L 7452
Leadership & Ethics
Fall I 2007
INSTRUCTOR:
STAFF
PHONE:
EMAIL:
FAX:
REQUIRED TEXTS:
Leading Quietly: An Unorthodox Guide to Doing
the Right Thing
Author(s) Badaracco, J. L.
Copyright (2002).
Publisher MA: Harvard Business School Press.
1578514878
ISBN
Title
Edition
Title
Author(s)
Copyright
Publisher
ISBN
Edition
This Course Requires the Purchase of a Course Packet:
YES
The Ethics of Leadership
Cuilla, J. B. (Ed.).
(2003).
Thomson/Wadsworth
0155063170
NO
Argosy University
Ed.D Organizational Leadership
COURSE SYLLABUS
L7452
Leadership & Ethics
FACULTY INFORMATION
Faculty Name: STAFF
Campus:
Contact Information:
Office Hours:
Short Faculty Bio:
COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course focuses on theories and models of leadership with special attention to the demonstration of
an understanding, familiarity, awareness, and competency of the principles of ethics and how they apply to decision making,
leadership, leadership development, and value-based leadership.
COURSE PRE-REQUISITES: None
REQUIRED TEXTBOOKS:
Badaracco, J. L. (2002). Leading Quietly: An Unorthodox Guide to Doing the Right Thing
MA: Harvard Business School Press. ISBN: 1578514878
Cuilla, J. B. (Ed.). (2003). The Ethics of Leadership. Thomson/Wadsworth. ISBN: 0155063170
REQUIRED CASES
The following cases are available for purchase and downloading through Harvard Business School Press (www.hbsp.hardvard.edu)
and are required reading for this class:

Martin Marietta—Managing Corporate Ethics (9393016)



Accounting Fraud at WorldCom (104071)
Hitting the Wall: Nike & International Labor Practices (700047)
Martha McCaskey (9403114)
TECHNOLOGY: Pentium III CPU/ Windows 98; 128MB RAM, printer; Microsoft Office Acrobat (full version), Microsoft Internet
Explorer 5.5 (PC) 5.0 (MAC) or Netscape Navigator 4.08. Norton Antivirus.
COURSE LENGTH: 7.5 Weeks
CONTACT HOURS: 45 Hours
CREDIT VALUE: 3.0
PROGRAM OUTCOMES:
1. Leadership in Teams: Given an organizational situation, identify strategies to develop, maintain, motivate, and sustain selfmanaged teams using concepts, theories and techniques of team leadership.
2. Collaboration in Teams: Given a case study or leadership situation, collect, assimilate, disseminate, and maximize the views
of team stakeholders in order to reach defensible goals with minimal conflict.
3. Conflict: Given an organizational situation that requires interpersonal or interdepartmental action, identify situations of
conflict, diagnose the impact of both overt and covert behavior, and develop a plan for conflict resolution using evidence-based
methods.
4. Ethics: Given an organizational setting, identify ethical and dilemma-resolution practices, and make evidence-based decisions
that integrate personal, social, and corporate responsibility.
5. Communication: Communicate orally and in writing to individuals and groups in a concise, clear, organized, and wellsupported manner using formats and technology relevant to the organizational context.
6. Motivation: Given a leadership situation, identify workplace commitment theories to incorporate influences and power as a
leader to motivate organizational stakeholders.
7. Research: Given an organizational need to evaluate and defend its actions or potential actions, select, analyze, and apply the
assessment techniques, research methods, and/or statistical analyses needed to evaluate and defend those actions based on
evidence
8. Knowledge and Understanding of the Field: Demonstrate competency in identifying and integrating the major concepts,
theoretical perspectives, historical trends, and key figures in the field of organizational leadership.
9. Change: Evaluate the impact of change on organizations, organizational members, and other stakeholders and apply
appropriate change models and theories to facilitate successful change.
10. Global diversity: Analyze and evaluate the involvement of diversity in leadership issues, with special attention to the
implications of diversity for individuals, organizations, and societies.
