Business Ethics

Business Ethics and Leadership

Torrey Lewis

BUS 610 Organizational Behavior

Prof. Lee Meadows

August 20, 2012

Ashford University

Effective leaders have the ability to influence behaviors in a positive and negative way. Leaders establish direction by communicating a vision and inspiring followers. The value of leadership goes hand in hand with the unethical or ethical character of those individuals. The purpose of this research topic is to describe the actions of Robert Nardelli, while CEO of Home Depot, and if they were viewed as ethical or unethical. In researching the topic, the conclusion is the actions described in print, justify the leadership of Robert Nardelli, and are examples of ethical behaviors.

Leadership traits are physical and personality characteristics that differentiate leaders from followers (Baack, 2012, section 8.2. There have been many theories that try to break down good leaders verses bad leaders. The trait theory states some of the characteristics of valuable leaders include an individual’s height, the extent of their verbal skills, and even persistence and confidence in themselves. In the example with Robert, coming from such a strong background with General Electric, the previous CEOs and board of directors found someone they thought would lead them into the next phase of their business. Although Robert did not have any previous experience in leading a major company as big as Home Depot, there were certain characteristics that led to him getting the position with limited experience. The board decided that a seasoned manager with the expertise to drive continued growth need to be brought in to run what had become a giant business (Charan, 2006). Analyzing the specifics of the trait theory, there was a combination of various personality and physical traits that exuded from him that led to such an honorable position.

Another leadership theory researched was the Behavioral Theory. The purpose of this theory is to...