Ethical Role Models Research Articles

A Categorical Framework of Ethical Leadership for Public Organizations: Testing a Multi-Dimensional Model of Local Government Managers

Organizational managers serve as ethical role models in their capacity as leaders. Mainstream research on ethics leadership is multidisciplinary, although empirical research is dominated by business administration and psychology scholars with less empirical work in public administration. This article develops and tests a categorical framework for ethical leadership behavior by applying it to data from a national survey of Chief Administrative Officers (CAO) of local governments in the United States. A Structural Equation Model (SEM) is used to test six dimensions of ethical leadership behavior and support is found for the model. This research is novel since it extends the ethical leadership research in business administration and psychology to local government managers and by extension, to public managers in general.

A Probe into the Role of Educators in Moral and Ethical Education

This paper explores the role of educators in moral and ethical education. Historically, educators have always recognized the importance of moral education, emphasizing the great responsibility of educators in promoting students' moral development and moral decision-making. Through a comprehensive literature review, the study analyzes the dual roles of educators as ethical role models and rule-makers and enforcers. The focused research of Narinasamy et al., and Campbell, is carefully and critically analyzed in this paper to understand how educators' own behavior and classroom rules affect students' moral development. The analysis reveals the significant influence that educators have on shaping students' moral perspectives and the overall moral climate of the educational environment. In addition, the paper explores the impact of multicultural backgrounds and educators' personal values on their role in moral education, and recommendations for future research also highlight the need to address outstanding questions about cultural influences and educators' personal values. The findings highlight the important role of educators in moral education and suggest directions for further research to improve the effectiveness of ethical teaching practices.

The Role of Ethics and Moral Values in Teaching: A Comprehensive Examination

This research paper delves into the pivotal role of ethics and moral values in teaching, emphasizing their significance in shaping the educational landscape. In an era of evolving educational methodologies and diverse student populations, educators must not only impart knowledge but also serve as ethical role models. This paper explores the foundational principles of ethics in teaching, their impact on student development, and the challenges and opportunities in cultivating ethical and morally responsible educators. Through an interdisciplinary approach, we draw insights from philosophy, psychology, sociology, and pedagogy to present a comprehensive view of the subject.

The Influence of Ethical Leadership on Organisational Culture and Employee Behaviour; The Adopted Rore, a Posiitive Impact

In today’s complex and dynamic business world, the significance of ethical leadership in shaping employee behavior and company culture has received a lot of attention. The study employed a quantitative design using questionnaires to gather data, and the statistical software (SPSS) version 16 was utilized for data analysis to examine the impact of ethical leadership on employee behavior. Purposive sampling was employed in a deliberate and random selection process to identify 50 people from various industries in Accra for the research population. Ethical leaders set an example for their employees by acting morally and upholding the company’s values. Employees who follow moral role models are more likely to do prosocial actions, such as helping colleagues, becoming good corporate citizens, and demonstrating loyalty to the organization. The study came to the conclusion that moral leadership has an effect on both business culture and employee behavior. Ethical leadership, defined by its dedication to moral principles, honesty, and principled judgment, has been demonstrated to be essential to the establishment and maintenance of a strong workplace culture. Leaders who uphold moral standards act as role models, affecting the attitudes and actions of those under them. Organizations were advised to keep emphasizing the need of holding staff members accountable for unethical actions. Organizations should strategically place and empower leaders to function as ethical role models in light of the projected effect that ethical leadership has on employee behavior. Programs for developing leaders should include a strong emphasis on the value of moral leadership conduct and how it influences workers’ behavior. By recognizing the significance of ethical leadership, organizations may actively cultivate a culture that is consistent with ethical standards. In the long run, this will improve worker conduct and help the company succeed as a whole. The structure for further study is given by this abstract.

