Personal Model of Ethical Leadership
GB590: Ethics and Business in Society
Jacqueline Bennett
Dr. Stephen Griffith
March 23, 2015

Table of Contents

Ethics, Morals and Laws Throughout my adult life, I have used my morals and values to make any decision as well as how I deal with people both professionally and personally. According to Goodpaster (1983), people view ‘ethics’ as “a domain of inquiry and discipline, in which matters of right and wrong, good and evil, virtue and vice, are systematically examined.” As Goodpaster has shown these ethics, morals and laws are what parents try to install into their children at a young age. Starting from a young age, it is our duty as parents to show children right versus wrong and right vs right, so they will grow and learn which one is best in any situation they have to deal with. Ethics, morals and laws can be better understood by examining how it may have developed to its present stage over time for an individual or group. As for me, morals are defined – to use the right judgment or moral ethics when making decisions. As a leader today, I always rely on what my parents told me, “never make a permanent decision on temporary feelings.” Now as a grew in my management roles, I would have to say it is still very challenging to stay focused because there are certain laws and procedures one must follow. It took quite a bit of a challenge as if there were inevitably two pathways between good and bad for each morality compromising encounter that without any guidance, prior knowledge, willingness, or conscience. When I am questioned on my morality of a decision, I have to define ‘morality’ as the pattern of thought and action in an individual or a group (Goodpaster, 1983). And, with the kind of experiences and attributes people acquire during early child and their adult years in which forms these patterns is what draws the line differently across leaders, managers, society and cultures today to where moral reasoning should actually be defined along with how one becomes geared towards either a rule-based or a value-based morality. One can break down the categorical areas of moral reasoning and values into the following:
Right versus Right Morals – Rule-based morality becomes rooted to a set of Kantian questions that helps leaders act upon their morals which most likely would be closely tied with a universal law to making their right versus right decisions and respects people equally.
Values – Any decisions or issues that comes up in a working environment standardized with a moral-based approach to decision-making reduces the chance of gaining a value-based response which some people believe is like saying no responsive feedback even ones that are critical and highly important. There is certainly a huge loss in company value if this is poorly controlled.
Right versus Wrong
Morals – Moral rules are may become lost in the right versus wrong work environment which is important for keeping extreme circumstances from occurring and following general rules of to protect oneself and for others
Values – Value-based morality is rooted deeply with loyalty, commitment, and even sense of shame and responsibility for excellence. While leaning your morals and ethics, laws were made to help in aiding your decisions to be the best for the greater group of people and outcome. Laws defined- Laws and rules are generally designed to regulate activities that can be publicly observed. This makes enforcement easy, but breaches of moral principles are a horse of a different color. They often involve acts that are not illegal but simply unethical and can include acts that are private and difficult to observe without invading that privacy.
Individual, Organizational, National, and Global Influences The choices that people or individuals make either if they’re in local or global organizations are partially due and consequentially shaped and formed