Ethical leadership and the dual roles of examples

Arlen W. Langvardt

Business Horizons, 2012, vol. 55, issue 4, 373-384

Abstract: Through the examples they set, leaders do a great deal to shape—for good or for ill—the culture of the organizations in which they serve. Leaders thus serve in a teaching role. But in order to learn how to set positive examples, leaders must also be students who seek to learn what they can from others’ examples. Employing as a jumping-off point a recent high-profile and multi-faceted scandal involving Penn State University and decision makers affiliated with it, this article explores a number of ethical decision making lessons to be learned from that scandal and considers how those lessons can be applied to a variety of decisions faced by corporate leaders. Along the way, the article addresses ways in which common human tendencies impair the quality of thinking and decision making. It also offers ways for improving thinking quality and enhancing the ethical nature of resulting business decisions.

Keywords: Ethical leadership; Business ethics; Critical thinking; Decision making; Organizational culture; Penn State; Joe Paterno (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:bushor:v:55:y:2012:i:4:p:373-384

DOI: 10.1016/j.bushor.2012.03.003

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