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Ethics and Leadership

Ethics—whether it is business ethics, health information management (HIM) ethics, healthcare ethics, or leadership ethics—are based on the same fundamental principles of distinguishing between right or wrong, or good and evil in relation to people’s actions, decisions, and character (Ciulla 2014). Ethics always involves a relationship with others. This relationship includes protecting the rights and satisfying the needs of an individual balanced against the needs and rights of others (Gini and Green 2014). For example, the leader may be in the position of making a decision where he or she must balance protecting and satisfying his or her own needs with the needs of others. Or the leader may be faced with taking an action where the rights and needs of a specific individual must be balanced against those of another person or a group of people. Whatever the situation, the leader must distinguish between right or wrong in relation to his or her actions, decisions, and values.

This chapter focuses on these ethical principles as they relate to leadership, provides a brief overview of classic ethical theories, and then introduces two different perspectives about how ethics is applied to leadership. The first is the construct of ethical leadership, describing what leaders do from a social science perspective. This view contends that ethical leaders are moral persons and moral managers. The second perspective is leadership ethics and, based in philosophy, describes what leaders should do when making decisions, taking action, and making choices, not what they do. Leadership ethics is an applied field of ethics that looks at the ethical challenges of leaders, followers, and leadership. This perspective asserts that ethics applied to leadership includes being a moral person, a moral manager, and an effective leader.

Ethical Theories

To understand how ethics is applied in leadership, it is important to know the classic and modern ethical theories that form the foundation of the study of ethics. Ethical theories are not a step-by-step explanation of how to make ethical decisions or behave in an ethical manner. Rather, they are a set of statements that define a concept and help people know the proper way of determining right or wrong. There are many ethical theories, such as utilitarian theory, Kantian ethics (deontological ethics), virtue ethics, gender theory, justice theory, rights theory, and egotism. A discussion of all of these is beyond the scope of this chapter. The following sections highlight utilitarian, Kantian, and virtue ethics theories—the three major theoretical approaches in normative ethics, a branch of ethics that seeks to determine what actions are right or wrong or which character traits are good or bad.

Utilitarian Theory

The utilitarian theory of ethics postulates that decisions about right or wrong should be based on the consequence of the decision and whether the consequence is useful in helping the greatest number of people or maximizing human welfare. In utilitarian theory, the interests of one individual do not supersede the interests of another. For example, the interests of the child, parent, or friend of decision maker do not outweigh the interests of any another person.

The utilitarian theory is often used in healthcare for justifying medical confidentiality. If patients are not assured that their medical information will be kept confidential, then as a group they may be less likely to seek medical care or share important medical information with providers. Having appropriate controls in place to ensure confidentiality will maximize the welfare of the greatest number of people because they will seek medical care (Jones 2003).

The consequences of moral decisions cannot always be accurately predicted because decisions are usually based on inherently imperfect or incomplete information. Therefore, accurately predicting the results of an action in all circumstances is difficult, if not impossible. One challenge to utilitarian theory is whether there are individual rights that cannot be overridden by the goal to achieve the best outcome for the most people. For example, are individual rights to freedom, pursuit of happiness, and privacy ever outweighed by the goal to achieve the best for the most people? For instance, HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) privacy regulations allow health professionals to communicate with law enforcement when the patient presents a serious or imminent danger to others. In this case the individual right to privacy is outweighed by what is best for society.

Kantian Theory

Kantian theory is one of the most cited rule-based ethical theories founded on an individual’s duty or obligation. This type of theory is called deontological, from the Greek word deon meaning one’s duty. Kantian theory proposes that decisions about what is right or wrong should be based on reasoning using rules, rather than based on reasoning that considers the consequences of decisions like the utilitarian theory. In Kantian theory, an individual’s reasoning is guided by these rules, called maxims, that he or she believes and follows when making decisions and taking action. If an individual believes a rule to be true, he or she must apply the rule universally to everyone without exclusion. This is often referred to as a type of universal Golden-Rule analysis. But unlike the Golden Rule that is based on self-interest (treat others as you would treat yourself), Kantian ethics requires that a maxim is followed without consideration of self-interest. In other words, an individual may not do anything he or she would not allow everyone else to do. Kantian ethics is based on several formulations and principles. Three of these—universal rules, duty and respect, and respect for persons—are examined next.