Investigating the Impact of Ethical Leadership on Student Perceptions of Ethical Decision-making in Business Management: Evidence from Bangladesh

The objective of this research is to examine the impact of ethical leadership on the ethical decision-making beliefs of students in the field of business management, specifically focusing on the data collected from Bangladesh. The study covers a heterogeneous sample of 406 participants, including individuals of all genders and varying age ranges, mostly from Dhaka University and North South University. The results indicate that all participants had a reasonable level of acquaintance with ethical leadership, indicating a consistent level of awareness among them. The participants expressed mostly favorable perspectives towards ethical leadership, as a substantial majority agreed that ethical leaders demonstrate integrity and act as exemplars of ethical conduct within the professional setting. Regarding the matter of ethical decision-making within the realm of business management, a considerable agreement exists, emphasizing its indispensability for the long-term prosperity of a firm. However, divergent viewpoints are evident about its effects on reputation, customer trust, staff morale, organizational culture, and sustainable practices. The research further examined the observation of ethical leaders, experiences with ethical challenges, and the incorporation of formal ethical training into company management. The vast majority of participants said that they had seen the presence of ethical leaders and had faced ethical challenges, underscoring their widespread occurrence. Additionally, a significant majority expressed support for the incorporation of structured ethical training within the realm of corporate management. In spite of these findings, a statistical analysis using ordered logistic regression revealed that the associations between the independent variables (Ethical Decision-Making, Observation of Ethical Leaders, Encounter with Ethical Dilemmas, Belief in Formal Ethical Training) and the ordinal dependent variable did not reach statistical significance at conventional thresholds. This finding indicates that, based on the parameters of this study, the variables in question did not demonstrate a strong predictive relationship with the ordinal dependent variable. However, this research provides significant contributions to the understanding of how students in Bangladesh perceive ethical leadership and ethical decision-making. It highlights the significance of ethics education and the presence of ethical role models in the realm of business management.

Does Ethical Voice Matter? Examining How Peer Team Leader Ethical Voice and Role Modeling Relate to Ethical Leadership

Does Ethical Voice Matter? Examining How Peer Team Leader Ethical Voice and Role Modeling Relate to Ethical Leadership

Graduate Medical Education’s Role in the Battle for Evidence-Based Care

Graduate Medical Education’s Role in the Battle for Evidence-Based Care

Ethical Dilemmas for Dental Students in Greece.

Professional dental ethics for students are based on promoting oral health for dental patients and reinforcing an anthropocentric approach to communication and dental services. A total of 133 dental students (males 33.8% N1 = 46, females 66.2% N2 = 87) completed the study questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were applied, and non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis tests were used (p < 0.05). Students refuse services to patients that misbehave (37.6%), have irrational demands (18%), and when clinical cases exceed their capabilities (36.8%). Of the participants, 50.4% want to waive confidentiality when abuse is declared. Ethical role models are educators (33.8%), other qualified dentists (25.6%), and their parents (21.8%). Female gender positively affects integrity (p = 0.046), altruism (p = 0.032), and difficulty in conversations among colleagues (p = 0.036). Students outside the capital are less interested in esthetic issues (p = 0.007), in giving more than one treatment plan (p = 0.006), and in being confronted with inadequate treatments from other colleagues (p = 0.005). Family income positively affects clinical skills (p = 0.003), trust issues (p = 0.008), and moral insight and intuition (p = 0.02). Presentation with clinical scenarios is the preferred educational method (49.6%). Dental students show compassion for poor patients, respect patients' autonomy, and guide patients to choose the best treatment plan before receiving dental ethics seminars. There is a positive relationship between the ethical footprints of students and gender, origin, family income, postgraduate studies, and future professional plans. Factors and ways to incorporate ethics in the dental curriculum could be considered when planning relevant courses.

Views of the taught and the teachers on medical ethics teaching in two universities in Kenya.

Medical or clinical ethics provides guidance for health practitioners and has, hopefully, been taught to medical students during training. The teaching of clinical/medical ethics is more important in the current times because of advances in medical science and the different cultural and socioeconomic circumstances in which medicine is practised. This study sought to determine if and how clinical/medical ethics was taught at two Kenyan medical schools by conducting focus group discussions with undergraduate students and key informant interviews with lecturers teaching ethics and academic administrators. While medical/clinical ethics is a part of the medical curriculum approved by the Kenya Medical and Dental Practitioners Council (Board) and is taught during the training, we identified a gap between the theory and application of ethics education. Undergraduates, medical school administrators and lecturers from both institutions acknowledged a lack of role models and mentors, and a need for further training in communication skills since medical ethics has not been made an examinable subject and there has been no formal requirement for training of lecturers teaching ethics. For the short-term, these gaps can be addressed by training lecturers in medical/clinical ethics, and identifying and utilising suitable reference materials, while long-term measures include developing context-appropriate materials for teaching, in addition to nurturing mentorship skills among lecturers for ethical role modeling.

