1. Running head: WHAT IS AN ETHICAL LEADER? 1
What is an Ethical Leader?
Gary D. White
OGL200: Introduction to Leadership
Dr. Brent Scholar
November 24, 2016
Arizona State University

2. WHAT IS AN ETHICAL LEADER? 2
Part A: Short essay questions
1. Use the chart of defensive and proactive strategies for creating an ethical
environment in box 11.3 (page 347) to evaluate your organization. Does your organization
have a positive moral climate? Why or why not?
My organization, Westinghouse Nuclear, does have a positive moral climate. The reason
for me saying that the climate of the organization is positive is because it carries some of the
proactive tactics. They do have an ethical code of conduct to abided by, these demonstrate their
proactive tactics of creating codes of ethics to prevent uninviting work environment. (Hackman
& Johnson, 2013, p. 347) They like for people to treat one another with respect and operate in a
professional manner. I know from watching other employee’s actions, if you do something
unethical like sexual harassment.
For example, even if it’s a compliment like a young lady, “You look ravishing!”,
depending on the way you say it and look at her and she reports you, you are out the door.
Involuntary termination, no questions asked. They use the defensive tactic and confront
offenders at the first sign of trouble. Then they punish those who break the rules severely by
termination and with no rehire with Westinghouse Nuclear. (Hackman & Johnson, 2013, p 347)
Sometimes they don’t need witnesses for the incident. I work in a no nonsense work
environment. Another defensive tactic that Westinghouse implements is their employee concerns
hotline, where they use a reporting system for ethical violations and create disciplinary
procedures around the situation. (Hackman & Johnson, 2013, p. 347)
One proactive tactic they do monthly and sometimes weekly is email everyone in the
company mandatory online reading material with quizzes to show what you have learned. This is
considered ongoing ethics training at the office. (Hackman & Johnson, 2013, p. 347) One they
sent me taught me about the drugs to avoid and report if seen on the premises. I even learned that

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people attempt to sell drugs and contraband at work. That was a shocking to hear because I
consider where I work to be very professional and white collar business.
2. Your book discusses the three-stage model of crisis development (pg 414-433).
Discuss the steps a leader should take during a crisis event. Use an example event to explain
the steps (either make one up or use one of the case studies from the book).
Step one of crisis leadership is the stage of precrisis. During the precrisis stage the
leader’s primary responsibility is to move the organization from the crisis. They should look for
warning signs and create a crisis management plan to prepare in case one were to arise.
(Hackman & Johnson, 2013, p. 414) Precrisis has five traits a leader needs to have to get through
the precrisis stage.
The first is Sensemaking, where the leader make sense of events that may pose a threat to
the organization. (Hackman & Johnson, 2013, p. 415) A good example is in the “Case of the
Missing Cutlery”, there was missing cutlery at the Marriott In-flight Services International
airport and by them not figuring out the mystery of the disappearance they will lose money and
have dissatisfied customers if they do not have utensils to eat with, harming the growth of the
business.
Second trait is perspective taking, where leaders need to tend to the needs of everyone
impacted by the crisis. (Hackman & Johnson, 2013, p. 415) Going back to the missing cutlery
case, the Allen had to figure out what was happening to the utensils because not only will it
affect him, it will affect his manager who will be punished by his manager and the followers
under him who may lose their jobs due to the severity of the situation. It is like a domino effect
going from the highest executive down to the lowest employee, like the dishwashers of the
Marriott In-flight services.
Issue selling is when the middle manager, in this case Allen, must explain to the top
executives to pay attention to the issue of the missing cutlery. He gets with the group of

