Unlock document.
This document is partially blurred.
Unlock all pages and 1 million more documents.
Get Access
Chapter 9:
MANAGERS AS ETHICAL LEADERS AND ROLE
MODELS
CHAPTER 9 CHAPTER AND ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS
In studying this chapter, students should consider the questions below.
“CQ1” refers to “Chapter Question 1.” This question appears at the end of the textbook
chapter.
“AQ1” refers to an “Additional Question 1.” This is an “additional” question related to
the chapter. It is not listed at the end of the textbook chapter as a “Chapter Question”.
These items are numbered within the two categories based on the order in which the
answer appears in the chapter.
CQ1: What are William Torbert’s six management role models, which are associated with the
different stages of moral development?
CQ2: Discuss the five different types of power sources available to managers, and the ethical
issues related to authoritarian and participatory leadership styles.
CQ3: What is ethical leadership and how can it be measured?
CQ4: How can work goals and performance appraisals influence ethical and unethical behaviors?
AQ1: What are best practices for disciplining work rule violations?
CQ5: Why is it important to forgive managers and co-workers? Describe Robert Enright’s four
phases of forgiveness.
CHAPTER 9 LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After completing this chapter, students should be able to:
Describe how managers can be ethical leaders and role models
Explain different leadership styles and assess ethical leadership
Set SMART work goals and implement Management-By-Objectives
Design and conduct employee performance appraisals that encourage ethical behavior
Effectively and fairly discipline employees for work rule violations
CHAPTER 9 OVERVIEW
Three aspects of daily organizational life significantly impact an employee’s ethical
performance: (1) the behaviors of organizational executives, managers, and direct supervisors,
(2) work goals, and (3) employee performance appraisals.
This chapter explores how managers are ethical role models, the ethics of exercising
power in an organization, and different leadership styles, including being an ethical leader.
Ethical leaders develop great places to work. Ethical leaders can reinforce ethical behavior
among employees through work goals and performance appraisals that encourage and reward
ethical behaviors. Several surveys are provided to help managers evaluate themselves and others
in terms of ethical leadership and behaviors.
CHAPTER 9 LECTURE OUTLINE
Teaching Objective: To teach how to improve ethical performance through ethical leadership,
work goals, and performance appraisals.
Suggested Time: Two to three hours of class time is recommended to present this chapter.
I. Chapter Question 1: What are William Torbert’s six management role models, which
are associated with the different stages of moral development?
II. Chapter Question 2: Discuss the five different types of power sources available to
managers, and the ethical issues related to authoritarian and participatory
leadership styles.
Personal integrity
III. Chapter Question 3: What is ethical leadership and how can it be measured?
Ethical leadership
Ethical leadership survey
IV. Chapter Question 4: How can work goals and performance appraisals influence
ethical and unethical behaviors?
Work goals
Holistic organizational goals
Stretch goals
V. Additional Question 1: What are the best practices for disciplining work rule
violations?
Background
VI. Chapter Question 5: Why is it important to forgive managers and co-workers?
Describe Robert Enright’s four phases of forgiveness.
CHAPTER 9 SUPPORTING MATERIALS
Textbook Inserts
Ethical Dilemma Analysis
What would you do?
Let’s Build a Building
In the Real World: Enron
Exhibits
Exhibit 9.1: Ethical Leadership Survey
Exhibit 9.2: Virtue Ethics Survey
Exhibit 9.3: Great Place to Work® Dimensions
Exhibit 9.4: Practicing Unethical Behaviors Survey
Exhibit 9.5: Employee Code of Ethics Performance Appraisal
Exhibit 9.6: Leadership Skills Performance Appraisal
Exhibit 9.7: Employee Polygraph Protection Act of 1988.
Thematic Boxes
Tips and Techniques
Best Practice in Use
CHAPTER QUESTION 1: WHAT ARE WILLIAM TORBERT’S SIX MANAGEMENT
ROLE MODELS, WHICH ARE ASSOCIATED WITH THE DIFFERENT STAGES OF
MORAL DEVELOPMENT?
