ethics and leadership essay

What is Ethical Leadership and Why is it Important?

Ethical leadership is not only the right thing to do, it is key to driving an organization's success.

Valerie Kirk

Errors, bad behavior, and poor judgment in leadership can negatively impact a company’s brand and reputation. For business success, it’s critical for organizations to fill their C-suite with ethical leaders.

Ethical leadership involves leaders and managers making decisions based on the right thing to do for the common good, not just based on what is best for themselves or for the bottom line. While profits are important, ethical leaders take into consideration the needs of customers, communities, and employees in addition to company growth and revenue when making business decisions. 

Ethical leaders encourage their team members to model this behavior, too. They help to build a workplace culture that values transparency, collaboration and inclusion, and where everyone feels safe to share their voice.

They can also help organizations recruit and retain top talent. Professionals are increasingly seeking out companies whose leaders strive to do the right thing. Generation Z, who will make up 25 percent of the workforce by 2025, demands leadership ethics more than generations that came before them. 

“Gen Z is not going to negotiate. They have really strong values and ethics, and they don’t bend them because of intimidation or because they are just getting a paycheck,” said Michael McCarthy, instructor at Harvard Division of Continuing Education’s Professional & Executive Development and host of the “ Happy at Work ” podcast. “The idea of letting harmful or hurtful behavior slide is not acceptable.”

Leaders who weigh ethical considerations before making key business decisions drive a company’s long-term success. 

The 6 Main Principles of Ethical Leadership

Having ethical leaders isn’t as simple as hiring “good” people. Companies should strive to fill their leadership ranks with people who embody the principles of ethical leadership. The six main principles include: 

Respect includes valuing others’ skills and contributions. While historically respect in the workplace may have been one-way (leaders demanding respect from employees), in an ethical work environment, respect is mutual. 

Mutual respect leads to healthier workplace relationships where both sides appreciate and support what the other is doing and feel secure in talking through issues and challenges. Healthy relationships create positive work environments, which drives increased productivity.

Current and upcoming business leaders should take mutual respect into account as workforce expectations continue to shift.  

“I tell current leadership to respect Gen Z. They have values and morals, and you’re going to have a better organization because of them,” McCarthy said. “They aren’t going to put up with the old hierarchy that doesn’t offer mutual respect.” 

2. Accountability

Ethical leaders hold themselves accountable for their actions. They make decisions based on integrity and stand behind their work. They also lead by example, communicate openly about challenges, and don’t look to place blame on others for any shortfalls.

Leaders make ethical decisions based on doing what is right for employees, customers, and the community. Because these constituents are always top of mind for ethical leaders, they often have a strong sense of service. They engage in activities such as charitable giving and volunteer work to give  back to their communities — and encourage their teams to do the same. 

Leaders who are transparent build trust amongst their organizations and amongst customers. 

To build and maintain trust, leaders must be good communicators who speak openly and honestly about issues. Regardless of the issue’s severity or unpopularity, leaders’ responsibility to be clear and candid  empowers others to make the right decisions with the information they have. 

Honesty and transparency also help to build a brand’s reputation, leading to long-term customer loyalty.

Justice is not just about following the law, but about ensuring that everyone is getting what they deserve. Ethical leaders approach situations with a focus on treating everyone fairly, and they expect their teams to treat each other and customers the same way. Through their actions, they build equitable work environments where everyone feels respected. 

6. Community

Ethical leaders view their companies as communities and consider everyone involved when evaluating situations and making decisions. By viewing their organizations this way, they build equity and inclusion into their decision-making process and create work environments that encourage collaboration across teams. 

Learn more about Harvard DCE’s Ethical Leadership program

Examples of Positive and Negative Ethical Leadership

The following three examples are of companies that were faced with ethical dilemmas and how different leadership styles led to vastly different outcomes. 

Johnson & Johnson

One of the most famous examples of ethical leadership was the case of the Tylenol cyanide poisonings in the early 1980s. Seven people died of cyanide poisoning, and the only connecting factor was that they had all taken extra-strength Tylenol. During investigation, it was discovered that the tablets were laced with cyanide.

Johnson & Johnson’s leaders acted quickly and pulled all Tylenol products off the shelves — 31 million bottles, worth over $100 million — and stopped all production and advertising. The swiftness of their decision, although costly, put customers’ well-being first and saved lives.

They partnered with law enforcement to find the perpetrator and subsequently developed the first-ever tamper-resistant packaging. They were transparent with the public about what they were doing to ensure this tragedy never happened again. 

The Tylenol brand recovered from the incident, largely because of Johnson & Johnson’s ethical leadership team’s swift action and transparent care for customers.

In 2008, JetBlue left passengers stranded on the tarmac at the John F. Kennedy International Airport for more than five hours during a snowstorm. The delay had a ripple effect — JetBlue had to cancel more than 1,000 flights over the following five days.

In response, JetBlue’s CEO wrote a letter of apology to customers. He also directed his team to draft a customer bill of rights, which outlined customers’ rights to information about flights and information about compensation in the event of delays or cancellations.

The CEO also participated in a public apology tour, taking full responsibility for the incident rather than blaming it on the weather.

His transparency and accountability created trust with customers, who stayed loyal to the airline.

Wells Fargo

In September 2016 , it was revealed that employees of Wells Fargo, one of the largest banks in the United States, opened millions of unauthorized accounts in order to meet aggressive sales targets. This widespread fraudulent activity was the result of a work culture that prioritized quantity over quality and pushed employees to engage in unethical practices.

Company leaders denied knowledge of fraudulent practices. The bank was hit with significant financial penalties, but because of the lack of accountability, they damaged the trust of their customers and investors. They reported a 50 percent profit loss in the quarter following the scandal.

Meeting the Ethical Challenges of Leadership

Companies cannot underestimate the power of different leadership styles on their growth and long term success. Those who practice ethical leadership have positive corporate cultures where employees are engaged, motivated, and feel good about coming to work. Companies without ethical leadership face lower productivity and high turnover rates, impacting the organization’s bottom line.

Ethical leaders aren’t just born with these skills — they develop them over years of experience and training. 

Harvard DCE Professional & Executive Development offers a two-day Ethical Leadership program that helps leaders develop skills to make ethical choices and lead companies through challenging dilemmas. 

Topics covered include: 

• Making ethical decisions with conflicting responsibilities 
• Building a moral framework within yourself and the organization
• Understanding the role of employees in both their professional and personal lives 
• Navigating a slippery slope when seemingly good people do bad things
• Building a corporate culture that values moral behavior

Learn more about the ethical leadership program, including how to register.  

Leaders looking to expand their ethical leadership skills should also consider the two-day Authentic Leadership program , where they will learn how to develop mindfulness and authenticity to build trust, create engagement, and promote productivity. 

Explore all Executive Leadership and Management courses

About the Author

Valerie Kirk is a freelance writer and corporate storyteller specializing in customer and community outreach and topics and trends in education, technology, and healthcare. Based in Maryland near the Chesapeake Bay, she spends her free time exploring nature by bike, paddle board, or on long hikes with her family.

Neuromarketing — Predicting Consumer Behavior to Drive Purchasing Decisions 

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Harvard Division of Continuing Education

The Division of Continuing Education (DCE) at Harvard University is dedicated to bringing rigorous academics and innovative teaching capabilities to those seeking to improve their lives through education. We make Harvard education accessible to lifelong learners from high school to retirement.

Ethical Leadership : Ethics and Leadership

This essay about ethical leadership explores its significance in guiding organizations towards success. It emphasizes integrity, transparency, and accountability as key principles. Ethical leaders prioritize the well-being of stakeholders, navigate moral dilemmas, and foster inclusivity and empathy. By embodying these qualities, leaders cultivate trust, inspire loyalty, and drive sustainable growth. The essay illustrates ethical leadership as a compass, steering organizations through turbulent waters towards a destination of ethical conduct and societal impact.

How it works

In the intricate web of organizational dynamics, ethical leadership stands as the compass, guiding ships through the turbulent seas of uncertainty towards the shores of sustainable success. It’s like a finely tuned instrument where moral principles harmonize with leadership acumen, creating a symphony of integrity, transparency, and accountability. Join me on this journey as we unravel the intricacies of ethical leadership, exploring its significance, core principles, and profound impact on individuals, teams, and the broader organizational landscape.

At its core, ethical leadership emanates from the foundation of integrity—a steadfast commitment to steering the ship of leadership with unwavering moral clarity.

Leaders who embody integrity cultivate trust and credibility among their crew, fostering an environment where waves of transparency, fairness, and ethical conduct wash over the ship. By setting sail with the flag of ethical behavior flying high, leaders inspire confidence and loyalty among their crewmates, laying the groundwork for cohesive teams and resilient vessels capable of navigating stormy seas and reaching distant horizons.

Central to the art of ethical leadership is the skillful navigation through the murky waters of moral ambiguity, where leaders must chart a course with astuteness, foresight, and compassion. Ethical captains prioritize the well-being of their crew and passengers, carefully weighing the impact of their decisions on diverse stakeholders, including crewmates, passengers, port communities, and the marine environment. They navigate towards safe harbors, guided by a moral compass that points towards choices that uphold ethical standards and promote the common good. Through ethical navigation, leaders strengthen the seaworthiness of their vessel, enhance their reputation among fellow seafarers, and chart a course towards sustainable prosperity that benefits all aboard.

Moreover, ethical leadership encompasses the casting of a wide net of empathy and inclusivity, recognizing the inherent worth and dignity of every sailor on deck. Leaders who cast this net create a culture of camaraderie and respect, where the rich diversity of the crew is celebrated, and the voices of all hands are heard. By casting this net wide, ethical leaders foster an environment of psychological safety and empowerment, where every sailor feels encouraged to share their experiences and contribute their skills to the voyage ahead. Through empathy and inclusivity, leaders forge bonds of trust and mutual respect among the crew, fostering collaboration and innovation that propel the vessel towards new horizons.

In conclusion, ethical leadership serves as the guiding star in the vast expanse of organizational seas, steering vessels towards ethical conduct, responsible seamanship, and societal impact. It is akin to the art of navigating uncharted waters, where leaders must navigate with wisdom, courage, and compassion to reach distant shores of prosperity. As vessels navigate the turbulent seas of the twenty-first century, the importance of ethical leadership becomes increasingly evident, heralding a new era of responsible seamanship that prioritizes integrity, transparency, and the common good. Ultimately, ethical leadership is not merely a strategy for success but a moral imperative that shapes the destiny of vessels and leaves a lasting legacy of positive change in the maritime world.

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Leadership Essay

27 August, 2020

12 minutes read

Author:  Richard Pircher

As a college student, you must write essays on a regular basis since the latter is one of the most common types of home assignments. All this means is that in order to get good grades and be successful with writing the papers, you need to have a sound understanding of the structure. Additionally, what you should never neglect is the variety of essay types. Indeed, your essay will significantly differ from one type to another: description essay will most likely have a structure that is slightly different from an argumentative one.

