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Journal Article 1: Makaroff, K. S., Storch, J., Pauly, B., & Newton, L. (2014). Searching for ethical leadership in nursing. Nursing Ethics, 21, 642–658.

Abstract: Using the analytic strategy of lines-of-argument, we found that 1) ethical nursing leadership must be responsive to practitioners and to the contextual system in which they and formal nurse leaders work, and 2) ethical nursing leadership requires receiving and providing support to increase the capacity to practice and discuss ethics in the day-to-day.

Journal Article 2: Huang, L., & Paterson, T. A. (2014). Group ethical voice: Influence of ethical leadership and impact on ethical performance. Journal of Management. doi:10.1177/0149206314546195

Abstract: Interest in the important role that ethical leaders play in organizations has expanded in recent years because of several high-profile corporate ethical breakdowns and the increased responsibility placed upon corporate leaders as a result. In the present study, we introduce a new outcome of ethical leadership: group ethical voice. We further theorized and tested two mediating mechanisms linking ethical leadership with group ethical voice. Using two field studies and one experimental study, we found support for our assertion that ethical leadership was positively associated with group ethical voice. We also found support for most of our hypothesized mediating mechanisms (ethical culture and group ethical voice efficacy) linking ethical leadership with group ethical voice—except for the indirect effect of upper-level ethical leadership on group ethical voice via group ethical voice efficacy. We further found that group ethical voice positively influenced ethical performance (significant for the sales groups, marginally significant for the customer service groups). Contributions to both ethical leadership and voice literature are discussed along with the limitations of the current study and directions for future research.

Journal Article 3: Fairchild, R. M. (2010). Practical ethical theory for nurses responding to complexity in care. Nursing Ethics, 17, 353–362.

Abstract: In the context of health care system complexity, nurses need responsive leadership and organizational support to maintain intrinsic motivation, moral sensitivity and a caring stance in the delivery of patient care. The current complexity of nurses’ work environment promotes decreases in work motivation and moral satisfaction, thus creating motivational and ethical dissonance in practice. These and other work-related factors increase emotional stress and burnout for nurses, prompting both new and seasoned nurse professionals to leave their current position, or even the profession. This article presents a theoretical conceptual model for professional nurses to review and make sense of the ethical reasoning skills needed to maintain a caring stance in relation to the competing values that must coexist among nurses, health care administrators, patients and families in the context of the complex health care work environments in which nurses are expected to practice. A model, Nurses’ Ethical Reasoning Skills, is presented as a framework for nurses’ thinking through and problem solving ethical issues in clinical practice in the context of complexity in health care.

Journal Article 4: Stefkovich, J., and Begley, P. T. (2007). Ethical school leadership. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 35, 205–224.

Abstract: This article explores the alternate ways ethical school leadership in the best interests of students is conceptualized in the educational leadership literature from several foundational perspectives including philosophy, psychology, critical theory and case law. Perspectives which are grounded solely in theory are differentiated from those grounded in research and practical field applications. An argument is made for the merits of applying multiple ethical perspectives. The findings of existing research on the valuation processes of school principals and their ethical leadership practices are also discussed with a particular focus on their explicit or implicit interpretations of the meaning of `best interests of students'. A genuine regard for student best interests emerges as a major influence on principal leadership practices in two ways: principal valuation processes are heavily oriented towards rational consequentialist orientations; the best interests of students figures prominently as a meta-organizer and ultimate influence on their decision making.