Class Post. Enjoy!
University of Phoenix (n.d.) discussed Blanchard and Peale’s three-question approach; Is it legal?; Is it balanced; can there be a win-win solution?, and is it right? Furthermore, the Rotary International’s four part test for ethical behavior asks: Is it the truth?; Is it fair to all concerned?; Will it build good will and better friendship?; and will it be beneficial to all concerned? (University of Phoenix, n. d.). I read a book by Kate Byron, Loving What Is: Four Questions That Can Change Your Life where she posited four questions one should ask when confronted with thoughts of the mind and situations people face in their everyday life. I believe these questions relate to ethics as do the questions listed above. They are:
1. Is it true?
2. Can you absolutely know it’s true?
3. How do you react, what happens, when you believe that thought?
4. Who would you be without the thought?
To provoke transformation, a leader must be willing to stand firm on his or her ethical values even at the risk of ridicule and alienation. As the leader demonstrates consistency, his or her credibility will increase; thus making others more likely to follow the leader’s example. In like fashion, Bandura (1985) argued:
The power of example to activate and channel behavior has been well documented…one can get people to behave altruistically to volunteer their services, to delay or to seek gratification, to show affection, to behave punitively, to prefer certain foods and apparel, to converse on particular topics, to be inquisitive or passive, to think innovatively or conventionally, and to engage in almost any course or action by having such conduct exemplified (p. 206).
I believe to foster an ethical environment; everyone must realize that ethics is an individual responsibility. Despite cultural norms or the choices made by others within an organization, an ethical leader must take this responsibility seriously and be willing to do what is ethical. An ethical leader must differentiate between those actions or activities that are negotiable and those that are non-negotiable (Beamish, Morrison, Inkpen, & Rosenzweig, 2003). When leaders model integrity and authenticity, the organization and the people are less susceptible to unethical behavior.
References
Beamish, P. W., Morrison, A., Inkpen, A.,& Rosenzweig, P. (2003). International management: Text and cases (5th ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw- Hill.
Byron, K. (2002). Loving what is: Four questions that can change your life. New York, NY: Three Rivers Press.
University of Phoenix (n.d.). PHL/736 week two faculty lecture. Retrieved from University of Phoenix eCampus Website.
Related articles
- Corporate Social Responsibility (mayrsom.com)
- Ethical Decision Making (mayrsom.com)
- 3.00 Introduction to Ethics (peetsjournalism1.wordpress.com)
