When I was sitting in my Sunday lecture, my teacher brought home what it meant to be hypocritical when discussing Jesus’ interaction with the leaders of his time, The Pharisees. Jesus openly criticized their actions to his followers in Matthew 23:2: “Therefore, whatever they [Pharisees] tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do their works. For they speak, but do nothing.4 They fasten heavy loads that are hard to carry and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves will not move them with their finger.”
Sadly, many workers face some less than genuine managers that fail to inspire them for greater performance. In this blog discussion, we will explore the the concept of authentic leadership in today’s society.
Competition is fierce across the globe. Managers are often forced to act genuine with their employees because financial circumstances force them to behave in ways that are in the best interest of shareholders and investors, not their employees. Yet, organizations need talented and inspired employees who go beyond the basic requirements to excellence. Yet, employees are reluctant to give this type of performance to self-serving leaders who do not care about them.
Forbes contributing writer Victor Lipman, in his article “The Foundational Importance of Trust in Management,” notes the alarming levels of distrust among workers. According to a Gallup survey, 70% of workers are disengaged in the organization.[1] Lipman found several contributing factors to this problem, which were: disingenuous communication, lack of modeling behavior, and financial pressure. Lipman explains, “As a manager myself, I recognized it was critical for my employees to trust me if I expected them to be fully productive on my watch.” With trust on the downturn with numerous layoffs and higher unemployment, managers must be sincere and genuine with their workforce if they want a different type of performance.
Organizations must foster authentic leadership in today’s environment. Leadership denotes the ability to influence others. When the adjective of authentic is modified on the word, something special emerges. The adjective authentic conveys “something that is real or genuine and not counterfeit.” In the case of the Pharisees, they were influencers of their followers. However, the reality of the matter was that their type of leadership was not genuine or sincere. Authentic leadership defines the leader’s ability to have honest relationships with followers through transparent relationships. In this mode, the leader may leave himself/herself vulnerable to others.
Bill George, author of Authentic Leadership, describes authentic leadership as ‘a leadership style that is consistent with a leader’s personality and core values, and that is honest, ethical and practical.’[2] Dr. Richard Daft, author of Management, further outlines the following key characteristics of authentic leadership: (a) Authentic leaders pursue their purpose with passion; (b) Authentic leaders practice solid values; (c) Authentic leaders lead with their hearts as well as their heads; (d) Authentic leaders establish connected relationships; and Authentic leaders demonstrate self-discipline.[3] With these traits, authentic leadership would be synonymous with an unselfish leadership approach.
In closing, today’s workers want managers who can inspire them for higher performance. However, workers are not looking for managers who are not genuine in their relationships with them. By utilizing authentic leadership in their organizations, managers will be better able to build these types of positive relationships with workers. Start today!
Please explain the concept of authentic leadership from your professional or personal experience.
The purpose of this dialogue involves discussing the concept of Ethics from a moderate-induced pastoral perception. Ethics per se, as a universal model, involves or requires the decision-making acuities of any rational corporeal agent who intends to initiate or maintain a common, communal, and cultural balance among individuals.
As such, Ethics may be simplified by considering that the concept Ethics is a universal representative model that includes all the possible values, desires, and intents of human society. These components serve to form the ingredients that are molded and shaped to create a sort of utilitarian ideal.
This systematic decision-making process is then drawn to provide the ideal concept for what is to be considered as responsible and acceptable behavior. Because the ideal model is grounded in the dynamic and continual activity of harmonizing shared or ecumenical values against communal intents and desired objectives, Ethics then becomes both a suitable and most reasonable strategy for any extant structure that would be devoid of a practical methodology that assists in sustaining prolonging and strengthening the human-inhabited community. Very succinctly stated, Ethics, then, is the monitoring, sustaining, and prolonging of values and life using an acceptable set of agreeable contexts to avoid chaos at all costs.
