Ethical And Responsible Leadership Assignment Sample

Introduction of Ethical And Responsible Leadership Assignment 

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Ethics is the most effective and long-lasting phenomenon for creating a leader. It is a collection of personal and social ideas as well as a moral code that defines what is acceptable and unacceptable behavior among the leaders. It appears to be a factor in determining whether the leaders have the appropriate interest to maintain their responsibility in the organization. In this report, the traits and techniques of a responsible and ethical leader have been discussed. The traits that I have, and need to develop to become a responsible and ethical leader have also been described. Various theories have been discussed to strengthen the concept of ethical leadership.

Traits, and techniques of responsible and ethical leadership

As a leader, I need to maintain some valuable ethics to become a responsible and ethical leader. The main traits that as a leader I need to possess are honesty, integrity, virtue, leading by example, communication, fairness, and willingness to evolve.

Theory of Utilitarianism

It states that, in whatever situation, leaders must act appropriately. Leaders must put up their best effort to get the best possible outcome (Price, 2018). It also emphasizes that when making judgments, I should think about others' best interests and well-being. As per this theory, being a leader, I should consider the wants and desires of my workers before making decisions. It may help me achieve the best possible outcome for the workers (Perry, 2018). Leaders who can consider the well-wishes and kindness of others can easily display their ethical or moral beliefs.

Theory of Kantianism

The principle of treating people with respect is described in this section. Respect for others is a key aspect of this ethical approach. I have strong ethical convictions and can demonstrate respect for other employees and workers in the business. I also have a moral responsibility to respect my followers. I have the trait to respect my subordinates and followers. The views and judgments of other workers have a significant impact on the company's aims and objectives, which I must respect (Perry, 2018). I discovered that treating other employees with respect might enhance their motivation and desire to follow ethical norms. When leaders regard the other members of their team by appreciating their perspectives and ideas, it makes them feel more engaged in their work.

Social contract theory

Leaders must always be rational and evaluate all of the information while making decisions. I have realized that I am not particularly adept at making decisions (Feng et al., 2018). I have problems making rational decisions. By making reasonable judgments and maintaining ethics and principles, other workers are influenced by their decision-making approach. A rational and practical decision-making approach can help me reach organizational goals and objectives more effectively. Therefore, I need to make a rational decisions as a leader.

Virtue theory

As per this theory, leaders need to make judgments based on the needs and wishes of their organizations and individuals (Wright et al., 2020). It assists managers in making decisions that are beneficial to their personnel and customers. Leaders have the authority to make decisions that benefit the organization. Therefore, as a leader, I need to think of the benefits and well-being of the employees before making any decision (Wright et al., 2020). I have empathetic skills through which I can understand the emotions and feelings of the employees. Thus, their feelings are very crucial for decision-making.

Situational leadership technique

The situational leadership technique is the process in which the leaders make decisions as per the situation (Wuryani et al., 2021). As per this theory, I need to respond to the situation. Situational leadership is an approach in which leaders examine the preparedness level of the teammates as well as the distinctiveness of each circumstance. Depending on the preparation level, I need to make necessary strategies and actions to tackle the situation.

Situational leadership theory

(Source: Wuryani et al., 2021)

Behavioral theory

The behavioral approach to leadership refers to the behavior of the leaders that can meet their responsibilities. A leader can improve their behavior or leadership approaches by getting inspired by other great leaders (de Graaf, 2019). I also can improve my behavior, activities, and approaches to seeing other leaders. It will help me develop my traits of leadership and thus I can maintain ethics and responsibilities by the approaches great leaders take to guide their employees. I can modify my behavior as per the needs and requirements.

Behavioural Theory

(Source: de Graaf, 2019)

These are the main traits that I need to possess to become an ethical and responsible leader in an organization and also need to develop my rational thinking ability to meet my responsibility as a leader.

Leadership identity and decision-making abilities

Leadership plays a very crucial role in making effective decisions. The decision-making ability of a leader can help him effectively run the organization. With this decision-making ability, I can become a responsible leader. The leadership identity comes with the ability of the leaders to make decisions.