Universal Rules

To be considered a universal rule, the rule must follow two criteria. The first criteria is the rule must be applied to everyone without exception. Consider Bella, for example, who believes the rule that “people must always keep the promises they make.” If Bella believes that all promises made to her must be kept, then she must also accept that it is wrong for her to break any promises she makes to others. In other words, the rule is applied to everyone without exception.

The second criteria is that a universal rule can be applied without a contradiction or inconsistency occurring. For example, if Bart believes it is okay for him to break promises, then the rule must be applied to everyone else and Bart must accept that everyone can break promises made to him. If everyone can break promises, then promises would have no value in society and the practice of making promises would cease to exist. This contradiction makes it impossible to hold the universality of the rule that it is acceptable to break promises.

Duty and Respect

Kantian theory holds that ethical behavior is based on following a universal rule out of duty or obligation. Right or wrong action is determined by a duty, obligation, or law to follow universal rules. For example, Christy believes that contributing to society by paying taxes is a moral action (the right thing to do). Whether or not Christy is considered ethical or moral, however, depends on her intent or motivation in following the rule. For instance, “I pay taxes because it is my duty,” demonstrates that Christy’s motivation is based on a duty or obligation. Therefore she is judged as morally worthy (ethical). If her motivation is based on emotions or desires, such as “I pay taxes because I do not want to be punished,” then she is considered morally unworthy (unethical).

Respect for Persons

A major premise of Kantian theory is that people have an absolute value and therefore cannot be treated as a means to an end. Everyone is obligated to act in ways that respect people’s moral rights such as the right to dignity, right to autonomy, and the right to safety, among others. Thus, individuals should never be used unjustifiably or manipulated to achieve an outcome. For instance, Jan works as a systems analyst in the clinical laboratory department. She repeatedly manipulates her co-workers with passive aggressive behavior. She consistently is late to team meetings or does not show up for them and she promises to meet deadlines but fails to do so. Due to her tardiness and lack of preparation, she manipulates her co-workers to pick up the slack so that the team’s project timelines are met.

Virtue Ethics Theory

Contemporary virtue ethics theory is founded in the work of Aristotle who advocated that ethical virtues (such as courage, temperance, and honesty) and intellectual virtues (such as wisdom) were necessary for a happy or flourishing life. Virtue ethics emphasizes virtues or the moral character of an individual. Unlike utilitarian and Kantian theories that emphasize what people should do, virtue ethics focuses on what people should be.

Virtue ethics is based on the premise that there are certain ideals all people should strive to embrace that allow them to fulfill their human potential and thrive in life. There is no definitive list of virtues. The Values in Action (VIA) assessment, for example (chapter 1), identifies the six virtues of wisdom, courage, humanity, justice, temperance, and transcendence that are applied through the practice of 24 character strengths. Aristotle, on the other hand, identified 12 virtues and various religions and others offer different perspectives on what ideals people should strive to embrace.

Just as athletes and musicians improve their skills through practice, as people practice and develop their virtues they become habits that define an individual’s character. Virtue ethics asserts that people who are virtuous are disposed to act in an ethical way. However, virtues can be overused or applied with too much intensity or in the wrong situation. For example, courageous people may make reckless decisions resulting in negative consequences because they have not fully considered the potential risks of their actions. Or they may seek to engage in increasingly risky behaviors because of the adrenaline rush they get from such activities. In situations of overuse or misuse, the individual is lacking or under-using other virtues. In the case of high risk-taking, an individual is not exercising the virtue of wisdom or knowledge. To engage in ethical practice people must apply virtues appropriately in any given situation.