What you may have already encountered in your academic life is the work on a leadership essay. Although it sounds pretty complicated and vague, it is mostly possible to master an essay on leadership. Below is a guide for you to get an insight into this particular essay type.

What is a good leadership essay?

A good leadership essay is the one in which the essay writer has fully covered the topic of leadership and understood its core ideas. More specifically, to end up with a flawless leadership essay, you will need to indicate what makes a person a good leader. For achieving the latter, you will most likely need to conduct research and trace how a particular person reaches his or her goals. In other words, the task is to discover which actions the person undertakes, what their followers say about him or her, and how the person organizes the work. So, a leadership essay implies providing real-life success examples and further revealing them.

Above all, a good leadership essay is the one that follows a precise, clear, comprehensive structure. Structuring your essay about leadership in the most coherent way leads to a win-win situation: you have fewer troubles and barriers to writing a brilliant essay, and your teacher is able to comprehend the essay easily. This guide is what you will need to refer to to get an insight into how the flawless structure for a leadership essay looks like and how it will let you take a benefit.

How to write a Leadership essay?

To write a leadership essay that stands out, you first need to brainstorm all the ideas that you have and come up with a topic for your essay. If you are struggling with this step, you may think of some of the most influential people, read about them, and find out what makes them unique. Or, you can pick any topic which is mentioned at the end of this article. After you have chosen an issue, it is time to structure your essay appropriately.

As you already know, an essay constitutes three essential sections: introduction, main body, and conclusion. Below is the more detailed description of each of the parts.

Introduction

Of course, your leadership essay introduction will always vary depending on the topic of the essay. However, you can always begin by stating your vision of leadership regardless of the topic. Additionally, to motivate the reader and instantly catch his or her attention, you may use a quote of a famous leader, or simply a quote which you find relevant to the topic. Be aware that you should avoid outlining the essence and the role of the leadership in your introduction; leave it for the body paragraphs.

What you may also do in your leadership essay is ask a question, which will most likely intrigue the leader. Or it will at least give your reader an overview of what you will dwell on  in your essay.

Body Paragraphs

You will need to divide the main body into 3-5 paragraphs to make the structure more comprehensive. What you have to do at this point  is  give your reader a sound understanding of your ideas. Therefore, try to fit each idea in a single body paragraph so that you do not confuse your reader. Do not hesitate to indicate your examples to strengthen your arguments. For instance, you may explain a fact that makes a particular person you are writing about a real leader.

Also, always stick to your thesis statement and don’t forget that the body paragraphs should reveal the parts of your thesis statement.

As you may already know, you need to restate your opinion and briefly summarize all the points from the main body in conclusion. For instance, if you wrote your essay on qualities of an effective leader, state the most fundamental qualities and indicate why they matter the most. Besides, try not to copy what you have already written in the body – it is better to restate your opinion using different words. And, of course, beware adding any new and extra information; indicate only those points that you have already outlined in the text. Finally, keep in mind that it is always favorable to keep your concluding remarks short.

Leadership Essay Examples

Writing a leadership essay requires some research and time. In case you feel the necessity to go through an essay example, below is a leadership essay sample you can refer to.

Is leadership an inborn or an acquired feature?

Is everyone capable of becoming a leader, or is this ability innate? A lot of researchers have been struggling to answer this question. One assumption about leadership implies that the leader is the person who possesses particular characteristics. Another assumption claims that leaders are capable of acquiring specific features over their life span. As the evidence shows, leaders own many features that distinguish them among others and make more and more people become their followers. These might be cognitive abilities, psychological traits, professional qualities, and a lot more, and all of them will be either acquired or innate. Based on the importance of leadership qualities, such as commitment, stress resistance, and the ability to make quality decisions, it is reasonable to claim that leaders are made, not born. 

One can deem commitment as one of the top fundamental qualities of the leader. In essence, such a feature indicates that a person is passionate about the common goal, strives to be a team player, and makes every effort to reach a shared goal. As the history shows, none of the successful companies was uncoordinated by an influential, committed leader: Apple, Amazon, Microsoft – all of these companies are examples of dominant teams led by a dedicated leader. A committed leader also inspires his or her team to achieve common goals and put more effort into the shared activity. Besides, commitment is unlikely to be an innate feature; it instead comes with experience. This is so, since commitment implies dedicating oneself to the shared task, and one can reach it only via learning and continuous self-improvement.

Stress resistance is another incredibly important feature that every good leader should possess. This is because only a stress-resistant leader has sufficient capabilities to overcome any complexity and not let the anxiety and stress prevent him or her from making proper decisions. Besides, such a leader will most likely have a positive influence on the team, as long as leading by example will motivate the team members to attain the same emotional stability. What is so far familiar about stress resistance as an effective leader’s feature is that it can be either innate or attained. However, although some researchers admit that emotional stability is something one is born with, it is not entirely true; many people still put a great effort into self-improvement, changing the attitude to unfortunate situations, and so on. Therefore, being resistant to stress can be mostly attributed to a personality.

An ability to make high-quality decisions most likely determines the chances for an enterprise’s success. In particular, such quality is incredibly fundamental for a company of any size and professional orientation. Additionally, it is one of the top tasks of a good leader to make final decisions. What he or she should do implies brainstorming, discussing various opinions in the group, making forecasts, analyzing all the pros and cons. However, the leader is the one to make a final decision. Thereby, he is in charge of researching the market, discovering all the hidden truths, and analyzing the organization’s potential and capabilities to result in the most effective decision. As it flows logically from the latter, an ability to make sound quality decisions is purely a professional quality. This leads to the conclusion that one has to work hard to become a genuine leader and master the skill of making effective decisions. 

Overall, the leader may possess a multitude of different skills and master them perfectly. However, what has so far become transparent is that any leader, regardless of which team he leads, must possess three essential qualities. These qualities are commitment to the common goal, ability to handle and resist stress, and, finally, an ability to make effective decisions. All of the three qualities are most likely to be acquired over a lifetime. The statement below leads to the conclusion that even though some qualities can be innate, most are not the ones that leaders are born with. Hence, this answers an essential question: leadership feature is acquired, and not necessarily inborn.  

20 leadership essay topics

When coming up with your next leadership essay topic, it is imperative to brainstorm ideas and think of what leadership might be related to. If you are struggling with a topic of the importance of leadership essay or any relevant type of essay, you may quickly take a look at some of the possible topics we prepared for you:

• What are the main qualities of the leader?
• Successful Time Management as a feature of an effective leader
• The role that rhetoric plays in leadership
• The most exceptional leader in the history of the 20-th century
• The role of female leadership
• What are the challenges of the leader of the 21-st century?
• How college helps students develop leadership skills?
• Qualities of the leader that motivate people to follow them 
• Top things to avoid doing to become a team leader
• Examples of effective and ineffective leadership in the history
• Top techniques for developing leadership skills
• The interconnection of creativity and leadership 
• Is a university’s role fundamental in developing leadership skills?
• Dictatorship as an anti-example of leadership
• Liberal vs Authoritative leadership: which one works better?
• The influence of the leader’s role model on the followers’ mindset
• Main difficulties that the new leader may face in a new team
• Leadership of today vs leadership of the past: what has changed?
• Reasons why I want to become a member if the leadership program
• The role of cognitive abilities for the leader 

A life lesson in Romeo and Juliet taught by death

Due to human nature, we draw conclusions only when life gives us a lesson since the experience of others is not so effective and powerful. Therefore, when analyzing and sorting out common problems we face, we may trace a parallel with well-known book characters or real historical figures. Moreover, we often compare our situations with […]

Ethical Research Paper Topics

Writing a research paper on ethics is not an easy task, especially if you do not possess excellent writing skills and do not like to contemplate controversial questions. But an ethics course is obligatory in all higher education institutions, and students have to look for a way out and be creative. When you find an […]

Art Research Paper Topics

Students obtaining degrees in fine art and art & design programs most commonly need to write a paper on art topics. However, this subject is becoming more popular in educational institutions for expanding students’ horizons. Thus, both groups of receivers of education: those who are into arts and those who only get acquainted with art […]

Ethical Leadership, the role of Leader

• January 2012
• In book: Cases in Organizational Ethics (pp.23-38)
• Chapter: Ethical Leadership
• Publisher: Vilnius University
• Editors: Pucetaite Raminta

• Estonian Business School

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Leadership Values and Ethics Essay

• To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
• As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
• As a template for you assignment

Introduction

Description of the organization, ethical challenge of the organization, strategy recommendations of overcoming the challenge.

Generally, all organizations have a code of ethics that spells out how they should carry out transactions within the business environment. However, some of these well-written documents are just but public relations efforts put by the management to present themselves positively to the public.

This can be attested by the many times leaders in those organizations act contrary to the ethical standards as spelled out in their code of ethics.

Although egocentrism may be the main reason for almost all unethical behaviors, power possessed by the leaders and expectations is the fuel that facilitates the unethical behavior. Such misuse of power contributes significantly to loss of trust on the leader by his followers.

Riverbank Credit is a microfinance institution found in the capital city of Kenya – Nairobi, a country in East Africa. It began as a self-help group in 2002 with only seven members.

At that time, it gave out loans to its members without tangible security but based on the borrower’s character and cash flow of the business that is to be funded. However, as members increased it was no longer effective to use such terms in giving out loans.

Therefore the institution was registered into a SACCO in 2009 and it has grown to have a membership of over 6000. The SACCO currently targets the low and middle-income families with a promise to empower them economically as spelled out in its vision and mission.

The management is mainly faced by dishonesty whereby it has in many occasions failed to keep the promises it gave to either its workers or clients.

• Dishonesty to clients

When the SACCO is marketing its loan products, it makes its clients to believe that no tangible security is attached to the loan they secure. However when the client defaults, even for a short period, the company will be quick to seize some of the client’s property.

• Dishonesty to employees

The employees have been short-changed in many occasions in their remuneration whereby some deductions are done based on unfounded claims of penalties. Therefore, employees end up with less pay than was initially agreed. Secondly, the management uses deceptive information to attract employees to the organization. For instance, advertising some posts yet when the employees apply they are posted to very different posts with a promise to give them their preferred post after some time, a promise that will never be fulfilled.

• Effects of the management’s unethical behavior
• Train their marketers to be able to present the benefits of their loan products so that the issue of security will not discourage clients. This will help them to explain truly the penalties that face the client incase he/she defaults.
• Carry out a market research to find out the priority needs of the loan customers, therefore they will be able to serve those priority needs profitably.
• Cary out an internal research to determine the priority needs of the organization in terms of human resources. As a result, the organization will be able to advertise specific vacancies for the most needed personnel hence reducing remuneration expenses. This is because the company will have the minimum number of employees it needs and be able to pay them adequately.
• The company can develop a human resources plan through which it will attract college graduates and develop them to fit into the organization’s strategy. Such employees demand a relatively low starting salary and can grow in to the company’s system as they have not worked anywhere else.
• Newcrest Mining Limited’s Sustainability Reporting
• Application of normative case theories
• Microfinance Institutions and Operations in China
• Microfinance Institutions in South Africa
• Overcoming Egocentrism in Practical Examples
• The Importance of Ethics in Business in Light of the Recent Global Financial Crisis
• Ethics and Professional Conduct in Business
• Introduction to Applied Professional Ethics
• Two Ethical Cases and Their Implications
• Legal & Ethical Issues in Global Business: Shell and Topshop
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2018, May 28). Leadership Values and Ethics. https://ivypanda.com/essays/leadership-values-and-ethics/

"Leadership Values and Ethics." IvyPanda , 28 May 2018, ivypanda.com/essays/leadership-values-and-ethics/.

