CASE 16
Ethical Leadership at Cardinal IG: The
Foundation of a Culture of Diversity
CASE NOTES FOR INSTRUCTORS
The purpose of this case is to provide students with an example of how ethical leadership positively
ground up. Before making any decisions Pinder laid out his vision and philosophy of how he wanted the
plant to be run, which included a clean world-class facility as well as happy and engaged employees who
are treated with respect and dignity and work as a team. Cardinal IG’s mission melds the business purpose
with Pinder’s vision of how that purpose will be achieved. The mission is a constant reference point for
all Cardinal IG is working to achieve and incorporates three essential elements: profitability, customers,
and coaches for their employees and be available to employees at all times.
The discipline of leadership is seen in the consistency and orderly system of rules that govern the conduct
and activities of the employees of the company. Making roles, responsibilities, and expectations clear, as
well as fostering self-regulation, are evidence of this. Pinder combines this discipline with love, which is
the key to the effectiveness of his leadership. By remembering the names of his employees and those of
QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSION
1. How has David Pinder embraced ethical leadership to create an ethical culture at Cardinal IG?
Answers should include references to how Dave Pinder articulated his vision clearly to himself before
setting up the organization and how this led to a clear and practical application for his employees. The
fact that he hired workers based on their leadership traits rather than their expertise in the field is also
2. How has Cardinal’s principles and values shaped the ethical behavior of employees?
Under Pinder’s leadership, abstract values are practically applied to specific behaviors to make them
clear and tangible to all employees. For example, loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor,
3. How has Cardinal empowered its employees to practice responsible and accountable leadership?
Cardinal IG provides extensive leadership training for every employee. The fact that all employees
are trained so that they can easily take over any position when needed empowers employees and also
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES