A Reflection of Our Learning
The
Leadership Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility course expanded my perspective
on ethics in every sense and scope. Initially I thought ethics in leadership
was either covering a more philosophical approach, or covered legislation
related to the corporate world. I got to learn that there is no definite answer
for any of the ethical issues, neither a right nor wrong answer. Instead,
ethical analysis involves the process of critical thinking and the ability to
choose what is less harmful overall taking in consideration a deep and thorough
thinking process, from the individual to the societal level (Nosich, 2012;
LaFollette, 2007).
One
key lesson I have learnt is that having choices is not necessarily a positive
aspect in the decision-making process. The train dilemma studied at the begging
of the course made me think about the impact that alternatives have on the
quality of our decisions. Choices can blind and freeze us. The challenge is
often increased when the amount of options is increased, because the ethical
issue is not only faced on the consequences of our decisions, but on our
decision itself. Often, when it comes to alternatives in complex and sensitive
situations, less is more.
Another
lesson from the course is based on Kramer’s (2003) article “The Harder They Fall”. The author
defends that the higher one climbs, the harder can be (not necessarily is) the
fall. This statement has no correlation with risk taking, neither neglect the
importance of ambitiousness in the societal, corporate and personal success. It
simply alerts the precautions necessary to climb safely to the top and know
your grounds when you are there. Blind ambition, aversion for rules and for
failure, the prioritization of efficiency over effectiveness, and the down and
upward omission to unethical behaviors can lead a individual (as follower and
leader), a corporation and even an entire society to drastic and almost
irreversible collapse.
Last, but not least, my
key take-away from the course is the importance of formally teaching (or
touching base on) ethics from a very early age to the highest degrees. The
impact the educational institutions have in our behavior is powerful and can be
drastic. Including ethics in school and universities can be a challenge but if
it involves the inclusion of professionals (in philosophy, psychology, public
science, etc.) in the course development, linking the materials with real and
ordinary case studies, it can create fruitful impacts (Pavlo, 2014; Podolny,
2009; UW, 2015).
These three examples
expanded my views in the individual, professional and societal level, as mentioned,
as they illustrate situation on every scope. The presence of ethics in our
everyday life, and the ethical impact of our small actions on ordinary daily
situations stroke me. I have learnt that I face more ethical issues that I have
ever thought. Every single word that comes out from my mouth and every small
decision I make can gratefully or drastically impact individuals, my
organization and even society as we are all part of it.
References
Kramer,
R. M. (2003). The Harder They Fall. Harvard Business Review, 81(10),
58-66.
LaFollette
(2007). The Practice of Ethics. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing
Nosich, G. M. (2012). Learning to think things
through: A guide to critical thinking across the curriculum (4th edition).
Boston, MA: Pearson
Pavlo, W. (2014, January 13). An MBA's Thoughts On
Being Taught Ethics. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/walterpavlo/2014/01/13/an-mbas-thoughts-on-being-taught-ethics/#6e7d36476c26
Podolny, J. M. (2009). The
Buck Stops (and Starts) at Business School. Harvard Business Review,
86(6), 62-67.
UW Philosophy for Children (2015). Philosophical
Children. Retrieved from https://vimeo.com/136588083
No comments:
Post a Comment