Abstract
This paper seeks to examine tow types of leadership styles in order to understand the significance of ethical values in a corporation. By comparing an unethical and ethical leadership style quoted from personal experience, this paper sought to highlight the impact of these tow variations. The impact was not only on the results but also on the working culture prevalent. It was seen that the ethical style of leadership needs to adopted by all corporations existing order maintain the importance of a value system in today’s world. Even in the personal decision making importance, a fundamental code of conduct which adheres to a value system was highlighted.
Introduction
What do we believe ethics to be and how do they affect our life? For all of us, ethics represent a certain idea pertaining to what is right and wrong; in terms of the way we all behave. More than simply a moralistic view of life, ethics represents mannerisms of life that we all adopt in order to lead a life which allows us to be self-aware of the rights and wrongs that we do.
This social behavioral pattern allows the leadership styles to be distinguished as well. Leaders are responsible for numerous decisions and the sort of decisions made allows the team members to understand the meaning of ethical judgments. (Becker 2002)
The sort of decisions made affect the entire organization’s work culture and hence, subsequently the sorts of customer relationships formed are also affected. The clients’ perception of an organization can be affected by the sort of decisions being made by the top management and hence, the ethical behavior displayed by the top management can go a long way in establishing the image of the company.
The workplace ethics are strongly affected by the leadership style of conduct. If the leadership adheres to a strict code of conduct and principles, than the entire organization will follow the same code of conduct. These leaders are also able to have a greater level of authority than an unethical leader (Milton, 1970).
Therefore, it has been deduced that the leadership style goes a long way in establishing the sort of environment that prevails in the workplace. If the leader exhibits values of integrity, responsibility, competence, dedication and commitment, than the working environment would mirror these values.
This paper would examine two sorts of leadership styles, one which displays the above sort of values and the second case which does not exhibit the above sort of places but in fact, takes certain unethical decisions. These very values determine the character and the subsequent success of the leadership. However, in certain cases even unethical leaders have been proven to be unsuccessful.
A quote by Robert Terry( 1993:107): “Leadership is a subset of action. Leadership is authentic action, a unique and honorific mode of engagement in life”.
Main body
The first case that this paper would seek to examine would of such a leader who in my personal experience, proved to be a man of a strong character and will. Demonstrated a character build upon a commitment and dedication to his work. Someone who was passionate about his beliefs and translated that passion into actions.
The decisions were taken after a thorough review about the subsequent consequences-any decision that resulted in any negative or unethical situation was avoided to the utmost at personal loss.
Such a person was found at a place that I did an internship at. The man was the Head of the Marketing department and was responsible for the entire creative team. By being a part of such a department he had to be more cautious about promoting anything obscene, anything which could offend a fellow worker, prospective client or even current customers
The marketing department is responsible for the creation, promotion and packaging of a number of products and services.
In order to make sure that that none of these services in any form whatsoever is found to be offensive, the manager to be make sure that all the work done was analyzed in order to make sure that nothing obscene or vulgar was in anyway a part of the promotional activity.
Not only did the manager make sure that nothing offensive was made part of the marketing strategy or camping, but the overall behavior and code of conduct exhibited a man of character. A person who strongly showed such qualities which made his level of authority seem to be even greater than it actually was. A person who everybody respected due to his strong level of confidence, competence and dedication. A man who showed up before everybody else and left after everyone. Someone who was a lowly intern like me could easily approach without any fear.
In fact, what I got to learn from this very person allowed me to achieve much more than I could have otherwise. He taught me to trust the fellow workers and to listen to their advice it meant showing respect to the others. Though friendly, still exerted certain of authoritative air which left us all in no doubt who was in charge.
He provided continuous opportunities for growth for all the people involved in the marketing department. From the idea to the final campaign the process was a continual process of innovation and creativity in which the emphasis was not on an individual’s work but on the team effort.
Each person had to live up to a certain expectation standard and the trust in each made the team extra precautionary about disappointing the “boss”.
While the former experience could be looked on with a sense of reverence, another leadership experience left me with nothing but a bitter taste in my mouth. I had to do some research work for a project and was part of a research team. The leader of this project was a man who was highly questionable and left me wondering as to how this status of a leader had been conferred on him.
Not only was the person highly disrespectful to the rest of the team but took all credit for the work-without showing any hint of appreciation or gratitude. Highly incompetent himself, was unable to provide any guidelines and encouraged an atmosphere of illegal means usage. For someone like me who believed in certain rules and principles, such shocking behavior was quite appalling as it was in direct contrast to a leadership style that I had been more familiar with earlier on.
This leader refused to show any hint of integrity, constantly berating and questioning us while at the same time not allowing any one to provide any sort of idea of help. As a result, the quality of work did suffer and the team was again held responsible. The lines of communication between the leader and the team were quite weak and hence, the team was pretty ineffectual in terms of co-ordination etc.
Hence, the above two leadership styles showed variation of leadership styles. While one was clearly a fine example of an ethical style of leadership, the other was a fine example of an unethical style of leadership.
If I was to choose a leadership style, I would most definitely choose the one adopted by the ethical leader as t not only produced quality work and result but ensured a working environment which was productive and conducive.
A place where the team members felt encouraged and significant members of an organization rather than mere add-ons whose opinion does not matter. The ethical style of leadership ensures much more than productivity, ensures a motivated team force which does not require motivational schemes to motivate it. Such a team which feels responsible and treats its leader with respect rather than with disdain and disrespect-a team which is committed to its work (Becker, 2002).
The organizations of today need to reinforce the importance of having such a leadership style. By having such committed people of its organizations, these companies can achieve success not at the cost of its respect and integrity. Achieve results which they can actually be proud of instead of seeking shortcuts which can leave their reputation in tatters.
The corporate decision making process can be improved by ensuring such a working culture in which competent leaders are introduced who allow the opinion of all to count. The communication lines are kept open and values such as integrity, hard work and dedication are preached (Singer, 2000).
In certain cases, these core values are being overlooked by leaders who feel that achieving success is more important than anything and hence, try to make use of all means possible instead of understanding the implications of using illegal or unethical means.
For such cases, the significance of having such values is even more important as otherwise the capitalistic structure can mean nothing but a money-making scheme which has no room for the importance between right and wrong. Such a culture could result in nothing but the destruction of the society’s principles and its value system.
References
- Singer, P( 2000) “Writings on an ethical life” Harper Collins Publishers, London.
- Becker, L & Becker,C(2002)” Second edition in three volumes.” New York: Routledge
- Milton, F (1970-09-13). “The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase Its Profits“, The New York Times Magazine.