Leadership and Ethics
This blog will focus on leadership and ethics. First of all, the reason why leadership is associated with morality is that it makes it easier for us to understand the good and bad aspects of leadership. Theory can be divided into two principles, which are teleological and obligation(Encyclopaedia Britannica, Deontological ethics). Teleological ethics is about the purpose, mainly about the purpose of action and its good and evil. Obligation Ethics is about obligation, mainly action. We should take action to make as many people happy as possible(Encyclopaedia Britannica, Teleological ethics). So, we can see the differences base on the meaning. Deontology is the study of morality or obligation, on the other hand, teleology is the study of ultimate or ultimate goal. In addition, Deontology teaches more and clarifies what is wrong and what is right, while teleology emphasizes goals and claims that all means are just if they produce outputs(Encyclopaedia Britannica Deontological ethics).
Figure 1: Deontological vs Teleological (Kaplan 2015)
For deontological ethics, emphasize the value of everyone and provide the basis for human rights, morality based on responsibility has done a lot to make the world become better. The moral concept based on responsibility has done a lot to make the world better, and instilled a kind of moral thought into people's spiritual life and career. The disadvantage is that we can't save our lives at the cost of self sacrifice, which is not allowed in this moral ethics, because it's not a morally correct decision, and you can't hurt someone for any reason, even if you know it will save more people, it's not allowed. Today, when we look at many problems and phenomena, in the final analysis, we will trace them to the moral level. Moreover, the more we look at the moral level, the more easily people are excited. This involves the question of whether a person is a good person or a bad person, or whether a system is just or unjust. Legal issues, political issues, life issues, and finally all involve the issue of good, evil, good and evil. Ethics has a great turning point in modern times. It is no longer human centered, but behavior centered, no longer value and belief centered, but norm and obligation centered. Some people may be willing to live a very noble life, such as the ancient scholar bureaucrats. Some people only pursue the happiness of their family. Some people's value pursuit is "I will make the most money in my life, as long as I don't cheat. I think this is my highest goal: to become a billionaire". You can't say that he can't do this, and there's no way to force a ban. However, morality and law are different after all. There are some things that can't be dealt with by law, but morality can be dealt with. If you cheat others, you can criticize them. Morality is the basis of law. If some behaviors are opposed by morality or conscience, we should resist them. Here are explained so much about leadership, the most important of which is also the first step, to declare your core values, which helps build a vision of how the world will change and find a personal voice to express it(LIU MINGMING 2014). Next, using two examples to explain ethical and non-ethical leadership behavior, Tesla equips all its model x vehicles and, since March 2015, its model s vehicles with automatic emergency braking, so that the vehicle computer will use the forward-looking camera and radar sensor to determine the distance from the object in front of the vehicle and avoid irreparable mistakes caused by confusion(Patrick Lin 2017). A prominent example of ethical issues in the automotive industry is the lack of ethical decision-making capabilities of management and Toyota. The team was plagued by ethical issues due to the sticking accelerator problem, which is the announcement of the defects of Toyota's ethical commitment to customer safety. Toyota is accused of deliberately making defective vehicles to maximize profits. Because Toyota continues to produce the faulty vehicle intentionally after it is aware of the fault caused by the faulty vehicle, and denies the customer's requirements, it is against the principle of business ethics. 2262 acceleration accidents were found in Toyota cars, resulting in 815 collapses, 341 injuries and 19 deaths, the report said(Mazhar Ali 2020). Therefore, there are some suggestions for managers to improve their ethical behaviors. First of all, we should formulate the guidelines and make the ethical performance as the strategic focus. Secondly, the senior management team must show leadership, abide by and practice the moral values of the organization as required, ensure the practicality of the whole organization, and integrate the moral culture into the training and communication. Third, the organization needs to develop a way to deal with fraud and violations of corporate ethical policies, and an absolutely strong zero tolerance approach. Finally, the effectiveness of the ethical plan is measured and discussed publicly(Camilla Hedborg 2014).
References:
1. Encyclopaedia Britannica Teleological ethics | philosophy [online] available from <https://www.britannica.com/topic/teleological-ethics> [06 April 2021]
2. Encyclopaedia Britannica deontological ethics | Definition, Meaning, Examples, & Facts [online] available from <https://www.britannica.com/topic/deontological-ethics> [06 April 2021]
3. Christopher de la Torre (2020) Strengths of teleological ethical theories [online] available from <https://www.ehow.co.uk/info_8488268_strengths-teleological-ethical-theories.html> [07 April 2021]
4.KEVIN-LIU (2014) Analysis of ethical leadership through 4-V model [online] available from <https://kevinxxl.wordpress.com/2014/06/29/analysis-of-ethical-leadership-through-4-v-model/comment-page-1/> [08 April 2021]
5. Mazhar Ali (2020) Ethical Issues in Automobile Industry | Peak Updates [online] available from <https://peakupdates.com/automobile/ethical-issues-in-automobile-industry> [09 April 2021]
6. Patrick Lin (2017) Here's How Tesla Solves A Self-Driving Crash Dilemma [online] available from <https://www.forbes.com/sites/patricklin/2017/04/05/heres-how-tesla-solves-a-self-driving-crash-dilemma/?sh=7617a95e6813> [10 April 2021]
7. Camilla Hedborg (2014) Five steps to improve ethical performance [online] available from <https://www.cgma.org/blogs/five-steps-to-improve-ethical-performance.html> [11 April 2021]
8. Culcguosern (2016) LCW Theme 1: Leadership and Ethics [online] available from <https://culcs10b8s.wordpress.com/2016/03/24/lcw-theme-1-leadership-and-ethics/> [11 April 2021]