Applying Ethical Theories

Given the number of ethical theories, how are they applied in the real world? Is one theory better than another? Many philosophers have concluded that it is a mistake to view any one ethical theory in isolation of others or as mutually exclusive. Rather, each theory should be viewed as a contribution to a comprehensive ethical vision (Glover 2017). Ethical theories are not absolute. Instead they should be used to guide people in making moral decisions. The following scenario shows how one might approach a moral decision using utilitarian, Kantian, and virtue ethics theories.

Laurie is the director of a nonprofit healthcare foundation located in the northern part of the United States. The foundation focuses its efforts on providing grant funding to other nonprofit healthcare organizations that specialize in providing healthcare services to senior adult populations in a four-county area. The nonprofit also provides assistance with business plan development, collaborative marketing, as well as workshops and seminars on topics of various interests to these nonprofit organizations. Recently there was a natural disaster that affected a large portion of the southeastern part of the country. Laurie asked the board of directors of the nonprofit group if they should consider donating some of their services and providing grants to senior healthcare nonprofits that were struggling with recovery from this natural disaster. Offering such services would normally be considered outside the scope of the mission of Laurie’s organization. How might the board of directors make a decision about offering support to these nonprofits that were affected by the natural disaster?

•Applying the utilitarian theory, the board of directors would consider the consequences of their actions and ask the question, “Would providing services maximize helping the greatest number of people?” In determining if they should provide assistance, the nonprofit would weigh the interests of its own constituency against the interest of those living in the affected area to determine the best possible outcome for the greatest number of people. The board may determine that providing assistance may be an inconvenience to its local group for a short period of time, but the effects of providing services to the struggling nonprofits in the southeast would better maximize help to the greatest number of people.

•Applying the Kantian theory, the board of directors should hold the maxim that helping others in distress is a duty and must be applied universally, without exception, to everyone.

•Applying virtue ethics, the board of directors may determine that providing assistance would exemplify the virtue of humanity.

Ethical Leadership

Ethical leadership is defined as “the demonstration of normatively appropriate conduct through personal actions and interpersonal relations, and the promotion of such conduct to followers through two-way communication, reinforcement, and decision making,” (Brown et al. 2005, 120). The ethical leader engages in behavior that is considered normatively appropriate. Normatively appropriate in ethical leadership means that leaders do the following:

•Treat others with respect, do not have favorites, and make fair choices (fairness).

•Allow input from subordinates, listen to their input, and allow them to share in decision making on issues that concern their tasks (listen).

•Clarify expectations and communicate openly so followers understand what is desired and expected of them (role clarification). (Kalshoven and Den Hartog 2009, 104)

The dimensions and benefits of ethical leadership are described in the following sections.

Applying Ethical Theories

•Applying the Kantian theory, the board of directors should hold the maxim that helping others in distress is a duty and must be applied universally, without exception, to everyone.

•Applying virtue ethics, the board of directors may determine that providing assistance would exemplify the virtue of humanity.

Ethical Leadership

•Treat others with respect, do not have favorites, and make fair choices (fairness).

•Allow input from subordinates, listen to their input, and allow them to share in decision making on issues that concern their tasks (listen).

•Clarify expectations and communicate openly so followers understand what is desired and expected of them (role clarification). (Kalshoven and Den Hartog 2009, 104)

The dimensions and benefits of ethical leadership are described in the following sections.

Dimensions of Ethical Leadership

Ethical leadership has two dimensions that include the ethical leader as a moral person and a moral manager. As moral persons, ethical leaders are characterized by demonstrating specific characteristics in both their personal and professional lives. These characteristics include

•Honesty and trustworthiness

•Fairness and principled decision making

•Altruism (care about people and society) (Brown and Trevino 2006)

As moral managers, ethical leaders influence the ethical behavior of their followers. They expect their followers to behave ethically and communicate these expectations through role modeling, written and oral communications, and codes of ethics. They reinforce these expectations through rewards and discipline and hold followers accountable for their behavior (Brown and Trevino 2006). For instance, Joanne, a coding manager at a midsize community hospital had copies of the AHIMA Standards for Ethical Coding printed and laminated on cards for each of her coding staff. Fifteen minutes of each weekly virtual coding staff meeting that Joanne facilitates is devoted to discussing an example of how to apply one of the ethical standards. Joanne’s leadership behavior is one example of a moral manager who communicates ethical expectations by not only providing a code of ethics, but in actively engaging her staff in discussions of ethical issues.