Ethics from the Common Pastoral Perspective
From the common perspective, it is apparent that many individuals inhabit this cosmological domain we call society. We indeed, have or are sharing the commonness of possessing uniquely distinguishable attributes. Where this is not the case, then human behavioral characteristics would not be universally recognizable as uniquely separate and the simple adjective, individual and its supplementary cognates, would have no referenced or understandable meanings.
Despite the broad-spectrum of agreement that reflects the general idea that most individuals exhibit a tendency of being extraordinarily intelligent and competent to communicate and placate reasonable common practices on their own, unfortunately most of their efforts only result in creating or contributing to an undesired chaos.
Therefore, one of the most ultimate objectives of the ethereal community or spiritual structures, the church, is to assist in ensuring that the state of balance, growth, and maintenance is continued within this physical society to assure a continued existence and promulgation of the human species.
Unique differences do exist. External negative factors and the disproportionate presence of human values, illuminates the church, per se, as endeavoring to moderate the corpus of divergent human values and objectives with an intended hope of extending and bettering human society. Hence, the pastoral ministry becomes the church’s primary ordering instrument and may be considered as a useful and constructive vocation.
The church or ecclesiastical institution is but one agency among other ethical institutions such as business and commerce, court judicial systems, financial management corporations, and even merchandisers that exist. While each is uniquely different, all have similar aspirations and purposeful intentions aimed at maintaining, building, and cultivating, a useful and practical universal arrangement that both molds and shapes the common society of all. Merely addressing this common perspective regarding Ethics is not enough; the cultural perspective of Ethics too, must be addressed.
Ethics from a Cultural Balance Perspective
Having considered the vastness of the anthropological species, it is apparent that the present earth has a landscape that is draped and cluttered with many disagreeing ethnic groups, opposing religious beliefs and ecologically-damaging vocational occupations. Here, the sociological investigator or those who consider the boundaries of Ethics are met with impending difficulties in prescribing and designing an ethical system that truly benefits all and agitates none. This sort of scenario offers an opportunity to introduce the utilitarian model of Ethics in a cultural perspective.
Harsanyi (1986) states, “The fundamental assumption of utilitarian theory is that we ought to choose our moral standards by rational criteria…that we ought to choose the moral standards of the highest expected social utility” (Harsanyi, 1986, p 1). While the previous statement of Harsanyi (1986) does indeed, suggest an idealistic prescriptive remedy for what one should do in the instance of possessing an innate sense of “oughtness”, one quickly realizes that such a solution is not readily practical or socially accommodating because of the many differing cultural variances that do exist.
Again, in employing the “oughtness” concept, additional accumulative difficulties tend to surface; language barriers, societal customs, and religious beliefs, are often the most prevalent conflicts when considering utilitarianism. Despite this state of disunity, communication becomes an indispensable component regarding helping to balance the great cultural divide. Queries like “Whose global government is the most appropriate for all people?” “What political persuasion truly benefits everyone?” and “Whose academic description of Ethics is most readily to be believed?”
Societies have yet arrived at a most adoptable solution and the continual presence and practice of effective communication skills has helped leaders to sustain an operable state despite the world’s multi-faceted assortment of values, ideas, and objectives.
Ethics from a Communal Perspective
Imaginatively, there is an illustrative philosophical axiom that relates to the idea that if the physical world has sufficient amenities to sustain an individual people, then it must certainly also possess the capacity to sustain a corpus that contains every person. Revisiting the three components that are useful in maintaining an equitable balance of values against the intended objectives of all humanity, a simple and practical solution is to begin to view the world’s populace as a single immense community.
Although varying, culturally, and ethnically different, these observed differences truly make life an ongoing enterprise. Irrational creatures, being much more numerous and less adept in the skills of intelligence and transforming abilities, do exist in harmony. Humans, too, can co-exist peacefully if they would exercise their skills regarding communication. Many instances of miscommunication have ignited wars, isolated cultures, and decimated whole societies.
Sensibly, if the balance of human society is to continue, then more effective ways of ethical communication must be employed to retain the delicate arrangement of human society. Two inquiries to consider are; “What becomes of a society that lacks a set of Ethics to enhance its development?” and “What benefit does a set of ethical axioms do when an intelligent species has annihilated itself do to the lack of communication?” This scenario depicts that practical Ethics is not only possible but a necessity.
