Discussion Questions and Exercises

  1. Define ethics as it is covered in this chapter. Describe the two domains of ethical theory covered in the text and Table 13.1.
  2. How is moral development related to ethical leadership?
  3. How does a person move from one stage of moral development to another?
  4. Distinguish between the three theoretical approaches in Figure 13.1. Which comes closest to your view of ethical leadership?
  5. Distinguish/describe the differences between Heifetz’s and Burns’s perspectives on leadership. Choose the one that you think is most valuable and explain why.
  6. What workplace outcomes are related to destructive leadership?
  7. What is the difference between conformers and colluders?
  8. How can an organizational environment become conducive to destructive leadership? Relate this idea to your reading on the Psychodynamic Approach.
  9. Define and describe the principles of ethical leadership. Which two of the five covered in this chapter do you think are the most important? Why?
  10. Complete the Perceived Leader Integrity Scale. Based on the assessed scoring of your supervisor, do you agree with the measure? Give examples to support your assessment.
  11. Complete Case studies 13.1 and 13.2 and answer the questions that follow the case studies.
  12. How are ethical leaders different from charismatic or transformational leaders?
  13. Are ethics caught or taught? What is the best way to teach ethics? What are the challenges? What would you include in an ethics curriculum?
  14. What are some of the ethical issues students face? Does your university have a formal honor code for students? Why or why not? How do students on your campus learn about academic integrity?
  15. For students who have traveled outside the United States, have they observed any differences in ethical behavior among people in other countries (e.g., respect for people, serving others, and building community)?
  16. Do Millennial students agree with the characterization of their generation as being more individualistic than prior generations? Do they see work as less central to their lives and identities? Do they highly value extrinsic rewards?