ROLE MODELING
Subordinates are constantly evaluating the ethics of a manager’s decisions and behaviors. A
manager’s behavioral commitment, or lack thereof, to ethical principles filters down to
subordinates and other employees. Managers have already been promoted, so their daily
workplace actions are indicators to subordinates of what it takes to be promoted.
Direct supervisors have the greatest impact on an employee’s ethical performance.
They can model acceptable or unacceptable behavior through daily interactions.
A recent survey of employees suggests that a rather large percentage of managers are
ethically challenged.
39 percent reported that their managers failed to keep promises
37 percent reported that their managers failed to give credit when due
24 percent reported that their managers violated employee privacy
23 percent reported that their managers blamed others to cover up mistakes or to
minimize embarrassment
These managerial misbehaviors contradict the attribute employees most want their
leaders and supervisors to exhibit—honesty.
WILLIAM TORBERT’S SIX MANAGEMENT ROLE MODELS AND STAGES OF MORAL
DEVELOPMENT
William Torbert has developed a management role model typology based on Lawrence
Kohlberg’s six stages of moral development.
Stages 1 and 2 – Opportunist: An Opportunist is strongly influenced by rewards and
punishments and will exhibit ethical/unethical behaviors based on rewards and
punishments.
Stage 3 – Diplomat: A Diplomat is strongly influenced by social group norms and
supports decisions agreed to by other managers. Diplomats pursue ethical or unethical
behaviors based on being good team players, seeking group consensus, and avoiding
group conflict.
Stage 4 – Technician: A Technician is strongly influenced by technical logic and
determines the right thing to do based on data and organizational interests, often in a
dogmatic and perfectionist manner. Technician managers will behave
ethically/unethically when rational analysis recommends it.
Stage 5 – Achiever: An Achiever is goal-oriented and strongly influenced by
organizational success. Achiever managers will behave ethically/unethically based on
how they impact goal accomplishment.
Stage 6 – Strategist and Magician: Torbert invokes two different Stage 6 management
role models.
oA Strategist is a systems thinker who welcomes ambiguity and multiple
perspectives, analyzes the strengths and differences of different approaches, and
then applies one overarching organizing principle appropriate for all people in all
situations to generate the best solutions.
oMagicians add to this a commitment to personal, employee, and organizational
transformation, and a willingness to change based on a vision of the good.
oStrategist and Magician managers strive to behave according to an ideal
conceptualization of ethical behavior and fulfillment.
In research studies, Torbert and his colleagues found that:
osupervisors tend to be Technicians
omiddle-level and upper-level managers tend to be Technicians and Achievers
oprofessionals tend to be Achievers and Strategists
DISCUSSION ACTIVITY
Based on Torbert’s typology, which stage best describes your boss, teacher, yourself? Provide
examples that support your answers. Discuss in small groups.
CHAPTER QUESTION 2: DISCUSS THE FIVE DIFFERENT TYPES OF POWER
SOURCES AVAILABLE TO MANAGERS, AND THE ETHICAL ISSUES RELATED TO
AUTHORITIAN AND PARTICIPATORY LEADERSHIP STYLES.
PERSONAL INTEGRITY
Personal integrity has long been recognized as an essential component of successful
leadership.
Back in 1954, Peter Drucker, the Father of Modern Management, noted that, “The final
Half a century later researchers conducted interviews with 1,040 managers in more than
100 organizations about why managers fail.
oThe top two reasons were failure to practice effective communications and failure
EXERCISE OF POWER
Managers possess power for the purpose of achieving organizational objectives.
Power refers to the ability to act, create an effect, or wield force.
Social psychologists John French and Bertram Raven differentiated among five types of
power bases individuals can have in relationship to others:
1. Legitimate Power: Power that is formally assigned to an individual, such as a title
2. Reward Power: Power obtained by being a person distributing rewards; “I’m going
3. Coercive Power: Power obtained by enforcing punishments; “I’m going to do what
4. Referent Power: Power obtained because people want to be like you; “I’m going to
5. Expert Power: Power obtained by being a source of desired knowledge or skills;
AUTHORITARIAN LEADERSHIP STYLE
Historically, the dominant view on how to manage an organization and its employees
Authoritarian refers to demanding blind submission to someone in authority.