Please provide your personal or professional insight on the subject discussed.
(c) 2014 by Bruce Martin
About the Guest Blogger
Rev. Bruce Martin is a native of Knoxville, Tennessee and is a licensed and ordained minister of 35 years. He is a now-retired mechanical designer from the Tennessee Valley Authority. Rev. Martin attended the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia as a Civil Engineering major in 1974. He presently holds a Bachelors Degree in Systematic Theology from the American Baptist College in Nashville, Tennessee and a Master’s Degree in Organizational Leadership from the Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona.
He also completed graduate studies in Divinity at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. Presently, Rev. Martin is a 3rd year doctoral candidate in Education at the Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona. Rev. Martin was formerly the Senior Pastor of the Oakland Baptist Church in Louisville. While residing there, he taught New Testament Theology at Simmons College.
Reference
Harsanyi, J. C. (1986). Individual utilities and utilitarian ethics (pp. 1-12). Physica-Verlag HD.
Ethical decision-making is important for businesses. Trust and integrity must not be lost. There are three ethical concerns for the sales organization, which are (1) cheating, (2) misuse of company resources, and (3) inappropriate relationships with other employees.
In fact, losing a customer or client’s trust is fatal stroke for businesses. Famous management expert Stephen Covey suggests that trust is the cornerstone for productivity in the market. Once customers lose faith and trust in an organization, that organization has lost ground in the market.
Employees are motivated by different stimulus. In fact, different employees have different motivations. Motivation produces psychological forces that determine the direction of a person’s behavior in an organization. In my technical field, there are few things that are impossible to accomplish; it’s a matter of time versus money.
However, finding these solutions depend on a personal drive. In many organizations, supervisors search for the magical ingredient to improve employee performance so that the organization can be successful. This initiative isn’t easy!
For example, a salesperson might be motivated to earn high commissions at any cost. He knows his management is only concerned with the bottom-line. At the end of the year, his sales manager responses in anger to this salesperson, “You’ve committed the company to something to which we cannot commit.” Therefore, being promoting selfish behavior can cost a business in the long run.
Organizations must train and create a good ethical environment. Gareth Jones and Jennifer George, authors of Contemporary Management, further argue effective managers fully utilize their human resources to gain a competitive advantage. Developing the desired behavior in employees is invaluable.
In many cases, employees exist in a transactional relationship (if you do this, you will get that). For example, a sales representative for Mary Kay will get a pink Cadillac if she reaches the designated sales limit. In fact, business perks are pretty routine.
Most people have an internal compass that allows them to distinguish right from wrong. For example, an employee might be tempted to take a bribe from his company’s competitor. Johnston and Marshall make a clear distinction between a gift and a bribe. A bribe is a financial present given to manipulate the purchase decision.
In an effective ethical system, an employee would not compromise the trust with the company, including any internal customers (supervisor, manufacturing group, etc.).
Finally, there will be numerous situations that test a person’s moral behavior in organizations. Ethical decision making is a way of life. Businesses must create good ethical systems where employees are accountable for their conduct. Trust must be at the center stage of the process.
Discuss your professional experience with making ethical decisions in your industry.
Businesses that are serious about good customer relationships must have good ethical systems. Marketing and strategy are underlying principles that must be addressed for organizations selling abroad.
Mark Johnston and Greg Marshall, authors of Relationship Selling, maintain that customers operating in other countries pose unique ethical concerns for salespeople and management, especially in (1) cultural differences and (2) differences in corporate selling policies.
Marketing strategist Regis McKenna explains that effective marketing is the integration of the customer into the design of the product and designing a systematic process for interaction that will create substance in the relationship. Creating good ethical systems is critical for success.
First, any meaningful ethics program must start with senior management’s behavior. In fact, ethical behavior must start at the top. Salespeople are not the only members of the sales force who face ethical concerns. Management must address significant ethical issues with (a) salespeople, (b) company policies, and (c) international customers and policies. Yet, I do think organizational culture is the cornerstone for understanding the ethical environment.
