Ethical Leadership Framework 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.

An Integrative Framework of Ethical Leadership

An Integrative Framework of Ethical Leadership

The Position and Relevance of Abu Al-A'la Maududi's Political Thoughts for Leadership Ethics in the Era Society 5.0

The lack of a leader’s figure perceived by the citizens has become a social phenomenon in Indonesian society. There are secular pragmatic practices, political secularization, flexing, and hedonic lifestyles which are shown by the leaders and become their self-image.This study aims to analyze the contribution of Al Maududi’s thought to ethical leadership in the era of society 5.0. The design of this study is library research and the main data source is the literature, which was written by Al Maududi. This research traces the data through the book “Empat Istilah Pokok dalam Al-Qur’an” and the book “al-Khilafah wa al-mulk”. The leadership in Al-Maududi’s framework is the concept of theo-democracy which states that the leader is an individual who showed God’s sovereignty under God’s rule and has a social responsibility to accept criticism from the citizens. Al-Maududi’s framework of ethical leadership is that leaders should not enrich themselves with the power of their position. In regards to fulfilling SDG’s goals, leaders who can manage nature and human resources are needed. The leaders should know how to utilize the technology in managing the resources and be able to take the profit for the citizens’ well-being.
 Keywords: Al-Maududi, political thought, leadership in the era of society 5.0

Mindfulness Practices for Ethical Leadership in a Post Covid-19 World

Does embracing a practice of mindfulness nurture and sustain ethical leadership skills in top managers? In this conceptual paper, an attempt has been made to address the question. In the aftermath of Covid-19, existing leadership practices need to be reevaluated and revitalized to meet the expectations of an increasingly interdependent, uncertain, and rapidly changing global business environment. The business environment needs top managers who are able to sustain their ethical leadership skillset, which involves strategic thinking, the capacity to learn, the capacity to change, and managerial wisdom (Boal & Hooijberg, 2001). Drawing on upper echelons theory, and the ethical leadership framework, first, the characteristics of ethical leaders are outlined. Next, drawing on the theories of social and cognitive psychology, neuroscience, and medicine, the importance of mindfulness to cultivate ethical leadership qualities is highlighted. Finally, mindfulness tools are offered for managers for sustained ethical leadership.

The ethics of diversity ideology: Consequences of leader diversity ideology on ethical leadership perception and organizational citizenship behavior.

Scholars have suggested that leader diversity ideologies are imbued with ethical or normative content (e.g., Nkomo & Hoobler, 2014). We advance this literature by examining the ethical consequences of leader diversity ideologies. Specifically, we integrate the ethical leadership framework and the theory of recognition to suggest that leaders who communicate about diversity by acknowledging individuals' racial/ethnic identities (i.e., use identity-conscious ideology) are deemed by followers as more ethical than leaders who do not (i.e., use identity-blind ideologies). We further suggest that this effect is stronger for followers who are higher in institutional discrimination awareness (defined as those who are more likely to view racial/ethnic identities as consequential within society). Finally, we assert that this interactive effect on ethical leadership will subsequently influence follower engagement in discretionary, proactive behavior directed toward the organization. We found support for our predictions across two experiments and a field study. Overall, our findings illustrate the ethical consequences of leader diversity ideologies. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Reducing Healthcare Employees' Burnout through Ethical Leadership: The Role of Altruism and Motivation.

Globally, employee burnout (EBO) is a black swan in healthcare management. Previous organizational management literature shows that EBO was often misunderstood by assuming it as a personal issue. However, the new definition by the World Health Organization (WHO) clearly indicates that EBO is an occupational phenomenon that places responsibility on organizations to manage it. Although recent evidence suggests ethical leadership (ELP) style may be important to mitigate EBO, shockingly, such relationships were not tested in healthcare systems, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Filling this knowledge gap in the existing body of knowledge, this study aimed to investigate the ELP–EBO relationship. To explain the underlying mechanism of how ELP reduces EBO, this study included two psychological factors as a mediator and a moderator: altruism (AL) and intrinsic motivation (IM). The data were obtained from hospital employees via a self-administered questionnaire (n = 289, paper-pencil method). A hypothetical framework was designed and tested for empirical validation through structural equation modeling (SEM). Empirical evidence confirmed that ELP reduces the risk of burnout among hospital employees, and AL mediates this relationship. The results also confirmed the conditional indirect role of IM in the above proposed mediated relationship. This study’s outcomes can help hospital administration deal with EBO’s epidemic in an ELP framework. Other, different implications have also been discussed in detail.

Proposing a Robust Model to Reduce Employees' Turnover Intentions in an Ethical Leadership Framework: Empirical Evidence from the Healthcare Sector.