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
By the end of this course, students will be able to do the following:
1. Evaluate leadership responsibility as it relates to ethics, values, and challenges within an organization. (Program outcome(s) 4,
8)
2. Analyze the relationship between motivation and ethical behavior and how it applies to decision making in the
organization.(Program outcome(s) 4, 6)
3. Given several leadership models and theories, apply principles of best practice for leadership development within specific
organizational contexts.(Program Outcome 8)
4. Using specific organizational scenarios, compare and analyze the different ethical decision making practices.(Program Outcome 4,
10)
5. Examine ethical dilemmas, analyze the ethical failures of leadership, and utilize appropriate models for making effective
ethical decisions. (Program outcome(s) 3, 4, 8)
6. Given various frameworks for ethical decision making, apply the concept of ethics to effective leadership, identifying the
differences and interrelationships between values, morals, and ethics, and the characteristics of ethical leadership.(Program
outcome 1, 4, 5)
7. Compare scenarios of value based leadership, discuss principles of good practice along with risks and rewards of ethical and
value based leadership. (Program outcome 8)
ASSIGNMENT TABLE
Week
Module Topics
Readings
Introduction to
Leadership & Ethics
Assigned Articles on
Leadership
Development—to be
determined by faculty
2
Theories of Leadership
Assigned Articles—to be
determined by faculty
3
Ethics in the Workplace
Cuilla: 1
Badaracco: Ch. 1 & 2
1
Assignments
(described in detail below)
1. Prepare a 2 – 4 page paper analyzing a current
ethical dilemma facing organizational leaders
today. What are the primary issues at hand?
What are your assumptions or thoughts about
how such a dilemma occurs? You do not need
to pick a specific organization, leader, or
situation. This is more a generic ethical issue
(e.g., bribery, nepotism, “cooking the books,”
etc)
1. Write a short 3-5 page paper comparing and
contrasting two theories of leadership.
Describe the main themes of each leadership
theory. Which theory would work best in
your organization? Explain.
1. Discuss in class a work experience in which
your professional integrity was challenged.
2. Read case “Accounting Fraud at WorldCom.”
Write a 3-5 page case analysis of what you
see as the major ethical issues facing
WorldCom. Be prepared to discuss the
following questions: What are the
implications of this situation for those in
leadership roles? What would you have done
differently, and why? To what degree does
the context or the environment impact/affect
the handling of the issues at hand?
4
Ethics and the External
Community
Cuilla: Ch. 2
Badaracco: Ch. 3 & 4
5
Ethical Development &
Personal Responsibility
Cuilla: Ch. 3 & 4
Badaracco: Ch. 6
6
The Relationships of
Leaders & Followers
Cuilla: 5
Badaracco: Ch. 7
1. Read case “Hitting the Wall: Nike and
International Labor Practices.” Write a 3-5
page case analysis of what you see as the
major ethic issues facing Nike. What are the
implications of this situation for the
stakeholders (internal or external)? What
would you have done differently, and why?
Consider the “players” involved, and the
actions of those involved in analyzing the
case.
2. Submit “Profile of an Effective Leader” paper
(details given below)
1. Submit a 2 page Reflection Paper outlining
your personal ideas about what it means to be
ethical. How did you come to this conclusion?
How do you make ethical decisions?
Incorporate appropriate theories, models, or
philosophical approaches from the course
readings into your paper.
2. Class discussion: Read carefully your peer's
reflection, and respond with ideas that are
directly related to their topics, and then move
forward with what the paper brings to mind to
you personally.
1. Read and submit a 3-5 page analysis on the
case “Martha McCaskey.” How would you
describe the framework being used by
McCaskey? Is it a useful framework? If so,
how? If not, why not? Are there other
frameworks that might be more useful?
2. Conduct an interview with a leader in your
organization on current issues and challenges
facing the organization and what decision
making style and ethical framework he/she
used in confronting the challenges.
7
8
Ethics & Culture
Final assignment
Cuilla: 6
Badaracco: Ch. 5 & 8
1. Presentation of Team Leadership & Ethics
Audit (details given below)
2. Read the case “Martin Marietta—Managing
Corporate Ethics.” Prepare a 3-5 page
analysis responding to the following
questions: What do you see as the benefits &
drawbacks of such an ethics program? Would
such a program work in your organization and
why or why not? How might you handle some
of the employees’ concerns or fears? To what
degree do you think the key individuals
compromised their ethical principles? When
is it ok to do so? When should one not
compromise?