Directive decision making

Realistic and sensible decision-making are two attributes that every leader should have. They will not decide until they are certain it will result in a favorable outcome. As a result, no decisions are made without first devising a viable approach (Samuel et al., 2018). I give clear duties to each member of the team and ensure that everyone understands what they need to do and how to achieve it. As a result, as a directed decision-maker, I can expect a high degree of dedication and task participation. Directed decision-making provides me with highly efficient teams that collaborate to achieve the industry's major goals when done appropriately. It also aids me in perfectly doing the task while eliminating anything superfluous or incorrect. This ethical component aids me in increasing my truthfulness, which has a direct bearing on my long-term viability.

I understand that some of the busy work can be removed to spend more time on corporate strategy. Before communicating with the team members, I establish a clear way of carrying out these new tasks. I then schedule a meeting with the employees to explain the approach and ask them whether they intend to do this (Samuel et al., 2018). I also organize a team in which they are trained to understand how to carry the task out.

Analytical decision making

Analytical decision-makers analyze data exhaustively to come up with a solution. I also can make decisions by analyzing the data and facts (Garg, 2022). To make a choice, I spend time acquiring information that helps me make a wise decision. I also try to become task-oriented but have a high ambiguity tolerance. As an analytic decision-maker, I can examine facts and data before concluding. When I make a decision, I already have considered all of the considerations and selected the best alternative.

Conceptual decision making

Conceptual decision-makers are creative and resourceful, and they make decisions by developing innovative ideas. They study why problems arise and come up with unique remedies. They also favor groupthink (Makol et al., 2020). I need to work together with my co-workers to come up with the best ideas and solutions for the organization. Because I lay such a great emphasis on conversing with others, I can create a dynamic, stimulating environment where employees feel respected, heard, acknowledged, and valued. I need to value every idea and solution of the employees and considering them I make effective decisions.

Behavioral decision making

In the behavioral decision-making method, the task takes second place to relationships. When making critical decisions, it considers other people's feelings. The leaders value the sentiments and feelings of the employees while making decisions (Muthimi and Kilika,2018). The feelings and emotions of my employees and co-workers are very crucial to me and thus I try to make decisions that do not hurt their feelings. I also try to select the best possible outcomes that can be beneficial for the employees and organization. In this way, the decision-making process does not get impacted. I rely on information from others to make judgments. I have skills in persuasion and prefer to make decisions in groups. The impact on my relationship and connections with the employees often influences my choices.

Reflection and professional development

As a leader, I should maintain all the ethical approaches for maintaining the ethics and values of other employees. With the appropriate implementation of ethics, I can become a responsible leader. It is my responsibility to improve my behavior and code of conduct to help the employees become ethically responsible. Well-behaved and ethical leaders can be followed by the employees. I need to meet all the responsibilities of a leader by continuously improving my leadership practices and approaches (AlShehhi et al., 2020). I can listen to and evaluate the views and opinions of other employees, demonstrating my respect for them. When I value the ideas and thoughts of my employees, they will feel valued and important to the company. It will also help them improve their confidence and productivity.

Most importantly, when the leaders listen to the employees, the employees feel engaged in the organizational task, and they also feel responsible. Therefore, my responsibility as a leader is to make employees involved in the organizational task. I can also maintain some ethics and values in the organization which will generate good values and morals within the work environment (AlShehhi et al., 2020). When the employees see that their leaders follow all ethical practices, their motivation increases. It also can improve their values and ethical beliefs.

The leaders who maintain all ethics and responsibilities can bring success to the organization. I need to provide respect, integrity, code of conduct to the employees and also need to value and respect every idea and opinion of the employee (AlShehhi et al., 2020). I may improve my sustainability rate by treating other workers and followers with respect for their views, ideas, and values. It not only encourages the employees but also helps them enhance their trust in the company.

In all the circumstances I need to guide the employee with the appropriate information, support and guidance so that they can complete their tasks effectively. By developing a good communication system within the work environment I can create a better workplace. This is very significant for the employees to maintain the culture. There may come some unexpected or complex situations. Leaders always need to focus on rational thinking for making correct decisions to overcome such situations (Charoensap et al., 2019). I need to make wise and quick decisions in difficult situations, for making effective decisions I can depend on the employees and their innovative ideas. They can freely deliver their thoughts and ideas which will help me in generating a fruitful decision. As an ethically responsible leader, it is also another responsibility that my decisions do not harm any employee or customers. I should give equal importance to the well-being and goodwill of the employees. By maintaining this criterion, I can become an empathetic leader and thus the employees can be motivated.

