Leadership and ethics : a comparative study of leader moral values and organizational culture

Abstract

As corporate and government organizations move into the 21st Century, they face an environment of growing complexity. However, despite a number of recent and highly visible scandals, the moral and ethical culture associated with contemporary organizational life is not often discussed in either the academic literature or in the popular managerial writings. The intent of this thesis is to examine the challenge I believe moral relativism poses to older ethical tradition based on a belief in and commitment to absolute moral standards. This thesis discusses the moral values espoused and practiced by organizational leaders. My methods include reviewing several literatures, conducting interviews and building formal models. All serve the goal of examining the moral fabric (or lack thereof) that stands behind the actions of organizational leaders. In the end, recommendations are made for strengthening the ethics and moral competency of all organizational members.