IvyPanda . (2018) 'Leadership Values and Ethics'. 28 May.

IvyPanda . 2018. "Leadership Values and Ethics." May 28, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/leadership-values-and-ethics/.

1. IvyPanda . "Leadership Values and Ethics." May 28, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/leadership-values-and-ethics/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Leadership Values and Ethics." May 28, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/leadership-values-and-ethics/.

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The importance of being an ethical leader and how to become one

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What is ethical leadership?

Why is it essential to be an ethical leader, 6 elements that define ethical leadership, which are the traits of an ethical leader, 7 ways ethical leadership can affect an organization, how to improve your ethical leadership skills, examples of good ethical leadership.

Ethical leadership means that individuals behave according to a set of principles and values that are recognized by the majority as a sound basis for the common good. These include integrity, respect, trust, fairness, transparency, and honesty.

Ethical leadership must be a conscious decision. As Fred Kofman writes in his book Conscious Business, “To be conscious means to be awake, mindful. To live consciously means to be open to perceiving the world around and within us, to understand our circumstances, and to decide how to respond to them in ways that honor our needs, values, and goals.”

He continues, “To be unconscious is to be asleep, mindless… Consciousness enables us to face our circumstances and pursue our goals in alignment with our values. When we lose consciousness, we are swept away by instincts and habits that may not serve us. We pursue goals that are not conducive to our health and happiness, we act in ways that we later regret, and we produce results that hurt us and those we care about.”

There are many good reasons to be an ethical leader.

From a collective perspective, leaders can inspire those around them to behave ethically. By setting an example and giving the direction for ethical behavior, others will observe and act similarly. In this way, ethical leaders can positively influence many others, presenting them with a set of actions that they can adopt for the greater good.

On a personal level, being an ethical leader is essential for credibility and reputation. If one aims to be a leader, it is a long game. Behaving unethically can automatically take a leader out of the A-league and may heavily damage their personal or company brand. Moreover, unethical behaviors often deteriorate one's self-esteem, leading to a suboptimal outcome and a missed opportunity to express one’s full potential.

Ethical leadership encompasses many things but ultimately boils down to these six main elements.

• Honesty. Honesty makes ethical leaders worthy of the trust others place in them. It means leaders commit to presenting facts as they are, playing fair with competitors, and communicating honestly with others.
• Justice. To be fair means to treat everyone equally, offer opportunities with no favoritism, and condemn improper behaviors and manipulations, as well as any other actions that could harm someone.
• Respect. Ethical leaders respect others around them, regardless of their position or identifying characteristics. This means they listen to each stakeholder, foster inclusion, and value diversity.
• Integrity. Integrity is shown when values, words, and actions are aligned and consistent. It is not enough to talk the talk, one has to walk the walk to demonstrate integrity.
• Responsibility. Responsibility means accepting to be in charge, embracing the power and duties that come with it, and always responding and being present in challenging situations.
• Transparency. Transparency concerns mainly the communication with all stakeholders. It means keeping an open dialogue, accepting feedback, and disclosing the information others need to deliver their work.  

“The best way to do is to be.” – Lao Tzu

Leaders play a crucial role in corporations, as they have been chosen to guide others. What do great ethical leaders do, and what ethical traits do they have in common?

• They know their internal compass and values . Knowing oneself is the first trait an ethical leader has to possess. By knowing their own values and principles, they can make them visible to others, take positions, and solidly enter negotiations.
• They have consistent ethical behavior. Reputation is built on repetition, and ethical leaders know that. Leaders are vulnerable, as the trust that people place in them can quickly fade if they misbehave—no matter how well they have behaved in the past. Leaders have to send continuous signals to show that people can continue trusting them. 
• They do not tolerate deviations from the ethical code. If someone acts against the Code of Conduct and the leader does not take action, this may signal that the Code of Conduct is not important. Ethical leaders do not make exceptions in this area, and they immediately signal which behaviors are not tolerated. In doing so, they build consistency and credibility, and avoid confusion and doubts about accepted behaviors.
• They raise their concerns, even if unpopular.  Ethical leaders know that overlooking important details may cause significant damages. They carefully observe situations to identify potential issues. When facing a doubt or a dilemma, ethical leaders raise their concerns—even if this means slowing things down or generating more work. 
• They admit mistakes and share a recovery plan if needed. If things go wrong, ethical leaders do not hide or minimize what happened. Instead, they own their mistake, apologize, find ways to solve the issue, and share all possible recovery plans with stakeholders. This shows they care, and they are doing what is in their power to improve an unfortunate situation. 
• They are willing to assume full responsibility. As Napoleon Hill states, “The successful leader must be willing to assume responsibility for the mistakes and the shortcomings of his followers. If he tries to shift this responsibility, he will not remain the leader. If one of his followers makes a mistake and shows himself incompetent, the leader must consider that it is he who failed.“ Lack of responsibility in organizations leads to ineffectiveness, confusion, inaction, and a waste of time and resources. Ethical leaders hold themselves accountable, take charge, and shape the present and future through their words and deeds.
• They always show up and speak for their teams. Ethical leaders are present in good and bad times, develop their teams, and defend others when needed. They are at the front when the storm hits, giving direction and helping get their teams through their challenges. They know they are there to serve the interests of their teams and organizations above their own interests.
• They act with fairness. Leaders have to face many decisions and negotiations. Their behavior clearly favors long-term wins over short-term gains. It also supports meritocracy and fair treatment of every individual, regardless of status, ethnicity, age, or any other potential factor of discrimination.
• They walk the talk. Last but not least, ethical leaders act with integrity. They practice what they preach, and their values, words, and deeds are aligned and visible to everyone. If they would not hold themselves to the same standards they present to others, their credibility and reputation would suffer. Leading by example is a choice of consciousness and requires daily focus, but pays off like nothing else.

Ethical leadership provides enormous benefits to organizations, in many ways.

• Increased sense of belonging. When company values and individual values are aligned and ethical principles are adopted, everyone’s general well-being will increase. This leads to a positive atmosphere, which reinforces and fosters ethical behaviors, creating a virtuous loop where everyone will feel at home and in the right condition to give their best.
• Improved relationships with customers. Customers will feel they’ve made a good decision to work with your company when they perceive and witness ethical leadership and cultural values. This will encourage them to continue doing business with you, while also boosting your reputation as one of the fair players in the market.
• Respect from society and communities. Organizations that are led by ethical leaders set a good example for others, and are respected and valued as a result. These are the types of companies people want to work for, do business with, and emulate in their own companies.
• Support in times of crises. The world changes rapidly and companies may face many challenges. But people want to see ethical leaders, and the companies they work for, thrive. Having leaders who behave ethically and act with kindness and respect can be the ticket to getting through tough times.
• Loyal employees. When leaders are fair and just, team members have one less incentive to move elsewhere. Ethical leaders provide the optimal setting for employees by inspiring, developing, and establishing a culture of trust and respect. This leads to significant benefits like lower turnover, higher productivity, and loyalty.
• Better morale. A strong emphasis on values and ethics creates a positive work environment that fosters an overall better mood and a higher understanding among individuals. When the roots are solid, the stress and tensions of daily business are like the wind on a stable tree. People usually feel the roots and know if they can rely on them and feel confident, or if they will have to keep their guard up.
• Higher stability on the market. Organizations with ethical leaders are at lower risk of sudden crises due to internal factors. This usually is acknowledged and appreciated by investors.
• Higher motivation. When each team member knows that the company is operating ethically and for the benefit of the greater, they will want to do their part to further the company’s mission.

Great leaders know there is always room for improvement. Here are some ways you can become a better ethical leader.

• Choose ethical business partners. The people you choose as employees, partners, consultants, attorneys, suppliers, and customers will signal to everybody else what you stand for. Choose wisely. 
• Make your values visible. Once you identify the values you stand for, state them clearly. By doing so, you will avoid misunderstandings, and it will be easy for people to decide to partner with you—or not.  
• Set desired behaviors and put a control mechanism in place. Your values should be reflected in your behaviors, which are visible manifestations that can be periodically assessed. Take the time to consider whether you are exhibiting your desired behaviors. If any deviation is found, it should be examined and resolved before it becomes problematic.
• Never ask an employee to act against the agreed rules. Rules are in place for a reason, and an ethical leader should never ask a team member for a derogation—or allow one from themselves. For example, if the rule is that team members are given a long break after an 8-hour shift, a leader should never ask them to stay late. This will support consistency and will set an ethical example for everyone who is watching.
• Don’t lie about the future. If you know that something isn’t going to happen, don’t say it will. This may concern a promotion, exceptional financial results, or anything else that is not supported by data. Imperfect is better than fake, and it will pay off in the long-term.
• Don’t hinder the development of your team members. Help your team members be the best version of themselves, even if it means you might lose them to another opportunity. You can’t keep every employee forever, but you can develop them into stronger professionals while they’re under your guidance.
• Identify potential “worst case scenarios.” A leader should always be prepared for potential risks and worst-case scenarios. Identify them early so you can consider all ethical impacts and potential solutions well before you go into crisis mode.
• Acknowledge others. Don’t take credit for someone else’s work, even if it’s someone that works under you. Instead, acknowledge your team members’ successes. This will foster loyalty, increase motivation, and boost performance.

Want to see what ethical leadership looks like in action? These ethical leadership examples will demonstrate some real-world scenarios.

• Walking the talk on safety-related topics. Safety is a critical focus at every manufacturing company. Every meeting in a plant will begin with a safety briefing and attendees will be notified of the emergency exit. But it’s not enough to simply discuss safety protocols, leaders must demonstrate them as well. For instance, holding onto the handrail when using the stairs, wearing safety glasses and helmets, and not using their mobile phones in the plants. This shows that safety is truly a priority.
• Deliver what has been promised. When creating marketing materials or speaking to customers on sales calls, be honest and transparent about what is being offered.  For example, if you advertise that a given product has certain characteristics, customers should be able to confirm those characteristics are accurate representations of the product. Delivering on promises clearly demonstrates consistency and builds trust with customers.
• Preparing sound contracts. Ethical leaders pay attention to details. When working with external consultants, for example, ensure contracts have all necessary terms and conditions, such as the time frame, payment terms, and scope of the service provided.
• Only recommend something if it’s worth it. Ethical leaders only recommend a product or service if they think it will provide value. For example, a law firm might recommend that a client conduct an equal pay audit to assess and mitigate potential risk. These suggestions are for the good of the company, not the law firm, and help generate satisfaction, improve relationships, and retain customers.

