Blog 1: Leadership and Ethics
Blog 1: background context
How do you define an ethical leader? What are the challenges to be an ethical leader? What is the impact of having an ethical leader versus an unethical leader upon an organization, the employees and the society in general? Do you agree that ethics would stake an increasingly critical role upon leaders in a changing world? If yes, why and if no, why?
Blog instructions (word count: 1000)
It is recommended that you post your 1st blog by week 6 at wordpress.com to start generating responses. To help you put the right emphasis on this theme you should consider it in 2 parts:
Part 1: Ethical leadership, is defined as "the demonstration of normatively appropriate conduct through personal actions and interpersonal relationships, and the promotion of such conduct to followers through two-way communication, reinforcement and decision-making"… [and]
Part 2: the evidence suggests that ethical leader behavior can have important positive effects on both individual and organizational effectiveness (Rubin et al 2010: 216-17).
Structure: So, having identified the 2 parts to this theme you can now start to structure your response: We are looking for you to introduce the theme, reference the theory, use real examples and conclude using your own words and views, backed up by the theory.
- Part 1: What are the different sides of this debate i.e. the 2 principle areas of ethics? (see Unit 1 for a brief summary) and what model of leadership have you chosen to help to define the complex concept of ethical leadership? What are the challenges to be an ethical leader?
- Part 2: What organizational examples of good and bad ethical behavior from your chosen industry illustrate this debate? Do you agree that ethics would stake an increasingly critical role upon leaders in a changing world? If yes, why and if no, why?
- What are your conclusions from this debate for your understanding of the role of a manager or leader in an industry you are familiar with?
Checklist. After you’ve written your blog, read it to check if you have …….:
1. Made reference to the 2 principle schools of ethics, their benefits and limitations and 1 model of ethical leadership.
2. Critique on challenges posed to an ethical leader
3. Used current real-life industry examples to highlight the impact ethical and non-ethical leadership behavior can have on individual and organizational effectiveness
4. Indicate your response to “Do you agree that ethics would stake an increasingly critical role upon leaders in a changing world? If yes, why and if no, why?”
5. Made recommendations for leaders / managers on how to use knowledge of effective ethical behavior to produce better results.
What you must NOT do. Do not simply gather together a series of quotes from published authors in the hope that this presents your views. Remember Socrates words of wisdom: To believe without evidence and demonstration is an act of ignorance and folly.
Blog 2 - My Development as a Future Leader
Blog 2: background context
What is leadership? Or what is it believed to be? Having followers? Giving out directions and orders? Ensuring that a job, project or task is completed? Setting an example for others to exemplify? “Being ethical?”
Someone in the position of a leader embodies qualities that involves a range of responsibilities, skills and personal traits. Leading in any industry or sector can be seen as a position that requires a particular skillset and mindset.
When considering the role of a leader in an organization setting, one will need to factor in several points and this blog post should show your understanding of these areas.
In this post, you are to present yourself as a good leader and how best to continue on in this manner.
Blog instructions (word count: 1000)
You are to write a blog that details your understanding of your personal and continued growth as a leader. Consider the areas and subjects that have been covered throughout the module (such as cultures in business and nations, principles of management and leadership, team and group dynamics and virtual team environment).
Consider yourself as being a brand. How can this brand be seen as a leader amongst others? Throughout the module you should be taking on leadership roles within your team, leading team activities and flipped learning sessions. Reflecting on your position in these leadership roles, and on the subjects covered in each unit, you are to consider what being a good leader involves and also show how this can be maintained on a consistent basis.
You should show your understanding of what a leader is and make references to relevant frameworks, models and personalities, which have discussed on this subject. You are to include references to the following points to show how you have and how you aim to continue developing your personal leadership qualities and abilities.
In this blog post, you should present how the following points factor into your development as a leader:
1. Assess the qualities and traits that a good leader has, making references to relevant frameworks, theories and personalities who have discussed on this topic. Also relate your experiences, interests and personal traits to what a good leader is in these respective areas. (I.e. consider elements such as your desired career, your chosen employment industry and/or your nation of origin. Reflect on cultural norms in your country/countries of origin(s).
2. Using personal reflection and critical analysis, critique the area(s) of development that you have. (Think about feedback you have received from team members and your awareness of places where you want to improve).
3. Decide on the actions you could take in order to support your growth as a leader.
4. Justify how such steps will help your development as a leader. You should also consider how these developments will be of benefit to the team(s), organization, industry and location that you aim to work in, amongst other relevant factors.
5. Validate how you will support your continued growth as a leader in an increasingly developing and global marketplace.
Understanding the Key Words
In this blog, you are asked to think and write in specific ways as a MBA student. Below are some short explanations about these keywords:
Assess – using more than one source of information about your career, industry and country to come to a conclusion about what is typical or expected and what might be new or unusual about your style of leadership in your respective areas.
Critique – by considering points that have been raised about your leadership style, you should focus on developments that have come to light. (Consider the Belbin’s Team Model and your weekly Team Leader Evaluation sheet).
Decide – with reference to the critical analysis conducted above, select what you will consider and do to encourage your leadership development.
Justify – using your writing skills, explain the reasons why your decisions are reasonable and logical, linked to your overall goal.
Validate – once you have considered your areas for developing as a leader, support your reasons for why and how these encourage continual development of your leadership style and abilities.
Reviewing Your Work
After you have written your blog, read it all the way to the end to check that you have:
1. Used an appropriate portion of theory (or theories) and/or model(s) of leadership that have been studied during this module
2. Included your conclusions about how relevant this is for your career
3. Drawn conclusions about ‘by how much’ you are achieving positive results as a leader from the feedback you have received from your team members. The feedback must be illustrated using actual quotes (anonymized) shared with you by a minimum of team members. We don’t expect you to be 100% perfect
4. Used in text citations throughout your blog to show where your knowledge of leadership and your chosen career comes from
5. Actively engaged with your followers on the WordPress blog. Taken screen shots of the conversations and inserted them into the final word document, which you will submit on SafeAssign in the Blackboard.
References: Please refer to the sources prescribed for this module. You will find them in the reading list.
Note: It is recommended that you post your 2nd blog by week 9 at wordpress.com to start generating responses before you submit your End-Of-Module Submission comprising Blog 1 and Blog 2 through Blackboard, SafeAssign.