Trust is the foundation of any meaningful corporate structure. Gareth Jones and Jennifer George, authors of Contemporary Management, maintain that when leaders are ineffective, chances are good that workers will not perform to their capabilities. Furthermore, senior managers should lead the way by example.
Second, the organization must evaluate the current corporate culture. There are both written and unwritten rules and behaviors that come into play. For example, Enron senior management demonstrated a lack of moral and ethical judgment, which played a critical role in its decision-making (i.e. breaking laws). Therefore, one must review the organizational culture of the organization before attempting to implement an ethics program.
Last, the organization must be committed to a win-win approach. Managers should get all employees involved. Salespeople face ethical issues all the time. Their input would be invaluable. This fact has a great bearing on ethical behavior among employees.
Companies need to have a plan for implementing ethics. However, they need to involve the workers. Typically, executives come up with a mandate on corporate policies. HR is forced to implement them. There is little worker involvement. Yet, ethical conduct impacts everyone. Therefore, managers will get greater buy-in on new programs, such as ethical, if they are involved upfront in the process.
Please discuss ethical behavior in organizations as it relates to the marketing process from your own professional experience.
Americans are increasingly worried and cynical of today’s leaders. Traditional institutions are losing favor, leaving citizens unable to trust their neighbors, churches, and government.
Additionally, America has a history of unethical behavior by leaders. The private sector has been riddled with tons of examples (i.e. Enron, Exxon, etc.) of unethical behavior on Wall Street. Furthermore, political parties market family values and personal integrity like they are selling used automobiles.
In the quest for power and their own personal ambition, many government officials have been drawn to deadly vices that have led to their personal self-destruction. Graham Tomblin, The Seven Deadly Sins, notes this natural selfish behavior has destroyed families, friendships, happiness, and peace of mind.
These moral break downs can seep into other factions of the political landscape. For example, in 1998, the media reported the sexual exploits of Democratic President Bill Clinton with Monica Lewinsky. However, political scandals are nothing new for the federal government. During the months of May to August of 2007, Republican President Ronald Reagan’s administration was suspected of trading weapons for hostages in the Iran-Contra hearings.
This topic explores the American political environment and how amoral behavior associated with ‘seven-deadly sins’ impact contemporary organizational culture. For this discussion, we evaluate Congressman Mark Foley’s scandal. Foley was a Florida congressman, who was reported to have sent sexually explicit emails to male pages who were high school students.
He abruptly resigned on September 29, 2006, which set-off a political landmine. House Republicans had to do damage control, whileDemocrats went on the attack. Some Democrats claimed that some House leaders knew for months of Foley’s inappropriate behavior. House SpeakerDennis Hastert found himself on the political hot seat. Hastert declared he knew nothing about Foley’s actions, but others disagreed with his proclamation. Hastert continued his claim of innocence as he asked the JusticeDepartment to investigate this matter.
Because of Foley’s resignation, he couldn’t be punished by his peers. Foley also apologized publicly, sought treatment for his alcoholic addicted, and pointed to a childhood abuse experience by a priest as a cause of his problem. Once again, Americans were asked to address another ethical issue among government officials.
In many cases, unethical decisions made by individuals who allow their ethical principles to influence their decision-making, led to laws being broken or the compromise of organizational values. Moral principles, values, or beliefs about what is “right” or “wrong” are known as ethics.
Consequently, individuals who make decisions outside of the organization’s values sustain their moral principles internally. Ethics and organizational culture can impact the success of an organization. In fact, ethical behavior is directly related to culture.
In the long-term, unethical behavior impacts an organizations ability to function effectively. Employees watch what leaders do more than what they say. Therefore, organizations that want to sustain future success must pay attention to their ethical behavior, at all levels.
Describe your professional experiences with ethical behavior by executives as well as others in the organization. Discuss what can be done to instill good ethical behavior throughout the organization
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