The Impact of Crucibles in Developing Public Relations’ Character and Competencies as Servant Leaders

ABSTRACT Crucible experiences are essential in the development of leaders. Crucibles refer to trials and challenges that test and mold the character, values and behavior of leaders. Through in-depth interviews with 32 public relations leaders, we examined how crucible experiences specifically shaped them to practice servant leadership. Through the narratives they constructed about these experiences, we were able to learn specific details about these experiences, the lessons they gleaned and how they shaped and transformed their character, virtues and leadership style. These insights matter, because public relations leaders have the potential to serve as ethical role models for their employees and colleagues.

Multi-professional ethical competence in healthcare - an ethical practice model.

IntroductionThe starting point is that ethical competence is the basis for ethical healthcare practices and quality of care. Simultaneously, there is a need for research and development from a holistic multi-professional perspective.AimThe aim is to create a proposed model for multi-professional ethical competence grounded in clarified meanings and dimensions of ethical competence studied from a multi-professional healthcare perspective. The research questions are, what is ethical competence from a multi-professional healthcare perspective and what strengthens a multi-professional ethical healthcare practice?Research designThe research has a qualitative approach and hermeneutic application research design. Two groups with six participants from clinical practice and two scientific researchers in each group met four times for dialogue. Thematic analysis was used as an analysis method.Ethical considerationsThe research is approved by the Declaration of Helsinki, the General Data Protection Regulations, and ethical permission was asked from the Norwegian Centre for Research Data (NSD).ResultsThe proposed model for multi-professional ethical competence encompasses a three-dimensional ethical value base that is underpinned by: Ethical attitude – a personal desire to do good; Ethical basis – the best for the patient as a common goal and Ethical culture – common goals and values in the organization. Multi-professional ethical competence is strengthened by: Reflection – to see with new wondering eyes; Time for talk – interdisciplinary teamwork and Leadership – an ethical role model and support.DiscussionEthical competence has a strong link to the core of caring ethics and a deeper personal value base and attitude. Ethical competence involves the whole culture and is seen as a shared value base and a responsibility to do the best for the patient as a multi-professional team and organization. Ethical competence becomes active in healthcare practice by opening up for meaningful multi-professional talks and reflections.

Why 4-Year College Graduates are Not Reflecting the Best Ethical and Moral Leadership Behavior

In today's complex and ever-changing world, ethical and moral leadership is crucial for the development and progress of society. However, it has become increasingly evident that many 4-year college graduates are not reflecting the best ethical and moral leadership behavior. This article explores the reasons behind this phenomenon, including the shortcomings of the traditional college education system, the influence of external factors, and the lack of emphasis on character development. The conventional college education system often prioritizes technical skills over ethical development, leading to a gap in ethical leadership abilities among graduates. Moreover, external influences such as cultural and societal norms, media, and corporate impact on education can shape individuals' values and behaviors, potentially undermining ethical leadership qualities. Additionally, the limited exposure to real-world ethical challenges during college further hinders the development of ethical decision-making skills and moral reasoning abilities. To address these issues, the need for comprehensive reform in the college education system. This includes incorporating ethics education and character development programs into the curriculum, providing experiential learning opportunities that expose students to real-world ethical dilemmas, and promoting ethical role modeling and mentorship. Institutions should evaluate and assess the effectiveness of their ethical leadership development initiatives to ensure continuous improvement. The article also suggested strengthening ethical leadership development, equipping individuals with the necessary skills, knowledge, and values to navigate complex ethical challenges. This, in turn, will contribute to cultivating a new generation of ethical leaders who inspire trust, promote integrity, and foster a more honest and morally conscious world.

Imitating the Traditional Gods

Abstract This paper examines moral virtues and cult practice in Plato’s Laws. It explores the symposium and the chorus and their potential to provide a recognisable cultural setting, in which the Magnesian citizens can test their responses to pleasurable and painful experiences and thus train their moral virtues. The challenge to this reading is to explain what additional input to moral habituation is provided by the religious aspect of these institutions. This paper draws attention to the relationship between the people and the patron gods of the respective institutions. It argues that the cult practices are designed to reflect the virtuous character of the traditional gods, who serve as the ethical role models for the worshipers. In this way, the worship of the traditional gods not only facilitates moral progress by exemplifying the objective of virtuous life, but also gives an egalitarian version of the ideal of godlikeness to its citizens.