1. Final paper due by the last day of the term.
Details given below).
2. Review the course objectives, and in a 2-3
page paper, reflect upon what you have
learned in terms of the objectives for this
course.
ASSIGNMENT DETAILS
Reflection/Reaction Papers
These personal intellectual reflections should summarize the major message and concepts of the readings in a format that is useful to
you and fellow co-learners. They are a representation of what is important in understanding the context of the readings. The intent of
the reflection papers is to capture your thoughts about several particular ideas, facts, or issues presented and for you to summarize
these concepts and theories in a form that will be useful in your intellectual journey. The papers should demonstrate your mastery of
the course material and its application in your work life in a thoughtful, clear and well written narrative. Proper citations should be
used.
Case Studies
There will be several cases assigned to read for the class, covering ethical dilemmas faced in organizations. These may be assigned as either
individual or team based case analyses. There will be a series of questions about each case that you should respond to. Your case analysis should
be no more than 5 pages long. You should use outside sources to support your answers, and they must be properly referenced and written in APA
format. The case should be examined & evaluated in light of the ethical frameworks and material studied in this class, as well as what you have
learned in other classes. Think of this as a synthesis of your learning.
Profile of an Effective Leader Paper
Identify someone you consider to be an “effective” leader—from your own life, or someone you have read about. You may either
interview this person, or utilize written resources about him/her. Profile this leader, providing insight into his/her leadership style and
philosophy, answering questions such as: Who is this person? What has been his/her career path? What are his/her successes and
failures? What is his/her leadership philosophy? What are this person’s keys to success? What have some of their ethical dilemmas
been? What model, or framework, helps this leader make key ethical decisions? Your paper should be in APA format, and should be
no longer than 10 pages long.
Leadership & Ethics Audit
A leadership and ethics audit on a company of your choice is to be completed by your team. To facilitate access to industry, firm-level
and competitor information, this audit will focus on a Fortune 500 company. However, if you wish to perform an audit on a local or
regional company, you may do so provided you can obtain all relevant data, and receive my approval beforehand. In performing your
analysis, put yourself in the position of a consulting group. You have been hired by the Board of Directors to determine whether the
organization's leaders are dealing with a key ethical dilemma effectively, and what can be done to improve the firm’s current strategies
of handling the situation.
Company Selection
Please inform me by the end of the second week which firm you will be performing your leadership and ethics audit on. A firm cannot
be audited by more than one team (first come/first serve), and firms whose cases are being analyzed for class cannot be chosen. Please
note that your team is responsible for interpreting all case data, e.g. accounting, economic, political, correctly. If you are unsure,
please consult the appropriate faculty member.
Preliminary Leadership and Ethics audit Report:
A preliminary report covering sections 1-3 (as described below) is due in week 5. You will receive feedback to indicate your progress
towards the final report. This preliminary report should not exceed 10 pages (excluding appendices). Failure to turn in the progress
report on time will result in 10 points being removed from the points received by the team on their final report. Teams that turn in as
complete a preliminary leadership and ethics audit (even in bulleted points) as possible tend to do better in this assignment than team
that just give something written at the last minute.
Format of the Leadership and Ethics Audit:
Although your leadership and ethics audit may not adhere completely to the following format, it should follow these steps (though not
necessarily in the order listed below):
1. An executive summary (not to exceed 75 words) of the leadership and ethics audit. This summarizes the issues uncovered in
your case and your recommendations.
2. Identification and description of the leadership styles and processes in the firm, and a specific ethical dilemma that this firm
and the leader you have chosen is currently dealing with.
3. Focus on one leader within the organization. What is your criteria for leadership (note: leadership may not correlate with
position in the organization)? How did you select your individual? Why? How would you describe this individual's ethical
development? What are the gaps in this individual's leadership and ethical development (if any)?
4. A concise analysis of the leadership issues as they relate to the ethical context you have chosen. Use all applicable
theories/frameworks learned in this class to do your analysis. While you are focusing on the ethical journey of this leader,
make sure you answer the following questions: How has the organization succeeded and/or failed in developing and
empowering your leader over time? What variables influence the type of leadership in this organization and its prevailing
ethical climate or ‘spirit’? What processes are in place for the organization (and your leader of choice) that allow and/or inhibit
for self-examination and self-reflection?