Researchers suggest that certain traits are more closely aligned with ethical leadership than others (Brown and Trevino 2006). The strongest of these is agreeableness, which is the tendency to be trusting, kind, and cooperative. Leaders who exhibit these qualities have been shown to be more effective as role models because they attract and maintain the attention of followers better than those who are not as agreeable (Brown and Trevino 2006). For example, Chet is the privacy officer at a critical access hospital. Chet works directly with several functional managers in other departments such as health information management, risk and compliance management, business office, clinical documentation improvement, and patient registration and admissions, and has gained the reputation for being energetic and an effective problem solver. What his associates appreciate about Chet is his willingness to listen to them and trust their opinions, share information with them, and his consistent practice of looking for alternatives to problems that will benefit the most people in the organization. Chet’s associates know that he has no hidden agendas. Chet’s cooperativeness and trust inspires his associates to assume these behaviors and make the hospital a trusting and respectful place to work.

The second characteristic is conscientiousness. Leaders who are conscientious exercise more self-control, are more dependable, and are more organized than those who are not conscientious (Brown and Trevino 2006). Leaders with these qualities are more likely to set clear standards and principles and apply them to themselves and their followers. Jackie, for instance, is a registered health information administrator (RHIA) and the chief financial officer (CFO) for her healthcare organization. Jackie has a long to-do list, but makes sure that it is organized from highest to lowest priorities. Each evening before leaving work, Jackie reviews her to-do list and examines whether or not she needs to makes changes in priorities for the next day in response to changes in circumstances. Jackie’s cardinal rule is she will not commit to additional assignments or add to her to-do list if she believes she cannot meet time or quality requirements. Jackie’s tenacity in keeping her to-do list well-managed and balanced has given her the reputation among her peers and followers as a person who makes and keeps commitments.

Finally, ethical leaders have low neuroticism. This means they are less likely to exhibit negative emotions such as a grandiose sense of self-importance, anger, fear, and anxiety, and are unlikely to be hostile to others. Therefore, ethical leaders are able to develop and maintain positive relationships (Brown and Trevino 2006).

Benefits of Ethical Leadership

Several positive outcomes are the result of ethical leadership due to the leader role modeling ethical behaviors, maintaining fair and caring relationships with employees, and expecting employee ethical conduct, ethical decision making, and accountability. Employees of ethical leaders are

•Likely to engage in ethical conduct such as honesty, trustworthiness, and respecting others

•Likely to make decisions based on ethical theory rather than on self-interests. This could include weighing the consequences of decisions, following a duty or obligation to do good, or embracing a specific virtue

•Likely to hold themselves and others accountable for ethical conduct

•Likely to demonstrate prosocial behaviors such as trust, gratitude, and commitment

•Less likely to engage in counterproductive and negative behaviors

•Likely to exhibit satisfaction and motivation (Brown and Trevino 2006)

A central part of leadership defined in this book is that leaders act in ways that motivate their followers to embrace ethical behaviors. When leaders set the example for ethical behavior their followers are likely to respond in a reciprocal manner by acting ethically themselves. The benefits of ethical leadership noted previously have positive consequences for the individual, organization, and ultimately the larger community. For example, when associates trust and respect each other there is less unhealthy conflict. The absence of unhealthy conflict in the workplace has a positive impact on an individual by creating a work environment where the employee exhibits less stress, anxiety, avoidance, and anger. These effects have a further impact on the organization. In a work environment free of unhealthy conflict, there is less employee turnover, decreased employee absences, higher productivity, and greater revenue. Organizations without unhealthy conflict also maintain better reputations and higher customer satisfaction than organizations with such conflict (Buss 2011).

