Ethical Leadership Debate Interpersonal and Team Working Skills

Question: Discuss about theEthical Leadership Debate for Interpersonal and Team Working Skills. Answer: Mike Gustavsson Mike Gustavsson is completely against the argument that ethical leadership is impossible in shareholder focussed economy. He believes that the setting of ethical tone of a company is under the ambit of its leadership and it becomes moral and ethical responsibility of the leadership to provide the same. As a university lecturer, he has high level of Moral Development and expects others also to be at the same stage 6 (Kohlberg, 1971) as he is. His approach to ethics is Rule utilitarianism which considers the greatest good of all in the long-term for defining ethical approach. Also, he believes in following Deontology as propounded by Kant, Levinas and Ockham. Due to this approach of his, he even starts to blame his daughter when she starts to divert from his perceived path of ethics. Ultimately his dissonance with the ethical practices of Alfaraft AB leads to him protesting against a company in which his own daughter works and he is a dominant stakeholder. Jan Edwards In the given situation, Jan Edwards is against the argument that ethical leadership is impossible. She expects the new management hires to have such virtuous characters that decision making for them is based on their intellectual wisdom and moral honesty rather than obligations or outcomes. Further, her concern towards the development of Guatemalan educational system and business scenario shows her feminist ethic which emphasizes care and value of relationships. The feminist ethic of hers also leads her to be on stages 5 6 (Kohlberg, 1971) of moral development i.e. Legalistic social contract and universal ethical principles. While the former talks about the greater good of the greatest number of people through universal consensus, latter applies Maxim 2 of Kants ethical theory (Sullivan, 1994.) i.e. the importance of human dignity. In general Jan exhibits high internal locus of control and in this particular case, she is a dominant stakeholder with access to power and legitimate standing but no urgent claims. Mei-Hua Felung Mei-Huas case argues against the argument that ethical leadership is impossible in corporate scenarios. In fact, Mei-Hua emphasizes the importance of strong ethical code of conduct for the continuation of a profitable business. However, Mei-Hua demonstrates the presence of a high level of egoism as well as act utilitarianism wherein the definition of ethics changes and stretches as per the actions and convenience of the doer. Her stance on ethical leadership is to manifest honesty in all of the undertakings they have and to follow Code of Corporate Governance religiously. If within these limits, her sense of ethics is well justified. Her moral development has been curtailed at Stage 1 (Kohlberg, 1971) wherein an individual is ethical only because she perceives a threat of punishment otherwise. However, there is also manifest a stage 3 (Kohlberg, 1971) moral development in her wherein she justifies not only her doings but also her colleagues. Deshi Chen Deshi Chan is completely in favour of the argument and believes that ethical leadership IS impossible in a shareholder focused economy and that educating about it is a hindrance to the business studies. According to him, there is no point in studying ethics at business schools when they are not practiced in real-life situations. His show of egoism (Feinberg, 1978) and individualism i.e. Stage 2 of moral development (Kohlberg, 1971) also reinforces this belief of his that leadership is focused on creating a profitable and successful business. Deshi has a high external locus of control and demonstrates a partial lack of Stage 3 of Moral development (Kohlberg, 1971) where he seeks only self and familial approval of ethics and not anyone elses. Stuck in his current situation of whether to follow the ethics curriculum or not, Deshi for now is a mosquito having urgent claims but lacking power to affect those claims. He also stands to be in a similar situation in the future if he keeps he s ame thought process and proceeds on to a workplace. Interpersonal and Team Working Skills The ability to function effectively in a team is an important part of employability skills nowadays. A similar skill has been attempted to be inculcated in us by asking us to work in teams for this course. My team members are David, Demi Fred Karine and Qiaan Tong. Through this assignment, I have learned a lot about the importance of functioning in a team and how it helps in the need satisfaction of social affiliation and self-actualisation needs (Maslow, Stephens, Heil, Bennis, 1998). I personally relate to Stages 2 4 of Moral development (Kohlberg, 1971) wherein I believe that an individual is entitled to his views and thoughts which should be respected and also that while working in a social environment or in a team, it is important that certain rules are observed and adhered to for the effective and efficient functioning of the team. Communication plays a crucial in the effective working of any team and it is important that a free flow of thoughts and ideas happens within the team for effective team work (Gladstein, 1984). This allowed us all to reach Stage 3 of moral development (Kohlberg, 1971) through constant approval of each others thoughts and suggestions. The one thing that I liked best about my team was our ability to trust each other to the utmost. In circumstances when we fell in trouble, we could completely rely on each other. However, existence of different people in a team mandates that there will be conflicts in the team also. These conflicts were resolved through collective dialogue as advocated by stage 3 (Kohlberg, 1971) and through rational analysis of each and every argument (Behfar, Peterson, Mannix, Trochim, 2008). References Behfar, K. J., Peterson, R. S., Mannix, E. A., Trochim, W. M. (2008). The critical role of conflict resolution in teams: a close look at the links between conflict type, conflict management strategies, and team outcomes. Journal of applied psychology, 93(1), 170. Feinberg, J. (1978). Psychological egoism. Gladstein, D. L. (1984). Groups in context: A model of task group effectiveness. Administrative Science Quarterly, 499-517. Kohlberg, L. (1971). Stages of moral development. Moral Education, 23-92. Maslow, A. H., Stephens, D. C., Heil, G., Bennis, W. (1998). Maslow on management. New York: John Wiley. Sullivan, R. J. (1994). An introduction to Kant's ethics. Cambridge University Press.