Employee turnover is expensive and disruptive for an organization. Studies have already mentioned that the economic cost of turnover is huge, ranging from 90% to 200% of the existing employee’s salary. With an increase in turnover rate, the social fabric of an enterprise may be disrupted. Additionally, organizations with an increasing turnover are expected to lose intangible knowledge and skills, operational effectiveness, customer satisfaction, and product or service quality. In a healthcare context, an increasing turnover rate has more consequences than other sectors because the healthcare sector worldwide is already identified as a sector facing resource scarcity. Exacerbating the situation, current evidence suggests that employee turnover has been increasing globally in the healthcare sector. The literature suggests that an ethical leadership style may reduce employees’ likelihood of quitting an organization. However, such literature is sparse in healthcare, especially from the perspective of a developing economy in the Global South, which is more resource-deficient than the Global North. To fill this knowledge gap, this study investigates the relationship between ethical leadership style and turnover intentions in the healthcare context of the Global South. This study also tests the mediating effect of intrinsic motivation and psychological contract fulfillment in the above-proposed relationship. Furthermore, the conditional indirect effect of resilience is also tested. The data are collected from the hospital employees through a self-administered questionnaire. The hypothesized relationships are tested through structural equation modeling. The empirical evidence indicates that ethical leadership reduces employees’ turnover intentions significantly. The results further confirm the mediating and moderating effects of intrinsic motivation, psychological contract fulfillment, and resilience. These results have different theoretical and practical implications for the healthcare sector. The results especially highlight the role of ethical leaders in a hospital to deal with the challenge of turnover, which has been rising worldwide.

The influence of ethical leadership in the delivery of agricultural advisory services in Tanzania local government authorities

PurposeThis article discusses the consequences of unethical leadership, particularly, the leader-follower relationship in the delivery of agricultural advisory services in Tanzania. It analyses the means through which ethical leadership framework can be used to address the problem of unethical leadership in this context.Design/methodology/approachThe article uses a comparative case study design to explain the position of ethical leadership in the delivery of agricultural advisory services in two local governments: Morogoro Municipality in Eastern Tanzania, and Hai District in Northern Tanzania.FindingsThe research shows that the delivery of agricultural extension services in Tanzania is guided by formal rules, which define the roles and responsibilities of local government officials and field workers. These roles and responsibilities are driven by national-level guidelines written by the Ministry of Agriculture. The guidelines define the key responsibilities of village, Ward and District level Agricultural Extension Officers. In developing the working schedule, agricultural extension workers at the village and ward levels are guided by an annual calendar that defines the seasons of the year and the relevant knowledge required by farmers. Nevertheless, the implementation of these schedules is compromised by a lack of resources and morale of field workers who in turn, cope through charging for the services, which is considered as their prime motives.Originality/valueThe findings can be of interest to national and local government policymakers and officials dealing with the delivery of agricultural advisory services in Tanzania.

Ethical Leadership Responsibility Dimension in Conflict in the Time of (Corona-Covid-19)

The research proved that an organization can progress robust through integration, corporate performance, corporate governance and corporate social responsibility utilizing natured or nurtured ethical leaders.To develop leaders and followers, more commitment should be shown by the management. Principles of corporate governance must have formulated equally by all stakeholders. An ethical leadership has to employ organizational culture in mainstreaming corporate performance, corporate governance and corporate social responsibility.Leadership plays a vital role in enhancement the ethical performance in organizations, but the ways in which leaders’ actions intersect with formal moral regulations in shaping behavior have not been subject to research. This article addresses this topic through a qualitative study of the work of the “ethical leadership framework responsibility dimension in Conflict in the Time of (Corona-Covid -19)”.This research used the technique of stratified sampling to choose the respondents which accomplished the questionnaire and linear regression to analyze the generated data. Those were employed to examine the influence of ethical leadership on corporate performance, corporate governance and corporate social responsibility in chosen Lebanese communication public organization.

How Ethics and Benevolence in Leadership Inspires Creativity: The Mediating Role of LMX and Motivation, Complemented by Culture with Greater Power Distance.

Ethical leadership is expected to communicate, promote, and reinforce the ethical behaviors of the followers. Ethical leadership has not fully considered the nature of the leader-follower exchange, and, in addition, few studies have considered the impact of follower individual differences in reactions to ethical leadership. However, virtuous leader behavior in the form of benevolent leadership has a considerable impact on employee creativity. Evans et. al. (2016) predicted that the impact of ethical leadership on organizational commitment, job satisfaction, and organizational identification is greater for individuals with a more benevolent orientation. However, little is know if it also results in employees’ creativity. More importantly, how benevolence and ethics in leadership affect creativity. For this, we proposed a theoretical framework merging Lin et. al. (2018) model of Benevolent Leadership, with Feng et. al. (2018) ethical leadership framework. More specifically, we proposed and tested a moderated mediation model positing leader-member exchange (LMX) as well as intrinsic motivation as a mediator, and employee power-distance orientation as a moderator in the relationship of ethical and benevolent leadership with employees and team creativity. Empirical validity was established by conducting a survey using a close-ended questionnaire. Data was collected from 300+ employees working in different sectors in Pakistan and analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis and structured equation modeling. As proposed in our theory, the results indicate a significant positive impact of Top Management Ethical and Benevolent Leadership on both intrinsic motivations, as well as Leader-Member Exchange (LMX). Moreover, both motivation and LMX positively impact both team and employees Creativity. However, LMX doesn’t seem to impact the employee’s creativity. Hence, overall all results indicated a positive indirect effect of both forms of leadership on creativity. Understandably, Power distance doesn’t seem to affect LMX but does impact motivation. Interestingly, the effect of Ethical leadership on both motivation and LMX is significantly weakened in cases of higher power distance. Whereas, the same power distance seems to strengthen benevolent leadership and motivation nexus. The findings imply that ethical leadership is not enough to induce creativity in a culture of higher power distance as it develops a gulf between followers and leaders, and it is needed to be complemented by benevolence.