On the other hand, when leaders act unethically, research shows that followers tend to imitate unethical behaviors opposed to followers whose leaders and organizational culture and structure encourage ethical behavior (Bandura 2002). For instance, if leaders engage in bullying and disrespectful behaviors, it is likely that their followers will engage in the same practices with co-workers and customers (Gilbert et al. 2012).

Assess Ethical Leadership Behaviors

Use the questionnaire in table 8.1 to assess how you have practiced ethical leadership behaviors in the past. When answering the questionnaire think about a time when you were in a leadership role.

Table 8.1. Ethical leadership behaviors

Leadership Behaviors Always Frequently Sometimes Infrequently Never

I can be depended upon to complete tasks I promise to do.

I can be trusted to tell the truth.

I listen to others’ ideas.

I ask others for their input.

I set a good example for others.

Leadership Behaviors Always Frequently Sometimes Infrequently Never

Before I make decisions I consider how others’ needs and rights will be affected.

I try to do things in the right way.

I try to do the right thing, thinking about the consequences of my decisions.

I hold my temper when people disagree with me.

I hold other people accountable for their ethical behavior.

I make fair and balanced decisions.

I share my views with others on ethical behavior.

I acknowledge and take responsibility for my mistakes.

I act according to my values.

In tough decision-making situations, I balance my needs and rights with the needs and rights of others.

In tough decision-making situations, I balance the needs and rights of an individual with the needs and rights of others.

This could have been as a leader in a student group or association, team leader for a course project, team leader in a sport or at work, a supervisor or manager, or leading a volunteer or community organization or group. After you have finished the questionnaire answer the questions that follow.

1.Reviewing your answers, what do you observe or notice? What are areas of strength for you? In which areas can you improve?

2.Choose two areas where you can improve and for each one write down what action you can take in the next week to boost your ethical leadership. For example, if you want to improve your listening skills, you could commit to something like the following: “When I am in a discussion with someone, then I will listen to them without interrupting for at least 60 seconds.” Or, “When I am in a discussion with someone, I will listen to them and ask follow-up questions rather than offer my opinion.”

Leadership Ethics

All ethics are concerned with human relationships. Leadership ethics is an applied field of ethics, which means it uses ethical theory in a specific discipline to describe what a person is obligated or permitted to do. Leadership ethics focuses on the relationship between leader and followers and what a leader should do (Ciulla 2014). Among the special characteristics of the leader–follower relationship are power, influence, vision, obligation, and responsibility. The relationship in turn has its own set of ethical challenges. These center around personal challenges such as being authentic, balancing self-interest with the interests of others, and being disciplined, consistent, and executing moral obligations related to justice, duty, competence, and the greatest good (Ciulla 2004). The following sections describe foundational principles of leadership ethics by defining and contrasting good and effective leadership and providing examples of each.

Good Leadership

Leadership ethics incorporates the concept of the good leader. The good leader is both an ethical leader described earlier (moral excellence) and an effective leader (technical excellence). Technical excellence is effectiveness defined by having ethical intentions for bringing about change that is good, and accomplishing change through ethical means. Combining the dimensions of moral and technical excellence offers a more complete perspective of what good leadership should be and surpasses ethical leadership as discussed earlier. Adding effectiveness to the requirements of a good leader is important because a leader can be ethical but not effective. For example, consider a leader who oversees the merger of two companies. The leader demonstrates characteristics of moral excellence by being committed to creating a thriving company that will better benefit the local community; being honest in the merger transactions and fair in decision making; and modeling ethical behaviors for his followers. But three years later the merged company ends in bankruptcy; obviously the goal of a prosperous company has not been met. This individual would not be considered a good leader because while he was an ethical leader, the criteria for technical excellence was not met.