How do leaders foster morally courageous behavior in employees? Leader role modeling, moral ownership, and felt obligation

SummaryRecent trends in the academic literature indicate growing interest in bottom‐up strategies for addressing workplace misconduct. Scholars argue that leaders may empower employees to speak up and engage in morally courageous behaviors (MCB) when they witness transgressions. In this research, we integrate social cognitive theory and social exchange theory to explain how and when leaders—in their capacities as role models and organizational representatives—promote employee MCB. In Study 1, we find that leader ethical role modeling influences MCB by nurturing employee moral ownership and a sense of obligation to the organization. We show that the path from moral ownership to MCB is stronger for employees with high (versus low) moral efficacy. In Study 2, we find similar results with respect to the roles of safety‐specific moral ownership and felt obligation in explaining how leader safety role modeling influences safety‐related whistleblowing, a specific form of MCB. We also replicate the moderating effect of moral efficacy on the moral ownership—whistleblowing link. However, we find an unexpected negative moderating effect on the felt obligation—whistleblowing link. We discuss the implications of these findings for understanding and promoting morally courageous behaviors in the workplace.

The Hindrance of Moral Emotions: Using Leader Role Modeling to Foster Morally Courageous Behavior in Employees

The study is conducted with an aim to assess the impacts of leader ethical role modeling and leader safety role modeling on the morally courageous behavior among employees. The study has also checked the mediation of moral emotions, including moral sympathy, moral contempt and moral anger and disgust in between the relationship of leader ethical role modeling and morally courageous behavior among employees, and also between the relationship of leader safety role modeling and morally courageous behavior among employees. Quantitative data is collected from 364 employees, supervisors that are working together at the workplace and have high interaction and social exchange relationships. Data analysis by applying SPSS and Amos has revealed significant and positive impact of leader safety role modeling on the morally courageous behavior among employees, whereas the impact of leader ethical role modeling is found to be insignificant. The mediation of moral sympathy, moral contempt and moral anger and disgust in the relationship between leader ethical role modeling and morally courageous behavior, and also between the relationship of leader safety role modeling and morally courageous behavior is found to be significant and positive. The research has expanded the literature by considering moral emotions for developing the morally courageous behavior in the employees and to maximize the organizational outcomes as well.

Attitudes Toward a Code of Ethics: a Comparison between Academic and Non-Academic Staff

&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;The frequent media reports on the unethical conduct of business and non-business practitioners has made the roles of universities in equipping organisation leaders with ethics are in question. They are required to foster a better learning environment that enables prospective leaders to enhance their moral sensitivity and appreciate the importance of ethics in their personal and professional life. Academic and non-academic staff of the institutions are in the front line of providing ethical role model to the students. Considering these influential roles an examination of the ethical attitudes of the staff is a good start. A code of ethics has been considered as a symbol of an organisation to preserve and promote ethical concerns. Therefore, ascertainment his research was part of a wider study on ethics in denominational higher education institutions in several cities in Java, Indonesia&lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt;. In particular, it addressed the attitudes of employees of the institutions’ staff toward their institutional codes of ethics. &lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt;Initially, this research was going to include &lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt;employees from those institutions. However, at the time the research was carried out, only one of the institutions has adopted and published a code of ethics. Due to this fact, the scope of the research was then confined into a single institution. The purposes of the article were two-fold. The first was to asses the attitudes of the staff in the institution toward their codes of ethics. The second was to ascertain whether differences existed between academic and non-academic staff regarding these attitudes. &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;em&gt;A cross-sectional survey was employed as the primary method to collect the data. The fieldwork comprised the distribution of a self-administered questionnaire to potential respondents through direct contact. A purposive sampling was used to identify and invite respondent participation. A total of 200 questionnaires were distributed of which 103 were usable, representing the overall response rate of 50 %. The findings of the research are discussed. A wide range of managerial and scholarly implications are outlined.&lt;/em&gt;