An ethical leadership example in action

Imagine you’re on a call with your biggest customer, alongside your boss, and the customer is extremely dissatisfied. Your product had an outage that severely impacted their business and they want to make sure it doesn’t happen again.  

Your boss assures them this is a one-time occurrence, and that it won’t be a problem in the future. When you hang up, you remind your boss that this issue has been occurring among customers with increasing frequency and that a fix is still in the works. Your boss nods and says, “Yes, but they don’t need to know that just before their contract renewal.”

Fast forward a couple of months, and your customer calls to cancel their contract following another outage. Your boss again gets on the line to say how sorry they are and that this is a rare occurrence, but that they can’t cancel their contract without ample notice.

Is that the kind of person you want to work for? Or do business with? They knowingly put their customer in a bad position, so they could get credit for a contract renewal. 

This not only creates a strained relationship with your customer, but it also demonstrates to everyone on your team that this sort of behavior is expected. As others emulate this behavior, your company begins to get a bad reputation, lose customers, and struggle to find new customers.

Now imagine if your boss had owned up to the outages, promised to keep the customer in the loop about fixes, and sincerely asked the customer to stay onboard. The customer may or may not renew, but they wouldn’t be leaving with bad blood. They may even come back at a later date or refer other potential customers.

That’s the difference ethical leadership can make. It may literally be the difference between survival and failure.

Final thoughts on ethical leadership

Ethics and leadership go hand-in-hand. While some tend to think there is a choice to make between being profitable and successful, or behaving ethically, That’s simply not the case. Ethical people and leaders are necessary drivers for success.

What if we give ethical leadership a chance?

Understand Yourself Better:

Big 5 Personality Test

Giulia Villirilli

Giulia Villirilli is a BetterUp Fellow Coach. She is an ICF Professional Certified Coach who specializes in leadership, negotiation, and courageous conversations. Her motivation to coach stems from her desire to help as many individuals as possible flourish and live up to their potential. She helps clients navigate uncertainty, leverage on their strengths, develop resilience, and be a living inspiration! Guilia's globally grounded perspective comes from a background in international business and nine years of living and working abroad. When she is not coaching, she loves to travel the world, train her body, read, and dance.

Looking inward can make you a better leader

7 key leadership behaviors you must have, leading people as people, a conversation with cynt marshall, ceo of the dallas mavericks, investing in leaders to fuel growth: ryan weber, vp of talent activation and growth, servicenow, boss versus leader: develop the skills to bring out the best of both, leaders who ignite change with allyson felix and josetta jones, what it means to be a great team leader and how to become one, data shows since pandemic team performance hinges on this leader skill, leaders are prioritizing well-being over leadership skills in the post-covid workplace, what is a leader, what do they do, and how do you become one, is being ego driven damaging your career being purpose-driven is better, 7 ways you can lead by example (and why it matters), become a great leader with these 10 tips, inspire others and support their growth. 10 ways to make it happen, the 13 essential leadership values for anyone leading a team, 8 ethical values every professional should adopt, professional leadership skills to incorporate on your resume, stay connected with betterup, get our newsletter, event invites, plus product insights and research..

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Home — Essay Samples — Philosophy — Ethics — The Importance of Ethics in Leadership

The Importance of Ethics in Leadership

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4 Examples of Ethical Leadership in Business

• 14 Sep 2023

Have you ever faced an ethical dilemma? Maybe you found someone’s wallet on the ground or witnessed someone cheating during a test or competition. In these scenarios, the right answer isn’t always clear.

In business, you’re bound to encounter ethical dilemmas, especially as a leader. Behaving unethically can be illegal—for instance, stealing money or harming employees. In these situations, making the right choice is clearer. Sometimes, it’s not a question of legality but of weighing potential outcomes.

“Many of the decisions you face will not have a single right answer,” says Harvard Business School Professor Nien-hê Hsieh in the online course Leadership, Ethics, and Corporate Accountability . “Sometimes, the most viable answer may come with negative effects. In such cases, the decision is not black and white. As a result, many call them ‘gray-area decisions.’”

When facing ambiguity, how do you make the most ethical decision? Here’s a primer on ethical leadership and four examples of leaders who faced the same question.

Access your free e-book today.

What Is Ethical Leadership?

Ethical leadership is the practice of making decisions that balance stakeholders’ best interests with your company’s financial health, and empowering others to do the same.

As a leader, you have ethical responsibilities to four stakeholder groups—customers, employees, investors, and society—which Leadership, Ethics, and Corporate Accountability breaks down.

Responsibilities to Customers and Employees

• Well-being: What’s ultimately good for the person
• Rights: Entitlement to receive certain treatment
• Duties: A moral obligation to behave in a specific way
• Best practices: Aspirational standards not required by law or cultural norms

Employees have a fifth category—fairness—which comprises three types to consider:

• Legitimate expectations: Employees reasonably expect certain practices or behaviors to continue based on experiences with the organization and explicit promises.
• Procedural fairness: Managers must resolve issues impartially and consistently.
• Distributive fairness: Your company equitably allocates opportunities, benefits, and burdens.

Responsibilities to Investors

Your responsibilities to investors are known as fiduciary duties . The four types are:

• Duty of obedience: Adhere to corporate bylaws, superiors’ instructions, and the law.
• Duty of information: Disclose necessary information and remain truthful about performance and operations. Refuse to divulge certain information to nonessential parties.
• Duty of loyalty: Act in the most favorable way for shareholders and avoid conflicts of interest.
• Duty of care: Evaluate decisions’ potential outcomes before acting.

Responsibilities to Society

In addition to creating value for your business, you’re responsible for making a positive, or at least neutral, impact on society and the environment.

One framework to conceptualize this is the triple bottom line, also called the “three P’s”:

• Profit: Your business’s responsibility to make a profit.
• People: Your business’s responsibility to positively impact society by creating jobs, supporting charities, or promoting well-being initiatives.
• The planet: Your business’s responsibility to positively impact the natural environment, or at least not damage it.

Even business leaders with the best intentions can make unethical decisions. In a Harvard Business Review article , HBS Professor Max Bazerman describes the concept of motivated blindness , in which you become unaware of unethical decisions when they benefit you or your company.

Hsieh echoes this sentiment in Leadership, Ethics, and Corporate Accountability .

“Even when the right thing to do seems clear from an outsider’s perspective, factors like time, social pressures, and the need for self-preservation can complicate things,” Hsieh says in the course.

Learning about ethical leadership can enable you to be aware of unintended negligence and make more conscious, ethical decisions.

Here are four examples of business leaders who faced ethical dilemmas, how they handled them, and what you can learn from their experiences.

1. Johnson & Johnson’s Tylenol Poisonings

A classic case of ethical leadership in business is “the Chicago Tylenol poisonings.” On September 9, 1982, a Chicago-area 12-year-old girl woke up with a cold. Her parents gave her a tablet of extra-strength Tylenol to ease her symptoms and, within hours, she died.

Six more deaths followed—the connecting factor between them was having taken extra-strength Tylenol shortly before passing away. It was later discovered that the tablets were laced with cyanide, a chemical that interferes with the body’s ability to use oxygen.

Johnson & Johnson, Tylenol’s parent company, had an ethical dilemma and a public relations disaster to contend with.

Baffled as to how the cyanide got in the tablets, Johnson & Johnson’s leaders acted quickly and pulled all Tylenol products off the shelves—31 million bottles worth over $100 million—and stopped all production and advertising.

The swiftness of their decision, although incredibly costly, put customers’ well-being at the forefront and saved lives.

Johnson & Johnson partnered with the Chicago Police, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to track down the perpetrator who added cyanide to the medication. The company offered a $100,000 reward and provided detailed updates on its investigation and product developments following the crisis.

When it became clear that the killer had bought the product, laced it with cyanide, and returned it to store shelves undetected, Johnson & Johnson developed the first-ever tamper-resistant packaging. The “safety seal” that now covers the opening of most food and drug products was born.

“Our highest responsibility has always been the health and safety of our consumers,” a Johnson & Johnson representative wrote in a statement to the Chicago Tribune . “While this tragic incident remains unsolved, this event resulted in important industry improvements to patient safety measures, including the creation of tamper-resistant packaging.”

The Tylenol brand recovered from the incident, largely because of Johnson & Johnson’s leadership team’s swift action and transparent care for customers.

2. JetBlue’s Shutdown

On Valentine’s Day, 2007 , at the John F. Kennedy International Airport, JetBlue Airlines sent nine planes from the gate to the runway during a snowstorm, hoping conditions would rapidly improve—but it had no such luck.

The misstep caused the planes to sit on the tarmac for more than five hours with disgruntled passengers inside. The issue snowballed from there.

Since JetBlue employees had to work overtime to deal with the delays, few had enough allowable flight time to handle upcoming departures. JetBlue was left with no choice but to cancel 1,096 flights over the following five days.

CEO David Neeleman responded by writing an apology letter to customers and crafting a “ customer bill of rights ” that the airline still abides by. The document outlined customers’ rights to information about flights, as well as how they’d be compensated in the event of delays or cancellations.

Neeleman also went on a public apology tour, taking full responsibility for the incident rather than blaming it on the weather.

This response stands in contrast to the 2022 Southwest Airlines incident that played out similarly but with less accountability from leaders. Initially caused by bad weather and then exacerbated by Southwest’s outdated booking systems, the 16,700 canceled flights left thousands stranded between December 21 and 31.

In contrast to Neeleman’s apologies and emphasis on customer rights, Southwest CEO Bob Jordan took a defensive stance, explaining in a video the impact that “record bitter cold” had on all airlines and that Southwest was doing everything it could to remedy the issue. While those points may have been true, the response didn’t go over well with customers who wanted to feel respected and understood.

Each leader's choices highlight the importance of being transparent and championing customer rights when facing similar issues.

Related: The Importance of Reflective Leadership in Business

3. Starbucks’s Racial Bias Incident

If one of your employees made a critical decision based on racial bias, how would you respond? That was the question Kevin Johnson, then-CEO of coffee shop chain Starbucks, had to answer in April 2014 .

One day, two Black men entered a Starbucks in Philadelphia and asked to use the bathroom. The manager on duty told them the restroom was for paying customers only, so they sat down to wait for their friend to arrive before ordering.

The manager called the police, who arrested the men for trespassing. Although no charges were filed, the arrest went viral and sparked protests throughout the United States.

Starbucks, which prides itself on being an ethical brand , has one of the most diverse leadership groups in corporate America—five of the board’s 14 members are women, and five are from racial minority groups. This racially motivated incident clashed with its values.

Johnson fired the manager who called for the arrest, apologized to the two men, and announced racial bias training for all Starbucks employees.

To emphasize the training’s importance, Johnson closed 8,000 locations on May 29, 2018, to educate 175,000 employees. This cost Starbucks an estimated $12 million in lost profit but spread the message that it cares about its customers, employees, and society.