On the other hand, a leader can be effective, but not ethical. For instance, a healthcare administrator effectively meets budget every year and has an excellent relationship with the board of trustees, medical staff, and hospital associates, but takes money in exchange for influencing the decisions of the board of trustees in granting contracts to vendors (bribes). In this case the administrator is effective by meeting budget constraints, but does not rise to the moral excellence standard. So the administrator has not met both the criteria of moral and technical excellence and therefore is not a good leader.

Or consider a healthcare corporate director who receives excellent performance reviews. Previously she had worked for a vendor that provided housekeeping outsourcing services. In her current position she now provides contracts to that vendor without going through a competitive vetting process. While this director is effective given her performance reviews, her practice of awarding outsourcing contracts to her previous employer without performing due diligence is not the ethical practice. Good leaders must not only do things right (technical excellence), they must also do the right thing and for the right reasons (moral excellence).

Examples of good leaders who possessed both the qualities of moral and technical excellence are Martin Luther King, Jr., and Mahatma Gandhi. Both King and Gandhi created change that was good and that supported social justice and the civil rights and interests of others. Their intentions were not motivated by accumulating personal wealth or celebrity, but were focused on creating a common good. And they both accomplished change through nonviolent and ethical means. Thus, one measurement for determining the effectiveness of a good leader is to evaluate the answers to the following questions: What were the leader’s intentions? Was change accomplished? What were the means by which the change was achieved? Was the change good? (Ciulla 2004).

Effective Leadership

An underlying question in leadership ethics is whether or not a leader must always be effective. For example, some leaders act ethically in all circumstances, but because of a convergence of circumstances are sometimes unsuccessful in achieving their goals. Take the chief information officer (CIO) of a healthcare system, for example, who is applauded for her successful installations and upgrades to the electronic health record over the past five years. In a major overhaul of the current system, costing several millions of dollars, the upgrade had to be stopped in the middle of the project because the vendor was significantly behind in delivering specific applications of the product. This caused the system to be delayed for over a year, costing the healthcare system additional millions of dollars, disrupting the efficiency of services, and causing frustration among clinical and administrative personnel. The CIO’s peers and followers deemed her performance as ineffective. In this case, a number of questions should be answered to determine whether the project failure was due to a convergence of circumstances that could not have been foreseen by the CIO or whether the failure was due to not reasonably anticipating the vendor issues. For example, should the CIO have known that the vendor’s promised deliverable was “smoke and mirrors” that was misleading or an exaggeration when she made the decision to purchase the product? Did the CIO use due diligence gathering and assessing information about the vendor in making her decision? Did the CIO appropriately consult with others in the organization before making her decision?

For the most part, leaders make decisions that are risky because the information they use is inherently either incomplete or imperfect. Furthermore, leaders rarely have complete control over all variables that could possibly affect the outcome of their decisions (Ciulla 2004). In this instance, the CIO likely pursued the system upgrade for the right reasons of increasing the safety of patient care and may have done due diligence in gathering and assessing vendor information. The vendor may have had an excellent reputation for delivering its products on time in the past. But the CIO did not have control over the vendor’s internal project management, so failing to achieve results wasn’t necessarily due to the CIO’s ineffectiveness, but to unforeseeable circumstances outside her control. Thus, leaders who act with deliberate care and for the right moral reasons, but who nevertheless fail in achieving results, can be exonerated (Ciulla 2004, 309).

Assessing Good Leadership

Choose two leaders you know personally. They could be your manager, the CEO of the company where you work, a community leader, a minister, a teacher, or anyone you consider to be a leader. Use table 8.2 to determine how each meets criteria for moral and technical excellence. Put a check by each criteria that the leader meets, then answer the questions that follow.