Rational thinking ability needs to be improved which has a very crucial connection with the decision-making system. By thinking rationally, and giving equal and fair opportunities to the employees, I can also meet my ethical responsibilities. By analyzing all the relevant data I can make a wise decision (Charoensap et al., 2019). I can take the support of the employees in this process; the employees can give relevant information and data which will help me in making a relevant decision.

The most important trait of leadership is to encourage and motivate the employees. The employees can be motivated in various ways. I need to develop a fair workplace in which all the employees will be treated equally (Charoensap et al., 2019). I can listen to the employees, give respect to them, understand their needs and requirements, and value their thoughts. These activities can help me enhance the motivation and satisfaction level of the employees.

Conclusion

Ethical leadership benefits customers, employees, and the company as a whole. Leadership skills are important for creating a positive ethical culture at work. By making investors feel good about the company, leaders may help them trust it. It will be more likely for a company to gain a reputation if its executives are ethical. Stakeholders and consumers will feel they can believe and function effectively with a company when ethical behavior is displayed. Without ethics, leaders will struggle to keep their jobs and instill ethical attitudes and behaviors in their subordinates. Therefore, as a responsible and ethical leader, I need to do the right and appropriate tasks in any circumstance. Others will be persuaded to practice ethics in their activities based on my ethics, codes, and behaviors.

References

AlShehhi, H., Alshurideh, M., Kurdi, B.A. and Salloum, S.A., 2020, October. The impact of ethical leadership on employees performance: A systematic review. In International Conference on Advanced Intelligent Systems and Informatics (pp. 417-426). Springer, Cham.

Charoensap, A., Virakul, B., Senasu, K. and Ayman, R., 2019. Effect of ethical leadership and interactional justice on employee work attitudes. Journal of Leadership Studies, 12(4), pp.7-26.

de Graaf, F.J., 2019. Ethics and behavioural theory: how do professionals assess their mental models?. Journal of Business Ethics, 157(4), pp.933-947.

Evans, J. and Smith, M., 2018. Toward a role ethical theory of right action. Ethical Theory and Moral Practice, 21(3), pp.599-614.

Feng, J., Zhang, Y., Liu, X., Zhang, L. and Han, X., 2018. Just the right amount of ethics inspires creativity: A cross-level investigation of ethical leadership, intrinsic motivation, and employee creativity. Journal of Business Ethics, 153(3), pp.645-658.

Garg, S., 2022. An Analytical Study of Impact of Experience and Education on Management Style in Multicultural Organizations. Journal of Positive School Psychology, 6(3), pp.1391-1399.

Makol, B.A., Youngstrom, E.A., Racz, S.J., Qasmieh, N., Glenn, L.E. and De Los Reyes, A., 2020. Integrating multiple informants’ reports: How conceptual and measurement models may address long-standing problems in clinical decision-making. Clinical Psychological Science, 8(6), pp.953-970.

Muthimi, J.K. and Kilika, J.M., 2018. Leadership strategy, behavioural focus and firm performance: A review of literature. International Business Research, 11(11), pp.143-163.

Perry, A., 2018. Ethics, Leadership, and Ethical Leadership. In Biblical Theology for Ethical Leadership (pp. 23-43). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.

Price, T.L., 2018. A “critical leadership ethics” approach to the Ethical Leadership construct. Leadership, 14(6), pp.687-706.

Samuel, H., Sehar, S., Afzal, M. and Gilani, S.A., 2018. Influence of supportive leadership on nursing clinical decision making in critical care units at tertiary care hospital Lahore. International Journal of Nursing, 5(2), pp.45-71.

Wright, J.C., Warren, M.T. and Snow, N.E., 2020. Understanding virtue: Theory and measurement. Oxford University Press.

Wuryani, E., Rodlib, A., Sutarsib, S., Dewib, N. and Arifb, D., 2021. Analysis of decision support system on situational leadership styles on work motivation and employee performance. Management Science Letters, 11(2), pp.365-372.