Just like the brain conducts and co-ordinates, guides and manages the functioning of the human body, one cannot over-emphasise the importance of a leader to every working team. Contemporary business practice reveals the existence of varying leadership styles driven by different motives (Blanken 2013).
To begin, leadership could be defined as the process of facilitating individual and collective efforts to accomplish shared objectives (Yukl 2010:26). On the other hand, Chester defines leadership as the ability of a superior to influence the behaviour of subordinate or a group and persuade them to follow a particular course of action (Smith 2000). The latter definition has an individualistic intonation as it fails to point out the element of a group participation in the decision making process. Ethics on the other hand is a set of moral principles that govern a person’s behaviour or the conduct of an activity (Oxford University Press 2015). This concept was propounded by Socrates the philosopher.
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Upholding ethical policy (Brightwell 2014)
A combination of the both elements discussed above gives rise to the concept of ethical leadership. Ethical leadership will therefore be the demonstration of normatively appropriate conduct (Rubin et al 2010).
A discussion of ethical leadership will not be complete without an inference into the theories of ethics. There exists two principal schools of ethics or two main schools of thought for ethics (Hunter 2012). These include the deontological and teleological theories (Linder 2015). The deontological theory is otherwise referred to as the rule-based theory. It focuses principally on duty; what must be done or must not be done irrespective of the results. Conversely, the teleological theory is also called the consequence-based theory.
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Ethical Decision making (Lorimer 2012)
Focus is on the result or consequence of the action (Academia 2015). Here, the morality of an act is determined by its consequences or by the end result. Moral reasoning + character = Ethical Behaviour.
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permaculture ethics (Schweitzer 2015)
To enable us understand the implication and impact of ethical leadership, this blog or discussion forum will study a real life industry example. Jack Welch is often used as a model of ethical leadership and a model for all CEOs. He was the former chief executive officer of General Electric Company (Mintz 2012). He could be classified under the teleological school of ethics. This is evidenced by the fact that he exhibited a consequence-based leadership style and was very result-oriented. Jack Welch often said “Good leadership is the ability to create a vision, articulate the vision and ultimately drive it to completion…” (Mintz 2012). This strong leadership philosophy brings to mind the concept of business strategy; from planning to implementation. During his tenure, Jack Welch changed the management style of GE from a bureaucratic to a collective or all-inclusive style. He was able to manage the capabilities and competences of the company by getting every employee at every management level to participate directly or indirectly on the drawing board. This excellent leadership style accounted for the spectacular transformation of the company’s value by 4000% in just 20 years.
Jack Welch on ethical leadership (Thompson 2013)
Finally he added that the foundation of ethical leadership is integrity. A leader must be able to withstand pressure to deviate from his vision, have strength of character and act out of principled beliefs (Mintz 2012).
However from a critical angle, not all leaders are ethical. On the other hand, the Enron scandal of 2001 in the United States of America showed the absence of integrity and ethical leadership in very big and respected world-class corporations like Enron and Arthur Andersen (Rapoport 2014).
In conclusion, the teleological theory of ethics is the more recommended contrary to the deontological school because of its all-inclusive approach. If all competences and skills from all management levels can be gathered on one drawing board (strategy planning process or decision making platform), every organisational strategy will be a success. If all leaders were to manage their teams with the right ethics and show proof of integrity, then all organisational goals will be met. Contemporary leadership is associated to ethics. One can hardly talk of management today without making close allusion to leadership and ethics.
References
Blanken. R, (2013) 8 common leadership styles-Associations Now Magazine-Resources-ASAE [online] available from <http://www.asaecenter.org/Resources/ANowDetail.cfm?ItemNumber=241962> [02 March 2015]
Hunter .S (2012) Ethical Leadership and Identity: What Did We Learn and Where Do We Go from Here? [online] <http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=74ee79d2-b543-4298-ad40-a5a26d8fd807%40sessionmgr114&vid=1&hid=125> [10 February, 2015]
Legacee (2015) Leadership Definitions [online] available from <https://www.legacee.com/potpourri/leadership-definitions/> [10 March 2015]
Linder (2014) ‘A Deontological Based Framework for Leadership Ethics In A Cross- Cultural Management.’ Academy of Management Proceedings [online] available from <http://proceedings.aom.org/content/2014/1/13722.short?related-urls=yes&legid=amproc;2014/1/13722> [09 March 2015]
Mullins, L.J. (2013) Management and Organisational Behaviour. 10th edn. Harlow: Pearson
Oxforddictionaries (2015) Ethics – Definition of Ethics in English from the Oxford Dictionary [online] available from <http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/ethics> [14 March 2015]
Performance, T (2015) The Role of Ethical Behaviours in the Relations between Leadership Styles and Job Performance [online] available from <http://www.academia.edu/2721691/The_Role_Of_Ethical_Behaviours_In_The_Relations_Between_Leadership_Styles_And_Job_Performance> [12 March 2015]
Rapoport, M (2014) Tax Firm To Revive Arthur Andersen Name [online] available from <http://www.wsj.com/articles/tax-firm-to-revive-arthur-andersen-name-1409626508> [11 March 2015]
Smith, E. (1975) ‘Chester Barnard’s Concept Of Leadership’. Educational Administration Quarterly11 (3), 37-48
Workplace Ethics Advice (2012) What Are The Qualities Of A Successful Leader? [online] available from <http://www.workplaceethicsadvice.com/2012/01/what-are-the-qualities-of-a-successful-leader.html> [14March 2015]
Yukl, G. (2010) Leadership in Organisation. 7th edn. New Jersey: Pearson
NEWEDGELEADER2DIVIN 
Ethics is an important concept which cuts across a wide domain of human activity. It can be overtly simplified when seen as a set of regulations or principles aimed at “doing no harm”. The real challenge with ethics can be at the level of implementation; through our actions or in-actions.
What immediately captures my attention in this essay is the image of the persons carrying the word “ETHICS”. In my opinion, this picture depicts that it requires effort and perseverance to exercise and maintain high ethical values. There is no doubt that a leader with these attributes will have a positive impact on his employees and the organization he/she is leading.
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