Table 8.2. Assessing good leadership practice

Criteria Leader 1 Leader 2

Moral Excellence

Treats others with respect

Does not show favoritism among subordinates

Makes fair decisions, balancing needs and rights among people

Is trustworthy

Exercises self-control

Follows through with promises

Is a role model for subordinates and others

Is organized

Sets clear expectations for good behavior

Holds people accountable for their behavior

Establishes and maintains positive relationships

Technical Excellence

Successfully implements change in the organization

The change implemented is good

Intention for change is motivated by service to others and common good rather than for greed, power, or celebrity

Uses moral methods to achieve change

1.Examine your results for one of the above leaders. For each criteria the leader has met, provide a specific example of how that person fulfilled the standard. For instance, if you checked the leader is trustworthy provide a brief description of when you have seen his or her trustworthiness. Use the space that follows to give an example of each checked criteria.

2.What observations can you make from your assessment? To what degree can you determine if either leader is a good leader?

3.Do you believe that a leader has to meet all of the listed criteria all the time to be considered a good leader? Why or why not?

Applying Leadership Ethics

Think of a time that you were in a leadership role; it could be a position you currently hold or a previous position such as a team leader, officer in an organization, or other leadership position. Use table 8.3 to determine how you met the criteria for moral and technical excellence. Put a check by each criteria you believe you met and give an example in the third column that explains how you met the criteria. Then answer the questions that follow.

Table 8.3. Applying leadership ethics

Criteria Met Example

Moral Excellence

Treated others with respect

Treated all subordinates and team members the same

Made fair decisions, balancing needs and rights among people

Was trustworthy, could be depended upon to follow through on commitments or tasks

Exercised self-control

Kept promises

Was a role model for subordinates and team members

Organized and prioritized work tasks and commitments

Set clear expectations for positive behavior of subordinates and team members

Held people accountable for their behavior

Established and maintained positive relationships

Technical Excellence

Successfully met the goals of the project or organization

The change implemented was good for the organization

Intention for change was motivated by service to others and common good rather than for greed, power, or celebrity

Used moral methods to achieve change (that is, did not lie, cheat, misrepresent information, and such).

Reviewing the assessment, what are your observations? In which areas can you improve? Write down the areas in which you want to improve in table 8.4 and the actions you will take to do so.

Table 8.4. Actions for improving

Areas for Improving Actions I Will Take to Improve

References

Bandura, A. 2002. Selective moral disengagement in the exercise of moral agency. Journal of Moral Education 31(2):101–119.

Brown, M. and L. Trevino. 2006. Ethical leadership: A review and future directions. The Leadership Quarterly 17:595–616.

Brown, M., L. Trevino, and D. Harrison. 2005. Ethical leadership: A social learning perspective for construct development and testing. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 97:117–134.

Buss, H. 2011. Controlling conflict costs: The business case of conflict management. Journal of the International Ombudsman Association 4(1):54–60.

Ciulla, J., ed. 2014. Introduction. In Ethics, The Heart of Leadership, 3rd ed. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, LLC.

Ciulla, J. 2004. Ethics and Leadership Effectiveness. Chapter 13 in The Nature of Leadership, 1st ed. Edited by Antonakus, J. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.

Gilbert, J., N. Carr-Rufino, J. Ivancevich, and R. Konopaske. 2012. Toxic versus cooperative behaviors at work: The role of organizational culture and leadership in creating community-centered organizations. International Journal of Leadership Studies 7(1):29–47.

Glover, J. 2017. Ethical Decision-Making Guidelines and Tools. Chapter 2 in Ethical Health Informatics: Challenges and Opportunities. Edited by Harman, L. and F. Cornelius. Burlington: Jones and Bartlett Learning.

Gini, A., and A. Green. 2014. Moral Leadership and Business Ethics. Chapter 2 in Ethics, The Heart of Leadership. Edited by Ciulla, J. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, LLC.

Jones, C. 2003. The utilitarian argument for medical confidentiality: A pilot study of patients’ views. Journal of Medical Ethics 29(6):348–352.

Kalshoven, K. and D. Den Hartog. 2009. Ethical leader behavior and leader effectiveness: The role of prototypicality and trust. International Journal of Leadership Studies 5(2):102–119.