Related: How to Create a Culture of Ethics and Accountability in the Workplace

4. The Muse Sticking Up for Employees

Ethical dilemmas often aren’t public scandals—even quiet, internal decisions can have enormous impacts. Kathryn Minshew, CEO and co-founder of The Muse , faced one such scenario in the early days of growing the online career platform.

She’d just signed a company to use The Muse’s recruiting platform. It was a major deal, and the young startup desperately needed revenue. But during the onboarding process, Minshew noticed the client’s representatives were talking down to her junior staff members. While they respected her, how they treated her team didn’t sit well.

She spoke with the client about it, effectively providing a warning and a chance to start the relationship on a better note. Still, the poor treatment of her team continued.

Minshew had a decision to make: Take the revenue despite the mistreatment or part ways with the client to support her team. She went with the latter.

“I told them nicely that it didn’t make sense to work together anymore and refunded the unused balance of their money,” Minshew says in an interview with Fast Company . “They tried to argue, but at that point, my mind was made up. I didn’t realize how relieved my team was—and how much they appreciated it—until after it was all done.”

By cutting ties with the client, Minshew fulfilled her ethical responsibility to create an environment that supported her employees’ well-being and right to be treated respectfully. In doing so, she built a strong foundation of trust and demonstrated that she’d have their best interest in mind—even at the business’s expense.

“I think backing your team in situations like that is really important,” Minshew says in the same interview, “but it’s not always easy, especially when you’re early-stage.”

How to Develop Ethical Leadership Skills

While these scenarios likely differ from those you face at your organization, ethical leadership’s guiding principles ring true.

To build your ethical leadership skills , consider taking an online business ethics course. In Leadership, Ethics, and Corporate Accountability , Hsieh presents several real-world examples of ethical dilemmas, prompts you to consider how you’d respond to them, and then lets business leaders share how they handled each.

In the course, you also learn how to use frameworks and tools to conceptualize your responsibilities to stakeholders, make judgment calls in gray-area situations, and act decisively to reach optimal outcomes.

By learning from the challenges and triumphs of those who came before you, you can equip yourself to handle any ethical dilemmas that come your way.

Are you interested in learning how to navigate difficult decisions as a leader? Explore Leadership, Ethics, and Corporate Accountability —one of our online leadership and management courses —and download our free guide to becoming a more effective leader.

About the Author

1 Leadership Theory and Ethical Decision-Making – Personal Theory of Leadership

Kimberly Meints

School of Educational Foundations, Leadership and Aviation, Oklahoma State University

HESA 5813: Leadership Theory and Ethical Decision Making

Dr. Tami Moore

December 12, 2022

Personal Theory of Leadership

Throughout this course, my classmates, professor, and I have explored a wide variety of leadership theories as we have considered our own experiences and understanding of the topic. As we have gained more knowledge and language to consider the foundations, assumptions, and values of these theories, our professor has also challenged us to develop a personal theory of leadership. Our textbook (Dugan, 2017) also introduced us to several techniques for approaching these theories that can help us identify ideological norms and hegemonic ideals that we often subconsciously enact, even as they perpetuate inequality among our community.

By acknowledging and naming these processes using the tools of deconstruction, and by imagining new methods of enacting disruptive practices using the tools of reconstruction, we can work together to solve the systemic issues that plague our society. These critical perspectives are important to me, personally, as I believe that all people are valuable and should be treated in an equitable way, even as I acknowledge that this reality is not reflected in our current culture. I also see how past injustice has compounded to create vastly unequal outcomes in education, income, housing, health, politics, and nearly every other arena. Within my sphere of influence, I want to create positive change as I continue to listen and learn. The critical perspectives we learned this semester prompt me to slow down and ask myself “What is not being said here? What is assumed?” This can lead me to see old systems in new ways and work together with my community to enact change.

Dugan (2017) presented several narratives from a diverse group of leaders who shared their experiences with us. While there were lessons to be learned from all of them, two of the leaders stood out to me. Mary F. Morten described coming back to serve an organization that she founded (pp. 147-149). I was inspired by her advice that leaders must know when to step up and lead, as well as when to step back and make space for someone else. As a white woman who in many ways reflects the dominant culture, I do see opportunities to both step up and step back. Part of Morten’s advice regarding stepping back is to help develop a pipeline of leaders and to seek out the voices that are missing in the conversation (pp. 255-256). Elsewhere, Cindi H. Love highlighted the importance of graciousness as a skill of leadership (pp. 114-115). As someone also raised in the South, her words gave me permission early in the semester to be myself as a leader. Community is particularly important to me, and kindness, generosity, and other related practices that reflect the respect that I believe each person is due. I could not be a leader if it meant leaving those values behind. Love made it clear that we must be true to ourselves in order to engage meaningfully with others. Looking back over my life, I can see the influences that shaped my values as an adult.

Personal Leadership Narrative

Story of self.

I was born in Jackson, Mississippi, in the mid-80s. My grandparents lived five minutes down the road. Since my dad worked in their home office, my brother, sister, and I saw Mimi and Poppa nearly every day. I did not go to weekly daycare until I was three years old because there was always an adult available to take care of me. Even when my mom went back to teach full-time when I was 5, we spent several hours each week at my grandparents’ house. I did not realize just how much support Mimi and Poppa provided my parents in childcare alone until I became a parent myself.

When I was 11, we moved 30 minutes down the road to Clinton. We were part of the white flight movement out of Jackson. The “tri-county area” was home to several colleges and universities, including Mississippi College in Clinton itself, and children of professors from all of these institutions settled in Clinton for the excellent public school system. It was the same district my grandmothers had attended as girls. The other result of our move was that my parents set up a home office in our new house in anticipation of my grandparents’ retirement. I always had access to computers, printers, copy machines, fax machines, and other office equipment. Technology was always close at hand for schoolwork, entertainment, and personal projects. “Office work” always felt like a community space, as my siblings and I worked alongside our parents on our class projects and papers.

In college, I went to the state university and eventually changed my major to Communication, with an emphasis in Public Relations. A major aspect of PR is relating to your publics, and the first step is to identify who those publics are. This shifted my perspective about how organizations function as I realized that business decisions cannot be justified by the bottom line, but by the people those decisions impact. Initially I understood this to mean customers, investors, government bodies, and the general public, but as I entered the workforce, I began to see how integral employees are to the entire business process.

After my junior year, I married my college sweetheart and graduated the following December. Since my husband still had one semester to go, I looked for a job locally. This job search was at the end of 2008, right at the beginning of the Great Recession. All through school, my friends and I been told by our teachers how smart we were and about all the dazzling possibilities we should expect. I was extremely disappointed to find the job market in Starkville very limited. I ended up accepting the only offer I received. I would not have characterized myself as entitled, as I had worked hard, but I was completely unaware of my own privilege and how that had shaped my expectations.

The job was a glorified student worker position. I entered data from college fair interest cards for the Office of Admissions & Scholarships at Mississippi State University for six months, then scanned documents for the Office of Student Financial Aid for six months. Taking that job was a humbling experience for me because it did not feel necessary to hold a bachelor’s degree to complete the daily job duties. However, my familiarity with computers made the job itself easy, and I wanted to get through my stacks faster and with fewer errors. I tried to learn about the why’s and how’s of the departments, and I asked a lot of questions. I had a fantastic supervisor who noticed my interest and enthusiasm and invested in me as an employee. Through this period, I gained a new appreciation for self-led learning, using data to inform decision-making, and the ability to improve the working environment by implementing technology.

One other encounter at this job had a long-term impact on me: I attended a college fair with two African American coworkers at a very rural high school. I had never spent time in an environment like this. My task there was to assess the possibility of swiping students’ driver’s licenses instead of having them fill out paper cards. However, only one student at the fair had a license. The recruiters told me that most kids drove without a license, as it was difficult and expensive for them to get one. The repercussions of wealth disparity, and the resulting unequal racial impacts, really started to sink in for me on that trip. I started to notice how racial and income differences played out in education, as well as other spheres.

In 2012, when my husband and I arrived in Stillwater, Oklahoma for his Ph.D. program, I, again, took the only offer I received. It would be a year before I realized that my position was not just to act as “back-up” for all of the support staff; I was their supervisor! I was at least 30 years junior to all of my staff, and the lessons in humility from my previous positions helped me quickly learn my new duties as well as how to navigate a complicated university structure from my subordinates. Once again, I fell back on my technology skills to help us document and improve our processes and become more efficient. This allowed us to train new employees effectively once my staff began to retire.

My coworker and I both became pregnant in 2015 with due dates just two weeks apart. We both intended to continue working after our babies were born, so we decided to “tag-team” our investigations into everything from leave policies to daycares. We were often frustrated by the lack of clear guidance, particularly in university policy, and sometimes we were even given conflicting information. It was during this time that I started to see the need to support new parents at Oklahoma State University, but as the mother of a newborn myself, there was not much time to pursue this. When my son was about a year old, I started to gather my notes into a centralized document in anticipation of future children. As my son grew older, I found coworkers coming to me first to ask about what they should expect during their pregnancies. I was able to share my document, which they accepted with gratitude. However, this reinforced to me how wrong it is for individual employees to only receive support if they know the right people. In a unique situation like pregnancy, many new parents do not even know what questions to ask.

After six years at Oklahoma State University, I wanted to expand my responsibilities, so I joined Staff Advisory Council (SAC). I wanted to see how I might join with others to address a variety of staff concerns. I volunteered to sit on the Rules, Policies, and Procedures Committee. Over time, I was able to chair this committee and develop friendships with staff in Human Resources. I tried to find opportunities to work with HR to support pregnant parents, such as developing a brochure, but I soon realized two things. First, there were so many caregivers on campus who need support in addition to the pregnant ones. Second, many of the concerns of caregivers affect non-caregivers as well. Therefore, I have tried to educate myself in the needs of caregivers of all types. Through my role on SAC, I have pushed to improve the leave policy to be more inclusive of the variety of ways that staff care for one another, and to be more explicit in how we care for our own mental health.

I also decided that I could best help caregivers and staff members by pursuing my master’s degree in Educational Leadership Studies. I plan to create a Canvas community for caregivers as my Creative Component. Working with SAC helped me to see myself as part of the bigger picture on campus and instilled a desire in me to implement changes and resources that could help more people now and in the future.

Story of Us

This year, I also joined the Staff Advisory Council (SAC) Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee. This is the newest committee for SAC, as we voted to incorporate it in June 2021. The Chair, Cara, took time in our first two meetings to discuss where the group came from and what work they did last year, since all of the other members are new to the team. First, they completed an informal survey of other DEI groups on campus to find out what others were working on. The SAC committee did not want to do parallel work without involving the others or start a project that another group had nearly finished. Two things became apparent after this survey. One was that many of these groups did not have an end goal or clear purpose. The other was that no one was focusing specifically on parent needs on campus (although the Women’s Faculty Council has done some work to support faculty mothers, particularly through the pandemic). So, while none of the members last year were parents, they chose to take on that population as their focus. This was partly due to a feeling that the “Cowboy Family” was leaving some of its members behind when they started families of their own. It was also an acknowledgement that by taking care of the families of our staff members, we could encourage those staff to stay longer and more easily recruit their family members as students in the future. In short, they felt that the university could do a better job supporting our community.

