Leadership, Individual Value
Awareness, and Business Ethics
Scott N. Taylor, PhD
Assistant Professor of Organizational Behavior
Anderson School of Management
University of New Mexico
What is a Value?
• An enduring belief
• Principle-based beliefs and desires about how
things should be accomplished
• Beliefs that influence every aspect of our lives,
including moral judgments, responses to others,
and commitment to goals
• Beliefs that serve as guides to action
Why Consider Value Awareness with
Business Ethics?
• Value awareness has been connected to moral
reasoning capability
• People expect leaders to speak out on matters
of values and conscience, but to do so, you must
know what you stand for
Values Tested
•
“During World War II, James E. Faust, then a young enlisted man in the United States
Army, applied for officer candidate school. He appeared before a board of inquiry
composed of what he described as ‘hard-bitten career soldier[s].’ After a while their
questions turned to matters of religion. The final questions were these:
–
“In times of war should not the moral code be relaxed? Does not the stress of battle justify men
in doing things that they would not do when at home under normal situations?”
•
Faust relates: “I recognized that here was a chance perhaps to make some points and
look broad-minded. I knew perfectly well that the men who were asking me this
question did not live by the standards that I had been taught. The thought flashed
through my mind that perhaps I could say that I had my own beliefs but did not wish to
impose them on others.”
•
How would you respond to the board of inquiry?
My Values Exercise
Come to the white board and list your top
five values.
If any of your values have already been listed
on the board, simply place a check mark
beside them.
Values
• Basic convictions or beliefs about what is right, good,
and/or desirable
• May be instrumental or terminal
• Are relatively stable and enduring
• Important because they influence both attitudes and
behavior
Values
• Where do values originate?
– Genetics
– Parents (and other family members)
– Teachers
– Friends
– National culture
– Other
Exercise
1.
Take out a sheet of paper and draw a line down the
middle.
2.
On the left side of the page write, “Great Leader/Manager”
3.
Think of someone who you consider to be a great boss or
leader, then list words or phrases that describe that
person (his/her impact on you and others)
4.
Now on the right side of the page, write, “Lousy
Leader/Manager”
5.
Think of someone who you consider to be a lousy boss or
leader, then list words or phrases that describe that
person
Great Leader/Deficient Leader
Characteristics of
Great Leader
Characteristics of
Deficient Leader
Small Group Exercise:
What Makes a Difference?
• In a group of about 3 or 4, discuss those
differences you noted in your comparison.
• What similarities, themes, or patterns emerge
from your analyses?
• Be prepared to report the three most important
themes, patterns, or similarities.
Questions about Values
1. What factors have influenced your values?
2. How can you tell if someone is true to the
values they espouse to believe in?
3. In your view, how important is it to be true to
one’s values?
Values: A Closer Look
• “Values are fundamental principles that guide our lives and
serve as standards for our conduct. Some independently
choose values for themselves and others allow their
environment to choose their values for them.”
• Do my values change?
– What we value develops from “relatively simple, immature states
toward more complex, wider ranging, more balanced states.”
– What is fundamentally important to us may not shift as much as why
and how much it is important to us.
Values: A Closer Look
• Why pay attention to my values?
– “If our values are continually before us, we are more
likely to think before we act.”
– “We can choose our actions based on principle
instead of reacting to our emotions and
circumstances.”
– “It is easier to be congruent when we are clear about
our values.”
– “Practice of values builds a wall of safety”
Benjamin Franklin on Values
• “We stand at the crossroads, each minute, each hour, each
day, making choices. We choose the thoughts we allow
ourselves to think, the passions we allow ourselves to feel,
and the actions we allow ourselves to perform. Each
choice is made in the context of whatever value system
we’ve selected to govern our lives. In selecting that value
system, we are, in a very real way, making the most
important choice we will ever make…Since the foundation
of all happiness is thinking rightly, and since correct action
is dependent on correct opinion, we cannot be too careful
in choosing the value system we allow to govern our
thoughts and actions.”
Values: Reflection questions
• To what degree do you feel you are living up to
the values and ideals that are important to you?
• Why is it important to understand our values as
we think about leadership?
– Helps us determine if we are living the way we want
to live
– Helps us determine how we compare to the values of
others and of organizations
• How do personal values relate to business
ethics?
Would You Want to Work for This
Company?
Vision: [Our] vision is to become the world’s leading…company—creating
innovative and efficient …solutions for growing economies and a better
environment worldwide.
•
Respect
– We treat others as we would like to be treated ourselves. We do not tolerate
abusive or disrespectful treatment. Ruthlessness, callousness and arrogance
don’t belong here.
•
Integrity
– We work with customers and prospects openly, honestly and sincerely. When
we say we will do something, we will do it; when we say we cannot or will not do
something, then we won’t do it.
•
Communication
– We have an obligation to communicate. Here, we take the time to talk with one
another…and to listen. We believe that information is meant to move and that
information moves people
•
Excellence
– We are satisfied with nothing less than the very best in everything we do. We
will continue to raise the bar for everyone. The great fun here will be for all of us
to discover just how good we can really be.
Video: Bill George at Medtronic
William George is the former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Medtronic. He
joined Medtronic in 1989 as President and Chief Operating Officer, and was elected Chief
Executive Officer in 1991, serving in that capacity through 2001. He was Chairman of the
Board from 1996 to 2002. Under his leadership, Medtronic's market capitalization grew
from $1.1 billion to $60 billion, averaging 35% a year.
Questions to Consider:
1. What are William George’s values?
2. Do you believe his values have
impacted others? If so, how?
Video: Jim Goodnight at SAS
Questions to Consider:
1.
What does he value?
2.
How do his values influence his
leadership decisions?
3.
How might his values and leadership
guide him when facing ethical
dilemmas?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvsIcwHavOs
A Leader’s Key Value
• During the critical days of WWII, Winston Churchill
aroused an entire nation when he said:
– “You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word: victory. Victory
at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory, however long and
hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival”
• You ask, what is the aim of a leader? I can answer
with one word: Integrity. Integrity at all costs,
integrity in spite of all opposition, integrity however
long and hard the road; for without integrity there
can be no true victory.
The Disconnect Between Values
Awareness and Leader Behavior
When leaders ignore selfawareness—including personal
value awareness—they become
more likely to self-deceive, selfbetray, and act contrary to ethical
standards.
Values that Matter to Leadership
• Middle managers can detect their CEOs' values
• CEOs' values may either enhance or accentuate the effect
of transformational behaviors on followers, depending on
followers' reactions to the congruence or incongruence
between leaders' internal values and their outward
transformational behaviors.
• Self-enhancement values—focusing on the leader's own
happiness—accentuate the effect, whereas selftranscendent values—focusing on others' happiness—
accentuate the effect of CEOs' transformational behaviors
on followers' commitment.
Implications
• What implications does what we have
discussed have for you?
– Now?
– In the future?
• What key action steps and/or
commitments do you want to make based
on what we have discussed?