Laura Carasimu YesterdayOct 7 at 5:09pmManage Discussion Entry Moral leadership, as with leadership in general, does not have a widely accepted definition. Derived from the Latin term mores , morality...

Laura Carasimu

Moral leadership, as with leadership in general, does not have a widely accepted definition. Derived from the Latin termmores, morality refers to one’s character, customs and habits (Rhode, 2006). Rhode maintains that to be moral and ethical both imply that one’s doings are right and just (2006). On a grander scale, leadership itself carries numerous definitions distinguished by type, such as transactional, transformational, or values-based.

In current events, we are watching the case of Elizabeth Holmes, founder of the start-up Theranos. There are major ethical and moral concerns in this case, where Holmes is under investigation for fraud after allegedly selling ineffective blood tests. The $9 billion empire collapsed, and the former business and tech prodigy could face up to 20 years in jail (Griffith, 2021). What is noteworthy is that ethical business practices were put in place to reduce criminal activity, but there is no evidence that supports these outcomes (Rhode, 2006). Instead, companies operate in ways that favor optics over business practices. Without a background in ethics, students and leaders alike are ill-prepared for a future in the business world. Morality and ethics impact business practices, operations, financial health, and productivity (Hartman et al., 2021). Psychology is a contributing factor to how ethically businesses will operate. In the case of U.S. v Elizabeth Holmes, investors were won over by Holmes’ use of persuasion and negotiation. She vision was compelling and she sold her company’s purpose using an emotional appeal. The pieces of the story that were perplexing or suspicious were equally intriguing.

Guidelines are in place to prevent malpractice and poor behaviors, but when the guidelines exist only to protect top management, they will fail as employees do not abide by them (Rhode, 2006). Guidelines offer the minimum necessary expected behaviors, such as promoting culture that supports ethical decision-making, and commit to complying with the law. These elements were not evident at Theranos, as employees were not incentivized to act ethically, and were knowingly non-compliant with moral and ethical behaviors (Rhode, 2006).

References

Rhode, D. L. (2006).Moral leadership: The theory and practice of power, judgment, and policy. John Wiley & Sons.

Griffith, E. (2021, October 6). Key takeaways from the fifth week of the Elizabeth Holmes trial.New York Times.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/06/technology/elizabeth-holmes-theranos-trial.html(Links to an external site.)

Hartman, L. P., DesJardins, J. R., & MacDonald, C. (2021).Business ethics: Decision-making for personal integrity & social responsibility(5th ed.). McGraw-Hill.

Katie Hawkes

Rhode (2006) discusses the evolution of moral leadership, from the middle ages up through more modern crises (e.g. Watergate, Enron) (p. 1). I agree with their assessment that many leadership materials are “littered with vacuous platitudes and self-serving anecdotes'' (Rhode, 2006, p. 3). Often when I read leadership books I think they could be distilled into a few short bullet points, but the authors bloviated simple concepts into fancy catch phrases with long-winded support. I also agree that morality can be relative and subjective, but not fully so -- there are some basic values that are simply right or wrong (e.g. how we treat other people). I do recognize that my views are of course, like anyone’s, informed by my culture and upbringing. It baffles me in workplaces the way some people are comfortable lording power over others or taking credit for work that isn’t theirs -- I have a difficult time reconciling that as simply subjective morality. I appreciate Rhode’s points regarding the determination and proliferation of organizational values as the most important thing leaders need to achieve and model.

Facebook has been in the news recently after a whistleblower reported that the company knew of clear harms its platform caused and chose not to do anything. This isn’t the first time Facebook has caught fire for similar incidents. Three elements from Rhode’s analysis stand out that can be applied here:

1. 
   The tendency to distrust public leaders, but view your own as an exception(p. 12). Having worked at tech companies for many years, I’ve seen firsthand the way people turn a blind eye to the ethics of their leaders and get caught up in a version of hero worship. Many people at Facebook may admit that their company is imperfect but stop short of believing that Mark Zuckerberg or others are acting immorally. And when you're compensated well by your employer, you're even less incentivized to view them negatively.
   
   


2. 
   The wide gap between an organization’s professed ethical commitments and actual practices(p. 13). Facebook’s workplace values include Be Open and Build Social Value, both of which they constantly contradict (Facebook, 2021, para. 4).


3. 
   The public bears the brunt of the consequences when businesses make decisions only advantageous to themselves(p. 14). Facebook has been implicated in damaging misinformation regarding U.S. elections and COVID-19. The recent whistleblower “told Congress that Facebook consistently chose to maximize its growth rather than implement safeguards on its platforms...and when outside researchers and lawmakers asked how Facebook affected the health and safety of children, the company was never forthcoming” (Allyn, 2021, para. 8).

Considering the documented power of Facebook’s products, I believe they have a social responsibility to prioritize users’ health and safety over profits. Hartman et al.’s definition of social ethics is one I ascribe deeply to, which is whether businesses “have a responsibility to the greater society” when “making decisions that will have an impact on many people other than the individual decision maker” (Hartman et al., 2021, p. 21). I ascribe deeply in the sense that, yes, businesses do have this responsibility to their consumers.

References

Allyn, B. (2021). Here are 4 key points from the Facebook whistleblower's testimony on Capitol Hill. NPR.https://www.npr.org/2021/10/05/1043377310/facebook-whistleblower-frances-haugen-congress(Links to an external site.)

Facebook (2021). Facebook Life.Facebook Careers.Retrieved fromhttps://www.facebook.com/careers/facebook-life/(Links to an external site.)

Hartman, L. P., DesJardins, J. R., & MacDonald, C. (2021).Business ethics: Decision-making for personal integrity & social responsibility (5th ed.).McGraw-Hill.

Rhode, D. L. (Ed.). (2006).Moral leadership: The theory and practice of power, judgment, and policy. John Wiley & Sons.