In December of 2021, SAC held our Distinguished Service Awards banquet, and I happened to sit next to Cara. I had recently chosen the project for my Creative Component for my master’s degree, and I wanted to recruit the help of her committee. I did not know much about what they had been learning, so I was taking a shot in the dark. I explained to Cara my idea to create a Canvas community for caregivers on campus, including faculty, students, and staff, but I was concerned about what would happen to it once I graduated. The world is unpredictable, and I did not want my efforts to go to waste if I won the lottery or took a job at another institution. I needed a long-term commitment from an entity on campus that would last longer than any individual employee. After hearing my pitch, she got really excited and told me that it was exactly something her committee would want to do, as it aligned with the goals and purpose they had set for themselves.

I met with the entire committee in February 2022 and suggested to them for a “short term win,” something that they could point to as evidence of their work and proof of concept that our DEI Committee was needed among so many others. By June, the project’s first phase was complete. They had gotten several “Inclusive Resources” added to the public campus map, including All-User Restrooms, Diaper Changing Stations, and Lactation Rooms. In the future, we hope to identify areas where additional resources can be installed. Another significant effect of this project was that others have joined in, and the Pete’s (Food) Pantry Network and Red Pantry locations have been added here as well. This effort, conducted only at my suggestion, showed me that I was partnering with people who took these concerns seriously and that we would be a positive force for change.

To further support staff parents specifically, the SAC DEI Committee is also advocating for changes to university policy that we hope will have improve the lives of all staff on campus, either directly or indirectly through improved work environments. Of course, policy is written by Human Resources and approved by administration and the Regents, so we expect that road to be longer and more difficult, as each group has competing priorities, such as budget, culture, and fairness. However, that was a reason for identifying these “easy wins” along the way, to encourage us and build support and momentum as we prepare for the long-term. Another easy win this year, possibly in response to our pressure for paid parental leave, is the introduction of short-term disability insurance during Open Enrollment for the first time in at least ten years, as long as I have been at OSU.

As the time for Distinguished Service Award nominations has come back around, the DEI Committee is assisting in the planning process to help make it more equitable, both in submitting and collecting nominations as well as evaluating them. This is a good example of how the DEI Committee acts as a support unit for the rest of the Council as well as an independent entity. Overall, it is our commitment to community that defines us.

Story of Now

With the rising cost of living, staff working in higher ed are facing difficulty paying their bills. The impending enrollment cliff also has many academic leaders worried for the future, trying to figure out how to maintain the infrastructure and services that we currently provide, which may have implications for staffing. Declining financial support from the state government is held in tension against the desire to keep tuition reasonable and fulfill OSU’s commitment to its land-grand mission. Rather than face increasing uncertainty, many people are seeking alternative employment in the private sector. These pressures are reflected at OSU in the high number of job postings that remain open and the number of vacancies that are not even posted. While we have become experts at “doing more with less,” every employee has a personal limit of what they can produce, and we are facing a staff shortage that could snowball beyond anything we have seen before.

However, there is still an image of higher ed in the collective imagination of the enviable working conditions of the past, even if those conditions were never as rosy for women and people of color as we would have wanted. We can advocate for policy decisions that make OSU a preferred employer again, and this time do it in a way that is equitable for all and tailored to this modern era of diverse families and flexible arrangements. I think back to the support my parents received by living close to family, and how frequently this scenario is unachievable in academia. So many of our staff have relocated away from their families of origin in order to pursue education or job opportunities. Universities have an important obligation to fill in the gaps created within the distinctive communities that they build based on their employment methods.

Through our work on the Staff Advisory Council Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee, we can develop creative and impactful solutions to some of the most pressing difficulties our staff are currently experiencing, from recruitment through retirement. In order to ensure that we are identifying problems and creating solutions that are truly meaningful, we will need to partner with other individuals and groups across campus, such as staff affinity organizations. There is also opportunity to look at survey and institutional data to obtain a more complete picture of the current state of the campus. This might include campus climate and exit surveys. It will be pivotal to the success of our efforts that we ensure that staff voices are truly reflected in the process as we seek to support our community.

A Personal Theory of Leadership for Now

Management vs leadership.

One topic of discussion this semester has been the difference between management and leadership. While I could say more, a clear distinction for me is that management has some coercive element to it, while leadership reflects a free and willing relationship among people. Management has the authority to wield punitive consequences against those who do not comply with instructions, such as denying a raise or a committee assignment. Leadership, though, engenders loyalty through trust. Group members must believe that collective goals are achievable and that those who enact leadership do not have ulterior motives. As a parent, I do not think that any person will act solely in one mode or the other, but I do think that every leader will lean toward one side or another. A leader is someone who enables or promotes problem-solving for systemic issues identified and addressed with one or more others.

Considering this distinction, it is vital to me that my personal theory of leadership place ethical treatment of others as the central premise. In this course, we learned about the “tools of deconstruction” which can be used to critically evaluate existing theories, structures, and processes to identify ways that inequality is embedded and replicated. The “tools of reconstruction” offer opportunities for these theories to be changed, or new ones developed, in a way that acknowledges and works against the assumed cultural norms that prioritize some people and experiences over others.

Creating My Personal Theory

In order to incorporate these ethical values, I chose the Relational Leadership Model (“RLM,” Dugan, 2017, pp. 236-241) to act as the core tenant of my personal theory of leadership. At the center of the model is “purpose,” which I believe can help clarify the reason why leadership is needed. Surrounding the purpose, though, are three key components that true leadership will allow the community or group to influence: inclusive, empowering, and ethical practices. These practices are also embedded within the process of accomplishing these co-created goals. One weakness of this model is that the RLM does not offer as many areas to develop capacity for an individual leader. Since not only do I want to improve that in myself, but I also want to empower and mentor future leaders, I felt that there was an opportunity to modify this theory.

One tool of deconstruction is identifying the “flow of power,” or those power dynamics that are in play in all relationships. As a leader or mentor, I must acknowledge the power that I wield and how it can potentially be used for harm. One method to mitigate damage is to implement the tool of reconstruction, “cultivating agency,” thoughtfully and intentionally, which can lead me to support the power and agency of others. To accomplish this, I decided to nest the RLM in the center of the Connective Leadership Model (“CLM,” Dugan, 2017, pp. 228-236). This model presents three behavioral sets that help me conceptualize how to perform leadership in inclusive, empowering, and ethical ways. I appreciate the focus on personal excellence (direct set) and on helping and mentoring others (relational set). However, I find a lot of value in the instrumental set, which offers methods for navigating the tension that can arise when people have genuine disagreements. These interactions must be expected when a diverse group of individuals come together. Addressing differences of opinion in open, honest, and respectful ways is vital to reject “willful blindness” (another tool of deconstruction) and embrace “disrupting normativity” (a tool of reconstruction). I believe it can also lead to “building interest convergence” (reconstruction) if all members of a group feel that they can trust one another. Including the RLM within the CLM also addresses a weakness in the latter regarding who gets to decide what ethical behavior is, by allowing the group to co-create the purpose.

Lastly, I wanted to identify specific practices to support the CLM’s behavioral sets (and within those, the nine achieving styles). I looked to the Leadership Challenge Model (“LCM,” Dugan, 2017, pp. 90-94). I paired each of the LCM’s exemplary practices with one to three of the CLM’s achieving styles (see Figure 1). I appreciated the specific suggestions that reflect the mentoring aspect of leadership that I seek to embody as well as my desire to investigate processes to determine how they can be improved. Altogether, I call my personal leadership theory the “Relational-Connective-Challenge Leadership Model.”

Applying My Personal Theory

Another distinction made between management and leadership is the focus on technical problems versus soft skills. I have noticed in my experience how often technical problems do not usually have only technical solutions. There is often an element of persuasion required to convince people to do something in a new way. Sometimes it is necessary to bring in new people to assist who are not familiar with the process, either to implement a one-time solution or to become a regular part of the process. There are many instances when others do not even see the problem. In each of these scenarios, it is essential to communicate well, to be persistent, and to look for opportunities to work together to meet the needs of all. Generating buy-in is necessary whether the group is formal or informal if solutions are going to make a long-term difference.

As I seek to support caregivers and staff at Oklahoma State University, this model will help me think through ways to generate support for the work of the Staff Advisory Council’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. This will require we to strengthen and expand my personal network. Within the committee itself, these practices will help us navigate the tension of opposing viewpoints as we seek solutions to problems that can meet the needs of a changing workforce, as we become more inclusive. This will also guide us as we meet the challenges of the future, both technical and social. Implementing these supports in a university environment also gives us the opportunity to educate students on practices that they can take with them as they leave the university and enter broader society.

While I would have identified ethics and trust as central to my view of myself as a leader prior to this course, I now have a better understanding of ways to enact those values. I am also better equipped to critically interrogate the assumptions I make about how leadership functions. As I anticipate furthering my career within higher education, I hope to apply these techniques as I advocate for—and with—staff and students.

I have always sought to balance the theoretical with the practical in my life. I think that my personal theory of leadership, or the Relational-Connective-Challenge Leadership Model reflects that tendency. I wanted to incorporate over-arching ideals that would guide application. This theory offers guiding principles for enacting leadership while also helping to identify areas of growth and specific behaviors to reach collective goals. These practices help me explore and uphold the value of community, which has shaped so much of my personal journey.

Dugan, J. (2017). Leadership theory: Cultivating critical perspectives . San Francisco, CA: John Wiley.

Masters Portfolio Copyright © by Kimberly Meints. All Rights Reserved.

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How ethical behavior is considered in different contexts: a bibliometric analysis of global research trends.

1. Introduction

2. literature review, 2.1. ethical behavior, 2.2. bibliometric, 3. methodology, 4.1. countries and their concerns about ethical behavior, 4.2. key themes in research terms, 4.3. bibliographic coupling analysis, 4.3.1. journals, 4.3.2. authors, 4.4. co-citation analysis, 4.4.1. publications, 4.4.2. journals, 4.4.3. authors, 5. discussion, 5.1. ethical behavior in consumption, 5.2. ethical behavior in leadership, 5.2.1. social learning theory (slt), 5.2.2. social exchange theory (set), transformational leadership, authentic leadership, spiritual leadership, 5.3. ethical behavior in business.

• Focus on social responsibility;
• Emphasis on honesty and fairness;
• Focus on “Golden Rules”;
• Values that are consistent with a person’s behavior or religious beliefs;
• Obligations, responsibilities, and rights towards dedicated or enlightened work;
• Philosophy of good or bad;
• Ability to clarify issues in decision making;
• Focus on personal conscience;
• Systems or theories of justice that question the quality of one’s relationships;
• The relationship of the means to ends;
• Concern with integrity, what should be, habits, logic, and principles of Aristotle;
• Emphasis on virtue, leadership, confidentiality, judgment of others, putting God first, topicality, and publicity.

