Question

How would you respond to the post below?

A leader’s responsibility for ethical behavior influences the idea of an ethical organizational culture. Leading by example allow leaders to practice ethical behavior in the hope that followers see the good in it and practice it as well. Key (1999) concluded that the perception of a leader’s ethics helps guide the behavior of an organization. Leaders would also be able to use their ethical practices to build a strong ethical organizational culture and align them with organizational goals to achieve success. However, if leaders set bad examples for the organization, then a toxic environment would be created and cause disruption in the organization. Like the popular phrase, one bad apple can spoil the whole bunch. Warrick (2016) stated that a person is defined by his or her character. The late Steve Jobs comes to mind when it comes to leadership and character. Although he started off being a controlling leader where he gets into a rage against his employees, he eventually learned from his experiences and became a more positive leader for Apple (Connelly, 2012). A leader’s morality should be distinguished as their leadership style is based on it. Jobs’ private morality was not as advertised in the media. He threw fits at employees and ended up on the night shift when he was first working for Apple (Connelly, 2012). However, he eventually fell in love with his work as his leadership by example influenced Apple to become successful. His personal ethics changed for the better as he gained experience through his creativity. A bad person can be a good leader. Jobs started off as a person with a bad temper. However, through his work, he strived to become a successful leader for Apple. Leaders must demonstrate ethical conduct because organizational cultures are based on how leaders conduct themselves. As discussed in the weekly lecture, ethical responsibility help leaders establish an ethical culture for an organization (Shelton, n.d.). Jobs was a complicated person. His ethical behavior was not always the best. Although successful, Jobs could have applied more ethical practices and behaviors to become even more successful as a leader. Personally, I would choose to establish a code of ethics. A study concluded that implementing a code of ethics for new employees to help them realize the importance of ethical values (Valentine & Johnson, 2005). An organization must have a good foundation to build on. Leaders can be trained and developed and employee training can be conducted. Without a code of ethics, it would be difficult to establish ethical values to create an effective organizational culture.

Answer 1

Ans

I agree with the author that having a Code of Ethics is very important for an organization. This is particularly applicable for large organizations as all employees need to have crystal clear understanding of where to draw the line and to conduct themselves in a manner consistent with the organization's values.

As Warren Buffet puts it: "Integrity is the most important skill" . He ensures that the people he hires are having the highest level of integrity.

I disagree with the author in citing Steve Jobs as example of bad ethics in his earlier days. Steve Jobs was very demanding and rough with his employees and colleagues but that does not make him unethical. He was at all times acting in the interest of the company and did not put his interest ahead of the company. We should differentiate impolite behaviour from unethical behaviour.