EL504 Ethical & Moral Foundation Blog


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Ethical Leadership: Resisting Influence in the Form of Reciprocation

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      In order to lead from an ethical platform one of the issues which we as leaders must navigate when making decisions for our organization is the expectation of reciprocation. Or, the feeling that we are obligated to repay in-kind to help we have received from others. This can become a very slippery slope because obviously not all "favors" are equal and the expectation of returning the favor regardless of weight can become substantial.       One way that we as leaders can resist the dynamic of reciprocity is to decline the initial favor. I personally believe that this is the most effective and efficient way to avoid the possibility of the quid pro quo cycle. By rejecting the initial offer as the decision makers we avoid the uncomfortable feeling and position we would be put in to pay an equal or greater price than the one we received initially.       However, this does bring about an entirely different scena...
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Leadership Privilege: Casting a Long Shadow

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             With great responsibility comes great privilege. At face value, there seems to be nothing wrong with that statement. Generally, most sensible people would agree to that balance. Where those lines seem to blur is when people in leadership positions begin to abuse those privileges. Most everyone has heard the phrase "Absolute power corrupts absolutely." Certainly, power in itself could be the cause of the misuse of privilege.  However, what seems to be the more pressing questions are:  How do leaders begin to justify these actions?  Is abuse of privilege just the cost of doing business as a necessary evil?      We can't simply assume that all leaders who abuse privilege had the plan to do so at the beginning of their leadership journey. So, lets start by making the assumption that most people are generally and basically good human beings.  If that's the case, the "Shadow of Privilege" would appear...
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The Importance of Ethics Training in Leadership

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      In order for an organization to establish and maintain an ethical culture that is both encouraging and educating to its new members, as well as reinforcing organizational beliefs to existing members, it is important for that organization to continue to cultivate ethical training. To accomplish this organizational goal of a continuing ethical education, leadership must adhere to certain principles.      During ethics training, leadership should focus upon the unique ethical problems that are typically present within the organization.   Regardless of the organization, it will have its own diverse mixture of groups that face challenges, which are unique to that specific organization. In this way, making members of the organization aware of potential ethical pitfalls, which others have encountered along with problems that could potentially present itself allows the members to mentally rehearse these situations beforehand and be better prep...
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