A Focus on How Leadership Style Influences Ethical Behavior in an Organization

A Focus on How Leadership Style Influences Ethical Behavior in an Organization

Introduction

In this essay, I will advance the argument that the leadership style practiced in an organization has a significant influence on the ethical behavior of its members. Managers of organizations display diverse leadership styles over their organizations, ranging from strong bureaucratic leadership to modern participatory, inclusive and discursive leadership that closely emphasize the concept of ethical leadership (Bolden & Gosling, 2006). These leadership styles and competencies greatly impact on organizations’ general performance as well as organizational behavior, with regards to work ethics (Dimitroff, Schmidt & Bond, 2005).The first segment of this essay discusses leadership styles in relation to work ethics while the second section brings into perspective the concept of ethical leadership, highlighting the role of leadership styles and competencies in inculcating ethical behavior in an organization. The final section, then samples results of studies conducted on this topic to demonstrate that leadership plays a significant role in cultivating ethical behavior in an organization.

Styles of Leadership and Ethics

The leadership style adopted by an organization plays a key role in determining the ethical behavior of members of that organization. There are various leadership styles that organization may adopt. While some organizations exercise classical and organic leadership styles, others may choose to adopt transactional or transformational styles of leadership. However, management experts agree that whichever the leadership styles an organization chooses to adopt, it will have a great influence on the degree of ethical behavior inculcated in the members of the organization (Bolden & Gosling, 2006). In their article, Dimitroff, Schmidt & Bond, (2005) note that enough attention should be given towards developing ethical behavior in an organization. In fact, they argue that inappropriate organizational behavior does not imply that the members involved in such behavior are less ethically upright. It may simply mean lack of sufficient efforts to promote and cultivate ethical behavior in the organization.

Leadership styles have to do with the manner in which organizational communication occurs between the top management and all other levels in the organizational structure. Messages and communication concerning organizational moral values are often passed from top management bodies of an organization to the lower levels. The method of communicating such messages varies with styles of leadership and also on their impact in organizational behavior (Klein, 2000). For instance, psychological studies of human behavior indicate that the way people receive and perceive certain information tends to depend on the manner in which such messages are conveyed to them. Since the human being is naturally negative against dictatorial trends and discriminatory actions, more discursive management approaches may therefore play an important role in promoting their acceptance of organizational values and ethics. As such, therefore, employee empowerment forums in which they can interact and learn personally and directly from the top management has a lot to do with their behavior in the organization (Josserand, Villesèche & Bardon, 2012).

In their article, “Leadership Competencies: time to change the tune?” Richard Bolden and Jonathan Gosling point out that Leadership competency may engulf leaders in an organization within a hook of structure and consistency that hinders continuing thematic development among the leaders. As a result, they explore how this concept could possibly be transformed into leadership assessment and development by reinforcing certain ways of behaving and thinking that will eventually enable the organization to adopt a more collective and inclusive style of leadership. However, they note that the concept of leadership competency has been increasingly gaining popularity on grounds that it fosters a shift of emphasis from specific technical job requirements to the softer inter-personal features needed in an organization. Thus, through leadership empowerment strategies, leadership competencies are delegated across other levels of the organization including people with no formal responsibilities of management. (Bolden & Gosling, 2006).

Like Bolden and Gosling, Kim Turnbull James, in his article, “Leadership in context” agrees to the fact that leadership style significantly influences ethical behavior within an organization. He points out that modern leadership should bring together a wide range of actors including those not necessarily formally holding leadership positions. Leadership should be shared through collaborative work across the organization and distributed from the top management downwards by way of innovations and new practices. As such, Kim argues that while competent leadership is important, a focus on leader attributes alone cannot enhance sufficient development to meet anticipated organizational change. He therefore proposes that leadership development should emphasize on roles, relations as well as organizational ethical practices and values which calls for learning and exchange among people sharing the same organizational context (Turnbull, 2011). This will enhance adoption of a more discursive and participatory leadership style that promotes organizational ethics (Bolden & Gosling, 2006).

Ethical Leadership and Its Role in Organizational Behavior

The previous section has set a clear link between leadership styles and ethics in an organization. In this section, I focus on the concept of ethical leadership. Before embarking on a discussion of ethical leadership, as applies in organizational context, it is important to understand the meaning of ethics and ethical behavior. In simple terms, ethical behavior refers to knowing what is right and doing it. Ethics have to do with a set of norms and principles that govern one’s behavior and many organizations have a set of rules that define their code of ethics depending on their line of operation (Katarina, Bogdan & Metka, 2010). It is closely related to morality which is more broadly based on beliefs as well as cultural and religious values. As such, an ethical system is largely based on morality. In organizational contexts, ethics can be defined with respect to situation, culture, profession, values, rules, fairness as well as principles (Klein, 2000).    Ethical leadership can be defined in terms of two principal elements. On one hand, it refers to ethical actions and decision making among the leaders. On the other hand, ethical leadership refers to the employment of a great sense of ethics in leadership in the way leaders treat and interact with their people, in attitude, in their way of encouraging and inspiring their people and in the general way in which their organizations are steered by them (Klein, 2000). The way the leaders interact with people, their public behavior, their statements and their actions constitute the visible part of leadership ethics. The invisible part, however, is based on the character of the leader in decision making, his mindset, his principles and values and his courage to maintain ethical display even during tough situations. Ethics forms an integral part of leaders’ philosophical and intellectual framework by which they comprehend as well as interact with the world around them, their organizations. Thus, Ethical leaders will remain ethical at all times, not necessarily when being seen by others (Linda & Michael, 2004).