Values, Business Ethics, and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

5.4. ethical behavior in the medical context, 5.4.1. autonomy, 5.4.2. beneficence, 5.4.3. non-maleficence, 5.4.4. fairness, 5.5. ethical behaviour in education, 5.5.1. violation of school/university regulation, 5.5.2. selfishness, 5.5.3. cheating, 5.5.4. computer ethics, 5.6. ethical context in organization, 5.6.1. context of organizational ethical climate, 5.6.2. context of organizational ethical culture, 6. conclusions, 7. limitations and future research, author contributions, institutional review board statement, informed consent statement, data availability statement, conflicts of interest.

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Vu Lan Oanh, L.; Tettamanzi, P.; Tien Minh, D.; Comoli, M.; Mouloudj, K.; Murgolo, M.; Dang Thu Hien, M. How Ethical Behavior Is Considered in Different Contexts: A Bibliometric Analysis of Global Research Trends. Adm. Sci. 2024 , 14 , 200. https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci14090200

Vu Lan Oanh L, Tettamanzi P, Tien Minh D, Comoli M, Mouloudj K, Murgolo M, Dang Thu Hien M. How Ethical Behavior Is Considered in Different Contexts: A Bibliometric Analysis of Global Research Trends. Administrative Sciences . 2024; 14(9):200. https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci14090200

Vu Lan Oanh, Le, Patrizia Tettamanzi, Dinh Tien Minh, Maurizio Comoli, Kamel Mouloudj, Michael Murgolo, and Mai Dang Thu Hien. 2024. "How Ethical Behavior Is Considered in Different Contexts: A Bibliometric Analysis of Global Research Trends" Administrative Sciences 14, no. 9: 200. https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci14090200

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4 Warning Signs of Ethical Burnout on Your Team

• Richard Bistrong,
• Dina Denham Smith,
• Ron Carucci

Pressure can cause employees to focus solely on hitting their targets at the expense of moral considerations.

High stress at work can destabilize people’s ethical compass, putting them at heightened risk of ethical lapses. When employees focus solely on achieving their targets, deadlines, or personal financial goals at the expense of ethical considerations — when doing the right thing feels burdensome compared to seemingly less-costly shortcuts — they can teeter on “ethical burnout.” To prevent this, it’s crucial to spot the signs and root out the contributing forces early. The authors present four warning signs that your employees may be heading toward ethical burnout — and strategies to counteract these forces before it’s too late.

Everyone has experienced stress-inducing pressure at work: ambitious financial targets, tough performance reviews, and shrewd competitors, and so on. The resulting stress can harm not just people’s personal well-being, research shows it can also erode their commitment to ethical behavior. This phenomenon, known as ethical fatigue , makes it challenging to take the high road and maintain integrity when faced with complex decisions.

• RB Richard Bistrong is CEO of Front-Line Anti-Bribery LLC and advises major multinationals on real-world anti-bribery, ethics, and compliance challenges from his front-line perspective.
• Dina Denham Smith is an executive coach to senior leaders at world-leading brands such as Adobe, Netflix, PwC, Dropbox, Stripe, and numerous high-growth companies. A former business executive herself, she is the founder and CEO of Cognitas , and helps leaders and their teams reach new heights of success. Connect with her on LinkedIn .
• Ron Carucci is co-founder and managing partner at  Navalent , working with CEOs and executives pursuing transformational change. He is the bestselling author of eight books, including To Be Honest and Rising to Power . Connect with him on Linked In at  RonCarucci , and download his free “How Honest is My Team?” assessment.

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Unpacking the paradoxical impact of ethical leadership on employees’ pro-social rule breaking behavior: the interplay of employees’ psychological empowerment and moral identity

• Published: 05 September 2024

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• Mushtaq Ahmed   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-6166-8483 1 &
• Muhammad Ishfaq Khan 1  

This study investigates the relationship between ethical leadership and employees’ pro-social rule-breaking behavior, with a focus on the mediating role of psychological empowerment and the moderating effect of moral identity. Grounded in social cognitive theory, data from 515 nursing staff in public and private hospitals in Pakistan were collected at three different time points and analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS SEM). Contrary to expectations, our findings reveal a positive association between ethical leadership and employees’ pro-social rule-breaking behavior. Additionally, we find that psychological empowerment mediates this relationship, while moral identity moderates it. These results highlight the paradoxical nature of ethical leadership, challenging the conventional understanding of its universally positive impact and highlighting its unintended consequences. The results also underscore the need to consider employees’ psychological processes and individual differences in understanding this complex relationship. The study provides insights into the complexities of ethical leadership in organizations and offers implications for theory and practice.

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We have uploaded our dataset to the Open Science Framework (OSF). The anonymized link to access the dataset is: https://osf.io/v9532/?view_only=32d2ddca49744df3ae8e5ecd7bf5b367

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Mushtaq Ahmed, the principal author, conducted material preparation, data collection and analysis, and authored the initial draft of the manuscript. Muhammad Ishfaq Khan, the co-author, provided supervision and conducted a comprehensive review of the study. Both authors contributed to the study conception, design, and subsequent manuscript revisions. The final manuscript was reviewed and approved by both authors.

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Ahmed, M., Khan, M.I. Unpacking the paradoxical impact of ethical leadership on employees’ pro-social rule breaking behavior: the interplay of employees’ psychological empowerment and moral identity. Curr Psychol (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-024-06429-z

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AVIA 800 The Ethical Aviation Leader

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The course is an examination of ethics from the perspective of an aviation leader. Students will evaluate the theoretical and practical approaches to leading and living ethically within the aviation environment and the context of a Christian Worldview.

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Aviation leaders and scholars are faced with evermore complex and frequent ethical dilemmas. When leading organizations, performing research, or educating others, the Liberty Aviation graduate student needs to be well-grounded in both theoretical and practical ethics including ethical theory, logic and fallacies, ethical decision making, worldview integration in ethics, and application of ethical reasoning in the aviation environment. The Ethical Aviation Leader will integrate ethics, logic, worldviews, and aviation dilemma in a practical examination complete with self-reflection, scholarly research, and dialog-based examination.

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After reading the Course Syllabus and Student Expectations , the candidate will complete the related checklist found in the Course Overview.

Discussions (5)

Discussions are collaborative learning experiences. Therefore, the student will complete 5, 3-cycle discussions in this course. Initial threads will be 750–1000 words, (in the following week) two replies of 350 words to classmates’ threads, and two responses to replies of 250 words.

Case Study in Ethics Assignment

A 6–8 page paper in current APA format that focuses on an examination of the ethical dimensions involved in, surrounding, causing, or resulting from an examination of an aviation case study. The purpose is to reveal what can be learned about aviation ethics in leadership and organization from observing a real situation or dilemma.

Ethical Leadership Article Critique Assignment

The 4-6 page APA pager, Article Critique assignment is intended to examine recent research in aviation ethics with an eye toward developing critical consumer information practices while being exposed to recent ethical theory work. The paper will contain insight and criticism based on the thoughtful review of a chosen article viewed through the ethical, reasoning, and worldview concepts covered in this course and prior coursework. The paper is intended to be an examination of the ethical dimensions discussed in the article, the research methods or reasoning used, the biases of the authors (claimed or unspoken), the key important findings, and the questions resulting

Ethical Leadership Article Critique Peer Review Assignment

The Article Critique Peer Review assignment is an opportunity to learn from the analysis of a fellow student while seeking to deepen the article and subject matter evaluation. The peer review will also allow the student to practice evaluating other’s efforts and provide feedback incorporating Christian truth and grace. The student will write a 3–4 page paper in current APA format.

Research Paper in Ethics Assignment

The Research Paper is an examination of ethical leadership encompassing the range of complex issues, constructs, forces, and worldviews that influence the contemporary leader in aviation. The purpose is for the student to develop their unique concept of the aviation-focused ethical leader by assessing, describing, supporting, and presenting those elements considered most critical. The student will write a 10–14 page paper in current APA format.

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2024 Ethics Reviewers Guidelines

The role of ethics review is to assess NeurIPS submissions for risks in at least one of the following areas:

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NeurIPS has asked authors to consider ethics and broader impact when submitting their papers since 2021, and adopted a Code of Ethics in April 2023 . Ethics reviews are a second round of review that take place should the program committee flag any potential concerns during the technical review phase. Ethics reviewers provide feedback to the program committee regarding risks and harms of the work, and recommend potential mitigations prior to acceptance. To minimize exposure risks, ethics reviews are only published at the author’s discretion; unlike the main reviews, which are all public. Please refer below and to the Ethics Review Guidelines for further details.

We ask that ethics reviewers:

• review up to 5 papers each,
• The period of July 15 - 26, 2024 for submissions to the main conference track, and/or
• The period of July 26 - August 6, 2024 , for submissions to the Datasets & Benchmarks track
• The period of August 7-30, 2024 , for emergency reviews to cover late review requests
• participate asynchronously in any relevant follow-up discussions with the authors and program committee during the author response period of August 2024 . 

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You become involved when a paper is flagged for ethics review. This primarily occurs during the initial review process, though some cases may arise later during the discussion period or during reviews by AC and PC chairs.

What is an Ethics Review?

The ethics review differs from the primary review in several ways. Ethics review is limited in scope to evaluating the possibility of ethical risks, specifically those flagged by the primary reviewers. When the primary review flags a paper, it indicates a claim that an ethical concern exists. Your role as an ethics reviewer is to validate or disprove this claim, focusing on the evaluation of the claim and providing a critical discussion supporting your evaluation. For example, if a paper is flagged for potential ethical concerns around safety and security (e.g., misuse of autonomous weapons, misinformation, deepfakes, etc.), you will comment on the validity of these risks and whether the authors have done enough to mitigate them. Note that it is perfectly acceptable to conclude that no ethical concern exists , and we expect this to be true for some of the papers assigned to you. You are also encouraged to recommend reasonable risk mitigation strategies wherever appropriate.

To summarize, the following key aspects are typically addressed in an ethics review:

• Are the flagged ethical concerns valid?
• Are there any additional ethical concerns that were not flagged?
• Do the authors suggest or implement mitigation strategies that sufficiently address the ethical risks? Note that a paper does not need to completely resolve the ethical risk.
• As appropriate, reviewers are encouraged to suggest additional mitigation strategies that the authors could consider to alleviate the risks.

Reviewer Guidelines & Best Practices

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It's okay to be unavailable for part of the review process (e.g., on vacation for a few days). However, if you will be unavailable for a longer period, especially during crucial times (e.g., the discussion phase), please inform us and your ACs.

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Write thoughtful and constructive reviews. Ensure your reviews align with the NeurIPS code of conduct. Although the double-blind review process helps reduce discrimination, subtle discrimination can still occur and should be actively avoided.

