Page 397 - leadership-experience-2008

CikguOnline
CikguOnline
378 PART 4: THE LEADER AS A RELATIONSHIP BUILDER

Exhibit 12.7 Guidelines for Ethical Action

Is the action
Does the action
consistent with the Does the action Would you wish
respect the rights of
organization's goals, meet the standards others to behave in Ethical
individuals and
rather than being of fairness and the same way if the Choice
groups affected
motivated purely by equity? action affected you?
by it?
self-interest?
Sources: Based on G. F. Cavanaugh, D. J. Mobert, and M. Valasques, “The Ethics of Organizational Politics, “Academy of Management Journal,
(June 1981), pp. 363–374; and Stephen P. Robbins, Organizational Behavior, 8th ed. (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1998), p. 422.
whether or not the leader actually withholds the resources. Partly in response to
pressures from the courts, many organizations are developing policies and pro-
cedures that protect individuals from sexual harassment on the job and offer
mechanisms for reporting complaints. Sexual harassment is not just unethical, it
is illegal, and it is a clear abuse of power.
However, there are many other situations in organizations that are not so
clear-cut, and leaders may sometimes have difficulty differentiating ethical from

unethical uses of power and politics. Exhibit 12.7 summarizes some
Action Memo
criteria that can guide ethical actions. First and foremost is the ques-
tion of whether the action is motivated by self-interest or whether
As a leader, you can be ethical in your use
it is consistent with the organization’s goals. One Internet company
of power and politics. You can build long-
has a rule that any employee can be terminated for a political act that
term productive relationships to achieve
is in the individual’s own self-interest rather than in the interest of the
or organization.
important goals and benefi t the entire team
company, or that harms another person in the organization. Once a
74
leader answers this primary question, there are several other questions

that can help determine whether a potential influence action is ethical,
including whether it respects the rights of individuals and groups af-
fected by it, whether it meets the standards of fairness, and whether the leader
would want others to behave in the same way. If a leader answers these questions
honestly, they can serve as a guide to whether an intended act is ethical.
In the complex world of organizations, there will always be situations that

are difficult to interpret. The most important point is for leaders to be aware of
the ethical responsibilities of having power and take care to use their power to
help rather than harm others. Leaders should think not in terms of getting their
own way, but rather in terms of building long-term productive relationships that
can achieve goals and benefi t the entire organization.

Summary and Interpretation

This chapter looked at how leaders use power and political processes to get things
done. Power and politics are an important, though often hidden, part of all or-
ganizations. Two leadership styles that rely strongly on a leader’s personal char-
acteristics as a source of power are transformational and charismatic leadership.
Charismatic leaders have an emotional impact on people by appealing to both
the heart and mind. They create an atmosphere of change, articulate an idealized
vision of the future, inspire faith and hope, and frequently incur personal risks

to influence followers. Charisma can be used to benefit organizations and society,
but it can also be dangerous. Transformational leaders also create an atmosphere
of change, and they inspire followers not just to follow them personally but to