Most management and leadership experts agree to the fact that leaders should be ethical. Let us now consider why ethical leadership is important for an organization. First, it models ethical behavior in the organization as well as the surrounding community. This because leaders act as role models and if a leader wants his/her organization and workers to behave ethically; it is his/her sole responsibility to model such behavior. Reputation for ethical behavior in a given organization and its workers can further present a leading model for the community and other organizations to follow (Klein, 2000). Ethical leadership also helps a leader to win the trust of his/her followers. This is because unless gained/maintained by force/intimidation of subjects, leadership is heavily based on trust by one’s followers. An ethical leader will be easily followed by his people due to the trust they have built in him over time (Katarina, Bogdan & Metka, 2010).

It is also important to note that ethical leadership earns a leader as well as his/her organization credibility and respect from individuals both within and without the organization who will also tend to learn from you. As such, through ethical leadership, an organization can also attract collaboration from other external organizations that are impressed by the knowledge that you and your organization will always deal with them ethically. In addition, ethical leadership creates a good working environment within an organization (Stubbs & Cocklin, 2008). This is attributed to their confidence in sharing of power as opposed to abuse of the same. They also celebrate the respect and straight forwardness with which they are treated and enjoy the power of doing their work. Such people tend to feel secure, work more cohesively and are dedicated to achieving the goals of the organization due to the inculcated sense of belonging. In their dealings, even the most junior employees tend to copy from their managers and adopt such kind of ethical organizational behavior (Terry, John & John, 2004).

Finally, ethical leadership helps individuals develop a high sense of self respect that gives them the confidence and peace to face daily life activities without question. Even when they bear opposing views to the general views of others in the organization, such views will be agitated with a lot of decorum that enhances special harmony within the organizations by occupying specific high moral grounds (Stubbs & Cocklin, 2008).Thus, it evident that ethical leadership is a very affective form of leadership that will not only streamline operations of an organization, but will also inspire and influence the rest of the members of an organization to change their behavior for the better. It is the obligation of every leader to establish a coherent ethical leadership system that will seek to make the workplace a better place for every worker and motivate them towards organizational goals (Josserand, Villesèche & Bardon, 2012).

Leadership and Ethical Behavior: Lessons from Studies

In the previous sections, we have seen the relationship between leadership style and ethics and explored the concept of ethical leadership and its role in inculcating organizational ethical behavior. This section will sample results of a few pieces of research that has been conducted to show the importance of leadership in ethical behavior. To begin with, let us consider a study by Bond, Robert and Ann on organizational behavior and disaster with a case study of a conflict at NASA. From their findings, they noted that NASA had worked hard to build a good organizational culture over time. However, this later resulted in complacency that precipitated group think. This conflict-related behavior is recorded as the primary cause for the famous Challenger as well as the Columbia accidents. Among their recommendations, open communication, renegotiation and leadership behavior of NASA’s management towards safety were to be reviewed. These are key leadership aspects that directly impact behavior within the organization (Dimitroff, Schmidt & Bond, 2005).

In their article, “From Bureaucratic to post-bureaucratic: the difficulties of transition,” Josserand, Teo and Clegg (2006) highlight the difficulties involved in attempting to refurbish large organizations. They sought to describe the public sector in Australia in the wave of corporatization. The study pointed out that it was not easy to turn personnel bureaucrats into strategists for an organization. They also noted that it was completely impossible to impose an organization’s capacity to establish more open and discursive leadership style using a mere top-down approach. This finding is perfectly consistent with the fact that a more flexible management system would play a key role in initiating a culture of ethical organizational behavior even in the post bureaucratic era. In addition, Cocklin and Stubbs (2008) also demonstrated that organizations were increasingly developing sustainability models that were strongly based on management styles that would impact the internal structural and cultural capabilities of their organizations.

Conclusion

Organizations have various leadership styles to choose from. These styles have a lot to do with the manner in which important organizational communication is relayed from top management down the hierarchy and plays a significant role in the acceptance of conveyed organizational values and principles. Following the close link between leadership and ethics, ethical leadership is very necessary for an organization and leaders have a particular obligation to inspire and inculcate ethical behavior in their organizations by presenting a perfect role model. This argument is also supported by various studies that have been conducted both in the private and the public sector across the world all of which point to the fact that the leadership style practiced in an organization has a significant influence on ethical behavior in the organization.

References

Bolden, R. & Gosling, J. (2006). Leadership competencies: Time to change the tune? Leadership, 2(2):147-63.

Dimitroff, R.D., Schmidt, L. & Bond, T. (2005).Organizational behavior and disaster: A study of conflict at NASA.  Project Management Journal, 36(2):28-38.

Josserand, E., Teo, S. & Clegg, S. (2006). From bureaucratic to post-bureaucratic: The difficulties of transition. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 19(1):54-64.

Josserand, E., Villesèche, F. & Bardon, T. (2012). Being an active member of a corporate alumni network: A critical appraisal. British Academy of Management, Cardif, UK.

Katarina, K.M., Bogdan, L. & Metka, T. (2010). Ethical Leadership. International Journal of Management & Information Syatems, 14(5):11-36.

Klein, N. (2000). The branding of learning in No logo: Taking aim at the brand bullies. New York: Picador.

Linda, K.T. & Michael, E.B. (2004). Managing Organizationa Deviance: The Role of Leaders in Influencing Unethical Behavior in the Worplace. New York: Apprentice Hall Inc.

Stubbs, W. & Cocklin, C. (2008). Conceptualizing a “sustainability business model”, Organization & Environment, 21(2):103-27.

Terry, T., John, R.S. & John, W.D. (2004). Strategic Leadership of ethical behavior in business. Academy of Management Executive, 18(2): 221-232.

Turnbull, K.J. (2011). Leadership in Context: Lessons from new leadership theory and current leadership development practice, The Kings Fund: Ideas that change healthcare. 23(2):101-123.

 

Latest Assignments