilities and not power over other people (Abosage & Lee, 2013). In a business context, the ability of an organization to be successful depends on capability to uphold ethical values and leadership qualities. Key elements in good leadership include effective communication, conflict resolution skills and decision-making. However, the incorporation of the three elements must be accompanied by ethical values that acts as the guideline of achieving best business practice. Several theoretical models incorporate propositions of good leadership qualities (Voegtlin & Scherer, 2012). The values depicted under the models follow subjections under different business environments whereby they are tested and better models emerge. This essay seeks to analyze three among the eight propositions of ethical leadership by Voegtlin, Patzer and Sheerer. An organization that operates within ethical values have better chances of realizing success compared to one that disregards the qualities.

Voegtlin and Scherer proposes accountability as one of the qualities in ethical leadership. Accountability is the acceptance of responsibility whether proposed strategies produce positive or negative results (Abosage & Lee, 2013). A leader must be able to understand the implications of an action taken by the company and react accordingly. Good business practice entails taking reasonable risks that could help the organization attain a better position in terms of meeting objectives and competitiveness. Therefore, the leader should identify the objectives in the organization and understand the possible actions that can produce positive outcomes (Voegtlin & Scherer, 2012). Similarly, the strategic plan must also accommodate the possibility of failing and making corrections (Shafer-Landau, 2014). Only through accounting for the results from decisions can a leader develop futuristic ideas to propel the organization’s success.

Ethical leadership models must incorporate resilience relative to achieving both short and long-term objectives (Voegtlin & Scherer, 2012). All companies gets to points they experience difficulties that can lead to failure. In such situations, the leader has to exhibit resilience and ensure that the organization continues running. However, the leader must ensure that the decisions made to keep the company running are according to the law and does not infringe on other party’s interest (Shafer-Landau, 2014). A question that arises from the feature is the lengths leaders should go in order to keep their companies running. When experiencing financial difficulties, leaders seek any actions and resources to maintain or restore their positions within a market share. Business theorists should research on what percentage of leaders are capable of upholding resilience and to what levels they can break set protocols.

A leader should exhibit elements of integrity, which constitute such values as honesty and fairness (Voegtlin & Scherer, 2012). A leader with integrity is capable of making effective decisions that abide by the laws and ethical codes. When a leader respects colleagues at the work place, he gains respect and trust, which are important in building communication channels within the organization. Effective communication between the executive and the staff levels of an organization enables the achievement of objectives (Shafer-Landau, 2014). Therefore, incorporation of integrity in business practice enables companies to gain a wider market share because it opens a wider operational network for the company. Scholars should address the implications of solving dilemmatic issues while abiding to integrity and doing the same by different mechanisms.

Leadership is about responsibility and not power, therefore a leader must attain all the necessary features in order to qualify as an effective guide (Crane, 2013). Accountability, integrity and resilience are among the core values that enables effective problem solving and conflict resolution abilities. Without the qualities, the company is bound to fail, as the objectives stipulated by the organization are not accomplishable. Besides the above-mentioned qualities, the leader must be visionary and base every decision on the possibility to attain the future goal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

ABOSAGE, I., & Lee, J. W. ( 2013). The formation of trust and commitment in business relationships in the Middle East :Understanding Et- Moore relationships. International Business Review, 22(3), 602- 614.

Crane, A., MCWILLIAMS, A., Matten., J., & Siegel, D. (2012)(Eds.). The oxford handbook of corporate social responsibility. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

SFATER_ LANDAU, R, (ED). (2013), Ethical Theory: An anthology ( 2nd ed.) . Malden, Ma " Wiley- Blackwell ISBN: 978047671603

Shafer-Landau, R. (2014). The fundamentals of Ethics (3^rd ed). New York. NY: Oxford University press. ISBN: 9780199997237.

 

Voegtlin, C., Patzer, M., & Scherer, A. G. (2012). Responsible leadership in global business: A new approach to leadership and its multi-level outcomes.Journal of Business Ethics, 105(1), 1-16.