Communications Chapter 12 Homework Leadership Sage Publishing 2018 Come Prepared Discuss

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Instructor Resource

Northouse, Introduction to Leadership, 4e

SAGE Publishing, 2018

Class Activities

Chapter 12: Addressing Ethics in Leadership

Guide to the Class Activities

Each activity is designed based on Fink’s Learning Taxonomy and is tagged with the following

tags under the taxonomy’s learning and assessment structure:

1. Foundational Knowledge (F)

2. Application (A)

4. Human Dimension (H)

6. Learning How to Learn (L)

These activities may be used in either small-group or large-group settings, depending on class

size and time available. Some may also be suitable as homework.

Activities

Ethics in the Workplace (A, H)

Poll students about the kinds of careers they are currently in, or hope to go into some day. Group

students together who have similar career interests or experiences (retail, marketing, sales, non-

profit management, health care, etc.). Have them discuss together the kinds of ethical leadership

decisions they may face in this line of work. Example – retail manager:

• How do I handle theft by employees?

• How do I get people to work extra hours if I’m not permitted to pay overtime wages?

• How many of my store’s problems do I need to inform my supervisor of?

• Do I retain underperforming employees who need the income from their job to support

their families?

How can they prepare for handling these eventualities?

Student Presentations (A, I, H, C, L)

Instructor Resource

Northouse, Introduction to Leadership, 4e

SAGE Publishing, 2018

As individual or group projects, ask students to research a major event in recent U.S. history that

concerns ethical issues, such as the collapse of Enron, the Flint, Michigan water crisis, the BP oil

spill in the Gulf of Mexico, sexual assaults in the U.S. military, or similar. In their class

presentations, students should recount a brief history of the event(s), and then apply concepts

from chapter 12 to interpret what went wrong:

• What went wrong with the values, actions, goals, or power of the leader(s)?

• Which pillars of character were absent in the leader(s) management of the crisis or

Walking the Talk (A, I)

Have a discussion with the full class or in small groups about organizational values. Have

students think about an organization they currently belong to (school, work, volunteer, church,

summer camp, fraternity/sorority, etc.). What are the organization’s stated values or mission?

What are the organization’s lived values? Are they the same? Why or why not? If not, what

steps could be taken to bring them into alignment?

Current Events (A, I)

Ask students to bring in newspaper clippings (or printouts from the web) of stories and issues

involving ethical leadership. Dishonest politicians? Active citizens? Caring neighbors? Discuss

what it would take for more people to engage in the ethical actions presented. What actions are

needed to change the unethical behavior into ethical behavior?

Character Development Skits (F, A, H)

Assign each of the pillars of character to a small group. Ask each group to develop a two-part

skit. The first part should show a deficit of this dimension (deception, not trustworthiness;

disrespect, not respect; etc.) and its outcomes on the persons represented in the skit. In the

second part, have students show how a change in attitude, perspective or circumstance causes the

Open Debate (F, A, C)

Have the class choose a complex ethical issue they would like to research during the week before

class, such as global warming. Require them to do some substantive reading on the topic and

Instructor Resource

Northouse, Introduction to Leadership, 4e

SAGE Publishing, 2018

come prepared to discuss the various aspects of the issue. Students should initially sit on the side

of the classroom that corresponds to their position on this issue (which you determine ahead of

time), but move freely to the center or other side as new information and perspectives are voiced.

As the instructor, prepare for the debate by looking for relevant video clips you can show on the

topic and doing some background reading yourself. After the debate, reflect: On an issue like

global warming, how do we weigh American interests with those of developing nations? What

Class Discussion on Forgiveness (A, H, C)

According to our text, forgiveness is an expression of caring on the part of a leader. In class

discuss: What kinds of follower behaviors should a leader overlook? Confront? Forgive? How

does forgiveness benefit the forgiven? The forgiver? What examples of forgiveness have you

seen at work or school?

Leaders, Ethical Failures and Excuses (A, I, H)

We often perceive leaders who have failed ethically in different ways, depending upon how they

respond publically. Ask students to identify compelling examples of leaders responding in public

to their personal failures. Then discuss the following questions:

• How did their response change your perceptions of them?

• What impact did this have on the leader?

Writing Assignments

Accountability (A, H, C)

Have students write a 2-3 page paper about the people they feel accountable to for their ethical

character and conduct. Whose trust matters to them? Who do they turn to when they are facing

an ethical challenge?

Citizenship (A, H)

Have students write a 2-3 page paper on what citizenship means to them. What benefits do they

receive as citizens? What responsibilities do they take on? Do they participate in political

Instructor Resource

Northouse, Introduction to Leadership, 4e

SAGE Publishing, 2018

The Best People I Know (A, H, C)

In a 2-3 page paper, ask students to list three or four people they know whom they consider to be

good people. What character traits and actions set these people apart? What are their leadership

roles? Students should not limit themselves to the qualities and dimensions that are described in

Chapter 11. If possible, ask students to illustrate with a story that exemplifies each person’s

character.

Performing Your Best (A, H, C)

In a 2 page paper, ask students to describe a project or program they worked on that they are

proud of. What was the goal of the program or project? What actions did the supervisor or

Integrity (A, I, H)

Parker Palmer, referenced earlier in these resource materials, explains that one of the

requirements of leaders is to bring their inner and outer worlds into congruence; being the same

person on the inside and outside. Have students write a 1-2 page essay about ways they are

divided as persons: How they might both want a career, and fear the responsibilities that come

with it. Or they want to learn, but struggle with procrastination. How they are “basically” honest

One Minute Paper Topics (F, A, I)

Agree or disagree: Life is unfair.

How tolerant are you of differences?