Cultivating ethical leadership in the recovery of COVID-19.

To propose the necessity of fostering ethical leadership in the recovery of COVID-19. Supporting physically and emotionally exhausted nurses, whilst ensuring quality standards of care delivery in the recovery phase of COVID-19, requires careful, considerate and proactive planning. Drawing on literature and utilizing Lawton and Paez Gabriunas' (2015) integrated ethical leadership framework (purpose, practices, virtues), possible practical suggestions for the operationalization of ethical leadership are proposed. Nurse managers must maintain ethical vigilance in order to nurture value-driven behaviour, demonstrating empathy and compassion for nurses experiencing physical and emotional exhaustion because of COVID-19. It is important that open dialogue, active listening and self-care interventions exist. Nurse managers have an essential role in inspiring and empowering nurses, and building morale and a collective commitment to safe and quality care. Nurse managers need to consider ways of empowering, supporting and enabling nurses to apply ethical standards in everyday practice. Fostering ethical nurse leadership requires careful and sensitive planning, as well as charismatic, compassionate and inspirational leaders. Supporting staff through respect, empathy, role modelling and genuine conscientiousness is essential for increasing job performance and sustaining an ethical work environment.

Is Ethical Leadership Beneficial?

Ethical leadership is one of the important indicators of corporate success. The purpose of this paper is to shed light on the various aspects, dimensions, and outcomes of ethical leadership. The paper initially introduces the conceptual framework of ethical leadership and its relevant traits. And then discusses the propositions related to various aspects and outcomes of ethical leadership based on the review of pertinent studies published during the last few decades. The paper ends with the discussion of noteworthy implications that are relevant to the advancement of ethical leadership in the organization. Limitations and future research directions are also deliberated.

Ethical Leadership with Both “Moral Person” and “Moral Manager” Aspects: Scale Development and Cross-Cultural Validation

The importance of ethical leadership in organizations has been increasingly recognized, especially as a shield against unethical employee behaviors and corporate misconducts. Ethical leadership has been theorized to include two aspects: “moral person” and “moral manager.” This conceptualization resonates well with Chinese teachings of Confucius on leadership and management—namely xiuji (cultivating oneself) and anren (bringing the good to others). Based on the theoretical framework of ethical leadership, we develop and validate a new ethical leadership measure (ELM). Through qualitative studies (i.e., face-to-face interviews, open-ended surveys, and literature review) and five quantitative studies, we establish the reliability and convergent, discriminant, and predictive validities of the ELM in a Chinese context. In addition, using a US sample, we find that the ELM has partial measurement invariance across Chinese and American contexts.

Exploring the Ethical Aspects of Leadership: From a Korean Perspective

Theories of ethical leadership provide important insights about the effect of leader’s ethics on the relationship between leaders and followers. However, there is an increasing demand for addressing key constructs that enhance the capacity to explain theoretical aspects of ethical leadership. The purpose of this study is to expand the theoretical framework of ethical leadership based on Korean traditional leadership by focusing on personal cultivation, morality, and social responsibility. Using a framework of intrapersonal process as leadership and core value and competence as components of leadership, this study examines the ethical aspects of Korean traditional leadership and provides the implications to further develop the theory of ethical leadership. It is found that ethical integrity ensued from sugi (self-cultivation) is an essential precondition to develop leadership, and the core value of ethical leadership includes Zhixin-Chijing (cultivation of the mind and internal piety) and the competence consists of both Ipzhi (setting a solid self-vision/establishing goal) and Silsim (practical mind, grasp changes in reality with a sound mind) in Korean traditional leadership that contributes to expanding the theoretical understanding of ethical leadership. Implications for future research in the area of ethical leadership are discussed.

Gray Area Ethical Leadership in the NCAA: The Ethics of Doing the Wrong Things Right

The NCAA’s operating manuals provide member institutions with hundreds of pages of bylaws that outline how member institutions should operate their athletic programs. Interpretations of these rules can lead to sanctions for student-athletes, coaches, athletic administrators and institutions. Such rule-based systems can potentially lead to the belief that simply following the rules as written equates to right or ethical behavior. In this commentary, we used an ethical leadership framework primarily built on the leadership and management thoughts of Bennis and Nanus (1985) to propose the College Athletics Ethical Leadership Continuum which can be used to assess the behaviors, rules, and decisions made by NCAA membership. Fundamental principles of this conceptual model include holding the student-athlete as the primary stakeholder of college sports activities, and that a critical analysis of the present is necessary to provide leadership for the future. Based on a distinction between doing things right and doing the right thing, the model is applied to four case studies in which NCAA membership policies and actions, or lack thereof, are likely compromising the wellbeing and academic success of student-athletes.