Social Darwinists such as Andrew Carnegie maintained that executives earn authoritarian
power by successfully climbing the organizational ladder.
oThrough a competitive promotion system, managers who mastered administrative
In the early 1900s, Frederick Winslow Taylor encapsulated the authoritarian leadership
style by scientifically studying every worker motion necessary to perform a task at peak
efficiency and effectiveness.
oHe used a stopwatch to calculate each worker’s maximum output capacity and
An authoritarian management style raises several ethical issues.
oEmployees are tightly controlled and their opinions are not respected. These
oResearchers report that rigid, one-way communication from supervisor to
oAuthoritarian leadership is also associated with abusive supervision, where
PARTICIPATORY LEADERSHIP STYLE
oDuring the 1950s, Douglas McGregor differentiated between two different management
approaches, referred to as “Theory X” and “Theory Y,” based on a different set of beliefs
about employees.
oTheory X represented the traditional perspective – people were lazy, disliked
work, avoided responsibilities, and did as little as possible unless induced by
monetary incentives to provide their best effort.
oAs a result, Theory X managers adopted an authoritarian management style where
employees were coerced, controlled, directed, or threatened to perform the task
necessary to achieve productivity goals.
oTheory Y managers assumed people usually enjoyed mental and physical
activities, were self-directed, desired challenging and interesting work, and
welcomed additional work-related responsibilities.
oAs a result, Theory Y managers could get the most out of employees by
demonstrating greater respect for them through a participative management style
that involved subordinates in the decision-making process.
oRensis Likert’s research led him to conclude that a participative management system
resulted in higher amounts of employee productivity, loyalty, and motivation, all of which
contributed to better profits.
oPaul Hersey and Ken Blanchard fine-tuned the differences between authoritarian and
participative leadership styles by noting that there is no one best way to manage
everybody.
oA manager’s leadership style needs to fit the type of employee being managed.
Blanchard further developed a Situational Leadership II Model that categorizes
four leadership styles – directing, coaching, supporting, and delegating –
according to an employee’s level of competence and commitment or confidence.
Directing – If an employee has low competence and high commitment,
such as an enthusiastic beginner, the manager needs to clearly direct the
employee through one-way communication.
Coaching – If an employee has either low or some competence and lacks
commitment, such as a disillusioned learner, the manager needs to provide
direction, guide the employee using two-way communication that stresses
accountability, and provide feedback.
Supporting – If an employee has moderate to high competence and
variable commitment, such as a capable but cautious performer, the
manager needs to listen to the employee’s concerns and suggestions and
then provide support and encouragement.
Delegating – If an employee has high competence and high commitment,
such as a self-reliant achiever, the manager needs to delegate
responsibilities, provide resources, and monitor progress.
oFrom an ethics perspective, situational leadership sensitizes managers to focus on
employee needs and providing the style of leadership the employee’s needs dictate.
oHersey and Blanchard have an ultimate preference that uses the greatest human capacity,
in this case, delegating.
oBut delegation will only work if an employee has the appropriate competencies and
confidence. Delegating work to an employee with low competence or low commitment
will result in failure.
oNonetheless, managers need to provide an employee with low competence the
appropriate training and development, and an employee with low confidence the
appropriate support, so that the employee can succeed if delegated tasks.
DISCUSSION ACTIVITY
Have students complete the free Theory X and Theory Y survey available at
http://www.businessballs.com/mcgregor.htm. Discuss the survey results in small groups.
Is one style better than the other? Which one? Which is better group of assumptions for being a
(a) corporate leader, (b) nonprofit leader, (c) military leader, (d) college president, (e) basketball
coach, and (f) faculty member teaching a class? Why?
CHAPTER QUESTION 3: WHAT IS ETHICAL LEADERSHIP AND HOW CAN IT BE
MEASURED?
