LDR 800 GCU Unethical Leaders and Organizational Ethics Discussion Reply

Reply to peer post below by furthering discussion.  

The prospect of an individual who acts unethically in their personal behaviors leading an ethically driven organization is feasible. However, this situation is faced with numerous obstacles and the possibility of future ethical dilemmas within the organization. With a system of checks and balances in place, organizations can ensure that operations remain within the ethical framework. Some strategies to do so are having regular inspections, proper reporting channels and a hierarchical system within the organization that prevents one person from having all the power (Paul et. al., 2021). By having processes in place, it prevents the unethical personal behaviors of a leaders from seeping into the organization culture.  

Challenges faced with having an unethical leader are when the employees begin to emulate the behavior to benefit in some way from engaging in unethical behaviors as their leader (Cai et. al., 2023). If employees perceive the leader’s behavior as a way that they benefit, then they may also engage in unethical behaviors further putting the organization at risk. Based on the social learning theory, employees will model the behaviors presented by their leaders (Enwereuzor et. al., 2020). In the situation with a leader who acts unethically this is not an idea. If an organization has strong ethical guidelines and leaders who adhere to these guidelines, they will model the expected ethical behaviors that they desire from their employees. Although there are ways an organization can safeguard their ethical standards from unethical leaders it is more important to have leaders with strong ethical values both in personal and business life. My personal worldview is based on being a teacher and a role model. These roles do not stop when I leave my classroom and because of this, I believe that leaders should compose themselves in an ethical manner both in personal life and in business. This will avoid any poor reputation or legal ramifications to the organization.  

References 

Cai, Y., Wang, H., Schuh, S. C., Li, J., & Zheng, W. (2023). Toward Understanding Employees “Responses to Leaders” Unethical Pro-organizational Behavior: An Outcome Favorability Perspective. JOURNAL OF BUSINESS ETHICS. https://doi-org.lopes.idm.oclc.org/10.1007/s10551-… 

Enwereuzor, I. K., Onyishi, I. E., Albi-Oparaocha, F. C., & Amaeshi, K. (2020). Perceived leader integrity as a mediator between ethical leadership and ethical climate in a teaching context. BMC Psychology, 8. https://doi-org.lopes.idm.oclc.org/10.1186/s40359-… 

Paul, C. A., Aghimien, D. O., Ibrahim, A. D., & Ibrahim, Y. M. (2021). Measures for Curbing Unethical Practices among Construction Industry Professionals: Quantity Surveyors’ Perspective. Construction Economics & Building, 21(2), 1–17. https://doi-org.lopes.idm.oclc.org/10.5130/AJCEB.v…