5. A historical (dynamic) view of the strategies/process pursued by the leader in the firm to deal with this ethical dilemma up to
the point of your analysis, their rationale and the reason they worked or did not work. Make sure you relate this section to
section 3 above.
6. A detailed implementation plan indicating what the firm will do to deal with the leadership and ethical problems identified.
Make sure that your implementation plan includes a time line (over a 1-5 year time period) depending on whether it will a long
term or short term plan. How will progress towards the achievement of your goals and objectives be measured?
7. Anticipate and discuss potential internal or external resistance to change. How will you deal with this resistance (if any)? If
you do not anticipate resistance, explain why not.
8. Consider the leadership and ethical implications of your implementation plan both at the micro (individual) and macro
(organization) levels of analysis and discuss them if necessary.
The final report itself should be as concise as possible. It should start with an executive summary addressed to the Board of Directors,
quickly move on the audit, and conclude with an implementation plan. Please do not simply copy or paraphrase trade articles. Please
do not turn in others’ work as your own. It is not imperative that your whole team agrees upon the interpretation and recommendations
of the leadership and ethics audit. A minority report may be attached in an appendix (not more than 2 pages in length) outlining a team
member's difference of opinion. The whole paper should not be longer than 20 pages, including appendices.
The final leadership and ethics audit will be evaluated according to the following criteria:
* Integration of course materials and lectures.
* Depth of understanding of leadership and ethical contexts of the firm under study.
* Written communication skills (points will be taken off for poor grammar and misspellings).
* Coverage of the sections outlined above with respect to the overall format.
* Thoroughness of analysis and realism of solutions.
GRADING CRITERIA
Grading Scale
A
AB+
B
BC+
C-
Grading requirements
100 -93
92 - 90
89 - 88
87 - 83
82 – 80
79 – 78
77 – 73
Attendance/participation
Reaction Papers
Leadership & Ethics Audit
Effective Leader Paper
Case Analyses (4)
Personal Ethics Statement
20%
20%
20%
10%
20%
10%
100%
C
F
72 – 70
69 and below
Library
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and other content covering all academic subject areas including Business & Economics, Career & General Education, Computers,
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directly accessible through the Online Public Access Catalog at http://library.argosy.edu. All resources in Argosy University’s online
collection are available through the Internet. The library will provide students with links, user IDs, and passwords. A detailed list of
online resources is located at http://library.argosy.edu/misc/onlinedblist.html. In addition to online resources, Argosy University’s
onsite collections contain a wealth of subject-specific research materials searchable in the Online Public Access Catalog. Catalog
searching is easily limited to individual campus collections. Alternatively, students can search combined collections of all Argosy
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Information Literacy: Argosy University’s Information Literacy Tutorial was developed to teach students fundamental and
transferable research skills. The tutorial consists of five modules where students learn to select sources appropriate for academic-level
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Academic Dishonesty/Plagiarism: In an effort to foster a spirit of honesty and integrity during the learning process, Argosy University
requires that the submission of all course assignments represent the original work produced by that student. All sources must be
documented through normal scholarly references/citations and all work must be submitted using the Publication Manual of the
American Psychological Association, 5th Edition (2001). Washington DC: American Psychological Association (APA) format. Please
refer to Appendix A in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th Edition for thesis and paper format.
Students are encouraged to purchase this manual (required in some courses) and become familiar with its content as well as consult
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It is the policy of Argosy University to make reasonable accommodations for qualified students with disabilities, in accordance with
the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). If a student with disabilities needs accommodations, the student must notify the Director
of Student Services. Procedures for documenting student disability and the development of reasonable accommodations will be
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Students will be notified by the Director of Student Services when each request for accommodation is approved or denied in writing
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The Argosy University provides equitable access through its services and programs to students of any social, geographic and cultural
background, regardless of gender, and strives to prepare all candidates to work with and provide services to diverse populations.
Argosy demonstrates its commitment to diversity through the development and support of a diverse educational community.