ETHICAL LEADERSHIP
oWhether a situation calls for an authoritarian or participatory leadership style, one aspect
oIn a series of articles, Michael Brown, Linda Trevino, and their colleagues provide an
expansive understanding of what it means to be an ethical leader. They maintain that a
oAs a moral person, managers must exhibit ethical traits in their personal lives,
oAs a moral manager, managers must be aware of ethical issues, encourage others
oA manager’s private life affects the way employees and other key stakeholders perceive
the manager’s ethics.
oA manager who encourages and reinforces ethical behaviors at work, but engages
oLikewise, a manager who is personally ethical, but does not encourage and
oWithin this analytical framework, Brown, Trevino and David Harrison define ethical
leadership as “the demonstration of normatively appropriate conduct through personal
ETHICAL LEADERSHIP SURVEY
oBrown, Trevino, and Harrison developed an Ethical Leadership Survey consisting of ten
statements that describe attributes of being a moral person and a moral manager
oReview EXHIBIT 9.1 “Ethical Leadership Survey”
oUse the Ethical Leadership Scale to assess a specific manager. The survey can also be
used to assess top management in general by substituting “top management” for “my
manager.”
oResearchers have found strong associations between ethical leadership and satisfaction
with leaders, perceived leader effectiveness, willingness to give extra effort, willingness
to report problems to management, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment.
oResearchers also report that the highly desirable outcomes associated with ethical
leadership result from a “trickle-down” effect where ethical managers at the top of the
organization positively impact their direct reports, a process that cascades, through ethical
role modeling, down the organizational hierarchy.
oReview TIPS AND TECHNIQUES “Common Decencies at Work”
DISCUSSION ACTIVITY
Have students complete the “Ethical Leadership Survey” in Exhibit 9.1 for a boss, the president
of a student organization, or the teacher. Also complete the survey as a self-assessment.
What are the person’s strengths and weaknesses? How can the person improve a weak area? In
small groups, discuss the results.
Also address the following questions:
1. Must an ethical leader at work live a moral lifestyle outside of work? Why?
2. How does a manager’s personal lifestyle outside of work impact how employees respect, and
perform for, the manager?
3. How did President Bill Clinton’s relationship with Monica Lewinski impact his presidential
power and accomplishments?
4. Should a CEO who commits adultery or is an alcoholic resign? Why?
DISCUSSION ACTIVITY
Students can be an ethical leader by making a real personal difference in the life of a friend,
classmate, or co-worker through a heart-to-heart discussion or action. Provide an example when
you:
1. Made a difference in the life of a friend, classmate or co-worker. Why did you decide to act on
this opportunity?
2. Could have made a difference but chose not to. Why didn’t you act on this opportunity?
3. Can make a difference in the near future. What can you do for a friend, classmate or co-worker
that will make a difference?
VIRTUE ETHICS SURVEY
Ethical leaders are transparent and authentic. They mean what they say and practice
virtuous behaviors.
The list of virtuous traits is extensive. The most common grouping of virtues includes
justice (fairness), empathy, passion, reliability, honesty, integrity, and respect.
Researchers have found the personality traits agreeableness (likeable, friendly, and easy
to get along with) and conscientiousness (responsible, dependable, and hard-working) to
be strongly associated with ethical leadership.
Ronald Riggio, Weichun Zhu, Christopher Reina, and James Maroosis developed a
survey that focuses on the four cardinal virtues emphasized by Aristotle: justice, fortitude,
prudent, and temperance.
oJustice refers to fairness, fortitude to courage and perseverance, prudence to
practical wisdom, and temperance to controlling one’s emotions.
oReview EXHIBIT 9.2 “Virtue Ethics Survey,” which provides a survey instrument
for measuring these key virtues. Managers can use the survey instrument as a
self-assessment and compare with subordinate survey responses.
DISCUSSION ACTIVITY
Have students complete the “Virtue Ethics Survey” in Exhibit 9.2 for a boss, the president of a
student organization, or the teacher. Also complete the survey as a self-assessment.
What are the person’s strengths and weaknesses? How can the person improve a weak area? In
small groups, discuss the results.