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Do not discuss submissions assigned to you with other reviewers, ACs, or SACs without prior approval from your AC. Other reviewers, ACs, and SACs may have conflicts with these submissions. Your primary point of contact for any discussions should be the corresponding AC for that submission.

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Keep papers assigned to you absolutely confidential.

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Be professional, polite, and listen to other reviewers. Do not succumb to undue influence.

Actively engage in the discussion phase for each of your assigned submissions, even if not specifically prompted by the AC.

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It is unfair to dismiss any submission without thoroughly reading it. Reflect on times when you received an unfair, unjustified, short, or dismissive review and strive not to be that reviewer. Always be constructive and help authors understand your viewpoint without being dismissive or using inappropriate language. If you need to cite existing work to justify one of your comments, be precise and provide a complete citation.

If you would like the authors to clarify something during the author response phase, articulate this clearly in your review (e.g., “I would like to see a discussion on risk X”).

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Ethical culture must begin with leadership -UBA Chief Risk Officer

Kenneth Amponsah, Chief Risk Officer of UBA Ghana, has emphasised that “ethical culture must begin with leadership” during his remarks at the recent ACI Financial Markets Conference held in Accra.

The event gathered prominent leaders from Ghana’s financial market players to explore strategies for enhancing ethical standards across the industry, with a focus on the vital role of leadership in fostering ethical cultures, the challenges of enforcing these standards, and the transformative impact of technology on transparency.

Speaking as a member of a panel on the theme “Ethics in Action: Promoting Integrity and Transparency in Financial Markets,” Mr. Amponsah highlighted the importance of leadership in cultivating a culture of integrity and transparency within financial institutions. “Executives should exemplify ethical behaviour, reinforcing transparency as a core organizational value,” he stated.

He further added that “Not everything legal is ethical and No good pricing can compensate for a poor investment decision”

The chief Risk Officer noted further that “Profit should be seen as revenue minus cost sustained over time. That will definitely consider ethical standards and repeated customer transactions. Not just revenue minus cost”.

Mr. Amponsah commended the Bank of Ghana for its recent banking sector reforms, and praised the Ghana Stock Exchange for its stricter listing requirements. He noted that these measures are crucial for advancing corporate governance and promoting ethical behavior across the industry.

Additionally, Mr. Amponsah underscored the significant role of technology in enhancing transparency within financial institutions, identifying blockchain as a powerful tool for tracking financial activities. He advocated for the adoption of digital platforms to manage financial transactions, thereby reducing human intervention and mitigating the risks of unethical behaviour.

The panel discussion emphasized the need for a comprehensive approach to promoting ethics in Ghana’s financial markets. By prioritising leadership, regulation, technology, and community engagement, the sector can achieve greater integrity, transparency, and sustained investor confidence.

The panel which was moderated by Robert Dzato, CEO of the Chartered Institute of Bankers included Edem Gbenah, Head of Treasury at Bank of Africa, Frank Nimako Akowuah, Partner at Bentsi-Enchill, Letsa & Ankomah, Kwame Sarpong Barnieh, Partner – Governance, Risk & Compliance Service and Rui Correia, Executive Director and Chair of Board of Education at the ACI Financial Markets Association.

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7 big issues at stake in the 2024 election

WASHINGTON — The policy contrasts between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump are sharpening as the general election campaign gets fully underway.

But what does the choice represent for ordinary voters and the economic and cultural issues they care about? A rematch between the Democratic incumbent and his Republican predecessor may feel uninspiring to many voters, but the policy stakes are enormous for tens of millions of Americans — and the world.

Here are seven big issues at stake in the 2024 election.

The contrast: Biden favors federal abortion protections; Trump opposes them. Trump supported nationwide restrictions on abortion as president but now downplays the need for a federal ban, as Republicans are divided over the issue. Biden does not support federal limits.

Biden has championed the Women’s Health Protection Act, a bill to protect abortion rights in all 50 states under federal law and prohibit medically unnecessary hurdles to accessing the procedure. He has asked voters to send him a Democratic Congress that supports legal abortion to achieve that.

Trump has boasted that he "broke Roe v. Wade" by picking three of the five Supreme Court justices who overturned it, delivering on a four-decade goal of the GOP. More recently, Trump has openly fretted that the backlash may cost him and his party the election. Last week, Trump said the issue should be left to states, a shift from his support for nationwide restrictions when he was president. His new stance has drawn pushback from GOP allies, like Sen. Lindsey Graham, of South Carolina , and anti-abortion-rights advocates, who say that he is wrong and that Republicans should not be deterred from their long-standing goal of enacting some nationwide abortion limits.

Some Republicans downplay the prospects of federal abortion restrictions’ passing Congress, even if they win full control. Biden and his allies are telling voters to look at the GOP’s long history of championing federal restrictions and not their recent rhetoric.

Immigration

The contrast: Trump has promised a sweeping crackdown on illegal immigration and tougher executive actions; Biden is asking Congress to give him more tools to manage an overwhelmed border and create new legal pathways to immigrate to the U.S.

Trump has called existing border laws an existential threat to the U.S., saying migrants are “ poisoning the blood of our country” and bringing new “ languages .” His campaign website says: “President Trump will shut down Biden’s border disaster. He will again end catch-and-release, restore Remain in Mexico , and eliminate asylum fraud. In cooperative states, President Trump will deputize the National Guard and local law enforcement to assist with rapidly removing illegal alien gang members and criminals.”

After having rescinded some of Trump's policies, Biden has recently shifted to support stricter immigration laws as the system remains overwhelmed. He championed a bipartisan bill to raise the bar for gaining asylum, grant more U.S. resources to process asylum claims and turn away migrants who do not qualify, and empower the president to temporarily shut down the border if migration levels hit certain triggers. (Republicans blocked the bill in the Senate amid lobbying by Trump , who wants to use the border as an election issue.) Biden has also endorsed the U.S. Citizenship Act , which would grant a pathway to citizenship for people in the U.S. illegally if they pass background checks and pay their taxes.

Fundamentally, Trump has aligned with forces who want less immigration into the country, while Biden has embraced the belief that immigrants make the U.S. better.

Health care and prescription drugs

The contrast: Biden wants to extend Affordable Care Act provisions and empower Medicare to negotiate more prescription drugs; Trump has aggressively criticized the ACA but not offered a health care plan.

Biden, who was vice president when the Affordable Care Act passed in 2010, sees it as a cherished achievement to protect and strengthen. The law, also known as "Obamacare," which has extended coverage to 45 million people through subsidies, insurance mandates and a Medicaid expansion, continues to face conservative opposition.

Separately, Biden has touted a provision in his party-line Inflation Reduction Act that empowers Medicare to negotiate lower prices for 10 prescription drugs. He said he wants to boost that to 50 if he is re-elected, with the goal of $200 billion in savings.

Trump spent his four years as president fighting unsuccessfully to repeal and unravel the law — through legislation and executive action and endorsing lawsuits to wipe it out. In November, Trump called for revisiting plans to "terminate" the ACA . He has recently sought to downplay that and insists he only wants to improve the law. But he has not offered a health care plan. Many of his GOP allies in Congress still favor repealing or undoing the ACA, including a budget by the Republican Study Committee, which boasts about 80% of the House GOP conference as members, including Speaker Mike Johnson, of Louisiana.

The contrast: Trump's 2017 tax cuts expire at the end of next year, and he has called for extending them; Biden has called for raising taxes on families earning over $400,000 to fund various priorities.

A series of Trump tax cuts, which Republicans passed on a party-line basis in 2017, expire at the end of 2025. Congress and the winner of the election will decide what happens to them.

In a recent private speech to wealthy donors, Trump s aid his policies include "extending the Trump tax cuts" if he is elected, according to a Trump campaign official. That would preserve lower rates across the income spectrum, with the biggest benefits for top earners.

Biden has attacked that law as a giveaway to the wealthiest Americans, vowing to make "big corporations and the very wealthy finally pay their fair share." He has backed a corporate tax rate hike from 21% to 28% and said that "nobody earning less than $400,000 will pay an additional penny in federal taxes." Biden is also calling for a $3,600-per-child tax cut for families, an $800 average tax break for "front-line workers" and a 25% minimum tax on billionaires, according to a newly released campaign plank.

The expiration of the Trump tax cuts will restore the unlimited federal deduction for state and local taxes, which Republicans had capped at $10,000 in the 2017 law. Republicans broadly support preserving the cap, with some exceptions, while most Democrats want to lift it.

Judges and the Supreme Court

The contrast: Their track records tell a clear story. Trump has picked young conservative judges to serve on the federal bench, while Biden has picked liberals with a focus on professional and personal diversity.

One of the clearest contrasts is what kinds of judges Trump and Biden would pick for lifetime appointments on the federal courts. A simple way for voters to think about it is whether they prefer new judges with the conservative views of Justice Neil Gorsuch, Trump's first Supreme Court pick, or with the liberal views of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, Biden's (so far only) high court pick.

As president, Trump nominated young conservative judges who will serve for generations. Biden has focused on finding judges with diverse backgrounds and résumés, including more civil rights lawyers and public defenders.

Perhaps the biggest question is whether a Supreme Court vacancy will open up in the next four years. The presidential election winner and the party that controls the Senate would fill it.

The contrast: Trump is pushing a 10% across-the-board tariff on imports; Biden's White House opposes that, saying it would raise inflation.

Trump, long a skeptic of U.S. trade deals, has proposed to impose a 10% tariff on all imported goods if he returns to the White House. He recently told Fox News that it could be 60% — or potentially “more than that” — on imports of Chinese goods.

Biden opposes that idea. In a memo over the weekend, the White House slammed the idea of "across-the-board tariffs that would raise taxes and prices by $1,500 per American family," without naming Trump; it referred to an estimate by the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank, that Trump's 10% tax on imports could cost an average American household $1,500 per year.

Biden, instead, has sought to boost domestic manufacturing with major federal investments in semiconductors and electric vehicles.

Foreign policy and NATO

The contrast: Biden favors Ukraine aid, while Trump is skeptical of it; Biden supports NATO and a traditional view of American power, while Trump has criticized NATO and voiced some isolationist views.

The clearest example of the foreign policy differences between the two concerns the fate of Ukraine, which is running low on ammunition and says it needs U.S. assistance to continue holding off Russia’s aggression. Biden is an ardent proponent of helping Ukraine, while Trump has poured cold water on U.S. aid to Ukraine and successfully pressured House Republicans to block it since they took the majority in January 2023.

And that points to a deeper divide: Biden is an outspoken supporter of the NATO alliance as a bulwark against adversaries like Russia and China and of preserving the post-World War II order. Trump has dialed up his criticisms of NATO and aligned with a growing isolationist wing in the U.S. that wants to be less involved in global affairs. Trump recently said that as president, he “would encourage” Russia “to do whatever the hell they want” to member countries who are “delinquent” in their dues.

Sahil Kapur is a senior national political reporter for NBC News.