An examination of pro-stakeholder unethical behavior in the sales ethics subculture

ABSTRACT The salesperson often faces ethical dilemmas when balancing the competing demands from their organization, manager, coworkers, and customers. At times, salespersons may exhibit pro-stakeholder unethical behavior when they violate rules or policies that benefit these various constituencies. This results in unethical conduct that can become part of the sales ethics subculture. This study investigates ethical influences from the organization, the sales manager, and the sales ethics subculture on pro-stakeholder unethical behavior. Results indicate the sales ethics subculture operates according to the theoretical framework of role-set configurations and differential association. Furthermore, the sales ethics subculture moderates the relationship between sales manager ethical role model behavior and pro-stakeholder unethical behavior, acting as an organizational control on unethical sales manager role model behavior as perceived by salespeople.

Right Is what that Benefits All, or that which Is Morally Correct: An Enquiry on How Ethical Predispositions (Consequentialism Vs Formalism) Influence the effect of Role Models on Ethical Leader

According to social learning theory, role models facilitate the acquisition of moral and other types of behavior. Yet, the question remains whether having had ethical role models influences one's perceptions of one’s ethical leadership and, if so, what kinds of role models are important. Even bigger questions remain do these role models change the thinking pattern on Ethical Standards of Judgment that is crucial in making them an ethical leader. We attempted to answer these questions by proposing a theoretical framework, drawing on Brown & Trevino (2014) conceptualization of role models and ethical leadership nexus, by focusing on the multiple types of ethical role models as antecedents of perceived ethical leadership, while making moral predispositions as mediating a factor. These predispositions are broadly based around two frameworks: consequentialism and formalism (the tendency to assess ethical situations in terms of their consequences to people, or, in terms of their consistent conformity to patterns or rules or some other formal features) Love et. al. (2020). We proposed that these dispositions are shaped by the role models and are instrumental in making a leader ethical. We explored three types of ethical role models: the leader’s childhood role models, career mentors, and top managers. Empirical validity was established by conducting a survey using a close-ended questionnaire. Data was collected from 307 respondents working in the Pakistani corporate sector and analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis and structured equation modeling. The results suggested that Roles models don’t seem to exert any direct effect on ethical leadership (EL), however, career mentors have a positive indirect effect through both Consequentialism and Formalism, meaning these mentors inculcate the ethical predispositions of both Consequentialism and Formalism, and both, in turn, affect EL. Similarly, childhood role models also promote Consequentialist thinking which also has a positive effect on EL. Moreover, Ages also seem to have a positive impact on EL, moreover, it also complements the effect of career mentors on EL, meaning the influence of these mentors on EL are more pronounces in higher Age respondents. We found no effect on top management ethical role models. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

What drives leader integrity

The inspiration for this research is determined by the fact that leader integrity may have countless effects on organisations and employee performance. The research gap has focused on the antecedents of leader integrity within Iranian public services. This qualitative study used rich data from in-depth interviews and followed a Glaserian grounded theory as its research method. Results have suggested that, different factors influence leader integrity that include: individual characteristics (altruistic mindset, authenticity, organisational-based self-esteem, personal values that confer integrity, Machiavellianism), moderating factors (organisational: organisational climate regarding integrity, human resources management, whistleblower activities, organisational transparency and politicisation of bureaucracy) and moderating factors (managerial: leader job characteristics, leadership ability, expectations of leader performance, and ethical role model). We discuss a potential limitation of this study and implications for practice and directions for future research of leader integrity.

What drives leader integrity

The inspiration for this research is determined by the fact that leader integrity may have countless effects on organisations and employee performance. The research gap has focused on the antecedents of leader integrity within Iranian public services. This qualitative study used rich data from in-depth interviews and followed a Glaserian grounded theory as its research method. Results have suggested that, different factors influence leader integrity that include: individual characteristics (altruistic mindset, authenticity, organisational-based self-esteem, personal values that confer integrity, Machiavellianism), moderating factors (organisational: organisational climate regarding integrity, human resources management, whistleblower activities, organisational transparency and politicisation of bureaucracy) and moderating factors (managerial: leader job characteristics, leadership ability, expectations of leader performance, and ethical role model). We discuss a potential limitation of this study and implications for practice and directions for future research of leader integrity.