Chapter 4 – Ethical Leadership and Corporate Culture

Question-and-answer flashcards covering the major ideas, definitions, and relationships presented in Chapter 4: Ethical Leadership and Corporate Culture.

What is a “role” in the context of business ethics?

A structured set of relationships with accompanying rights and obligations that extend beyond everyday morality, created to help society function better.

How are roles related to social responsibility in business?

Because roles assign responsibilities that contribute to a nation’s economic growth, prosperity, and societal well-being.

List the three roles of business managers highlighted in this chapter.

Economic actors, company leaders, and community leaders.

According to Brown et al. (2005), what is ethical leadership?

The ability to instil ethically acceptable behaviour through personal actions and motivate followers to emulate that behaviour via two-way communication, reinforcement, and ethical decision-making.

Why is an organisation considered ethical only if its leaders are ethical?

Because employees learn mainly through observing leaders, who serve as role models and establish ethical behaviour practices.

Name the two pillars of ethical leadership.

Moral person and moral manager.

What does the ‘moral person’ pillar represent?

The leader’s personal traits, character, and altruistic motivation.

What does the ‘moral manager’ pillar represent?

The proactive efforts of a manager to influence employee behaviour and promote ethical values.

Why are the two pillars of ethical leadership important?

They support role modelling, allowing individuals to learn appropriate behaviour by observing others (Bandura, 1977).

How are ‘traits’ defined in the study of ethical leadership?

Stable personal characteristics that lead an individual to act consistently across situations and be described by others in those terms (Trevino, Hartman & Brown, 2000).

What does the phrase ‘setting the right tone from the top’ mean?

Leaders demonstrating and reinforcing ethical standards so that ethical behaviour permeates the organisation.

Give two broad types of codes of ethics and how they differ.

Compliance-based codes focus on obeying laws and regulations, whereas integrity-based codes emphasise guiding values and ethical aspirations.

Define corporate culture.

The shared beliefs, values, norms, customs, expectations, and meanings that shape members’ thinking and behaviour—essentially, how things are done in an organisation.

Define ethical corporate culture.

The component of corporate culture that promotes an organisation’s ethical values and guides employees to recognise and do the right thing.

How does ethical leadership help inculcate an ethical corporate culture?

By serving as a dominant influence on follower behaviour, clarifying acceptable and unacceptable actions, and reinforcing ethical norms throughout the organisation.