Ethic

Ethics and Leadership

Cammi L. Derr

Texas A&M University - Commerce

Ethics and leadership can be an important contribution to an organization and society. Without ethics in

leadership, organizations may take on a role that could negatively impact the entire world. Ethics can be

used to provide organizational leaders with guidelines to aid them in their career roles as to promote

them as a good role model to the employees that serve under them. Several ethical theories and principles

exist that can be used as tools or guides for ethical leaders, however, not every theory is good for every

situation. People have personal moral standards and values that drive their decisions.

Ethics plays a large part in all aspects of life which means that it also plays a part in business and

organizational attitudes. It doesn’t always mean that the behavior that is displayed is ethical. Unethical

behavior is just as common as ethical behavior. Many theories exist that attempt to explain the different

behaviors and how they coexist in the organizational world. Leadership involves many challenges that

prompt a leader to make choices that will affect many people within an organization. Based on these

decisions, users may feel ethical or non-ethical implications that can cause organizational challenges to

arise involving social issues outside of the company.

Altekruse, Engels, and Freeman (2004) stated that “ethics can be viewed as a way of understanding

and examining the moral or the good life” (Altekruse, Engels, & Freeman, 2004, p. 164). Most people

have a different definition for the term “ethics”. Some people believe it is related to moral reasoning and

is developed at a young age based on values taught to them. “Ethic” is defined as “the discipline dealing

with what is good and bad and with moral duty and obligation” (Ethic, 2011). Maxwell wrote that ethics

can be taught to others if the method of that instruction is tailored for those being taught (Maxwell,...