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dishwashers and develop a plan to soak the silver in backing soda and wash them to get the
residue off so no more cutlery will be disposed of. So not only is he dealing with the loss of
money from the disappearing cutlery for the executives, he may be saving a dishwasher’s job and
keeping the group motivated.
When effective crisis leaders have knowledge of all aspects of the business, this is called
organizational agility. (Hackman & Johnson, 2013, p. 415) When members in the dishwashing
team were contributing to cleaning the silver and concocted a plan to soak it in baking soda and
steam wash it the next day, this demonstrates organizational agility with Allen’s group.
Allen showed aspects of a creative leader, which is the last trait used towards the precrisis
stage, when he used George as the villain to motivate the group to find a solution to the case of
the missing cutlery. “I unwittingly identified a powerful unifying external force- a villain, shall
we say- that could keep the team focused on the task at hand…” (Allen, 2014, p. 12)
The next stage after precrisis is crisis event, where you make decisions under pressure,
communicate effectively, and take risk to achieve a common goal. (Hackman & Johnson, 2013,
p. 415) Kevin Allen had to operate under pressure because he had to find out where the cutlery
was disappearing. He had no leads and the group he was working with was less than enthused to
have him. Crisis are typically viewed as threats, and the missing silver was a threat to the
company’s capital. (Hackman & Johnson, 2013, p. 415)
An effective leader knows how to connect emotionally with his audience, and since
Kevin use to be in a similar position as the dish team he knew how to sympathize and
communicate efficiently enough for them to volunteer to aid him in solving the vanishing
silverware. Also, when things get chaotic, leaders tend to hold information and become rigid
decision makers. This is not what is useful in the situation Allen is in. Instead he should take the

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approach of being a risk taker and look for novel ways to deal with crisis. (Hackman & Johnson,
2013, p. 415) Allen queried for concepts and notions to solve the residue on the silverware and
Daisy, an employee who rarely contributes to the team and keeps quiet, gave a solution through
baking soda and water. This creates and optimal working atmosphere.
Lastly, there is postcrisis, which begins when the immediate danger is past and the
organization has been able to resume its normal operations. (Hackman & Johnson, 2013, p. 414)
In this stage the leader promotes organizational resiliency, integrity, and learning orientation.
Promoting organizational resiliency is like Allen wanting Marriott In-flight services to avoid
missing cutlery in the future by providing a plan to clean the cutlery so employees will not
dispose of them in fear of punishment. Leaders like Kevin Allen want to move the organization
to a better place, and to do so they should absorb pain and continue functioning under adversity,
which he taught his dish team through their teamwork and his leadership in the case of the
missing cutlery. (Hackman & Johnson, 2013, p. 416)
Acting in integrity is the ability to build trust after a crisis. Allen demonstrated this with
the trust and loyalty of the dish washing team at Marriott In-flight services and the new-found
faith his manager, Mr. George. With all this, you must reflect and learn from the circumstances.
Learning orientation is learning from crisis and growing from it. Allen was an effective crisis
manager who helped Marriott In-flight services recover from the trauma and mover forward.
(Hackman & Johnson, 2013, p. 414)
Part B: Leadership Activity Journal: Reflecting on your leadership skills
1. Take the Perceived Leader Integrity Scale Assessment on page 353 of your book.
a. Report on your scores
My score calculated to be 87 from taking the Perceived Leader Integrity Scale
assessment.

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b. Reflect on what these scores reveal about your leadership behaviors and their
effectiveness
After reflecting on the score and seeing what the results brought, based on my score for
my current supervisor being at 87 this is considered a high score and the higher the score on the
assessment, the lower the perception of integrity of the person being rated.
I took note of some of the questions on the assessment that I felt were dead on when it
came to the perception of my supervisor’s integrity. Question 3 asked if the supervisor gives
special favors to certain “pet” employees, but not me. I rated a 4, which equals strongly agree in
the assessment, and reasons being is that at my current job there is presences of a “good-old-
boy” type of clique where if your favored by the boss and higher-ups, you get special privileges
and may even possibly avoid a termination or layoff. This is an example of an in-group and out-
group where the in-group is my supervisor and the people he shows favoritism too and the out-
group are the outcast like myself that are not accepted or deemed as valuable as the others. By
my supervisor doing this he effects the levels of trust, mutual influence and support that could be
gained if he were to treat everybody equally. (Hackman & Johnson, 2013, p. 91)
Question 16 asked if my supervisor blames me for his/her own mistakes and I answered
yes because on many occasions my supervisor has said in front of me and others that I make
mistakes and if anyone has a mistake it’s Gary’s fault. Although he did this in a jokingly manner,
the receiver can take the criticism in a negative fashion. He is not operating in the virtues of an
ethical leader, which is deep-rooted dispositions, habits, skills, or traits of character that incline
persons to perceive, feel, and act in an ethically right and sensitive manner. (Hackman &
Johnson, 2013, p. 352)
He also does not show emotional competence like most great leaders who attempt to
understand what their followers are feeling and become more sensitive to the fact. (Hackman &

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Johnson, 2013, p. 28-31) Also he lacks in altruism, the concern for others in an ethically standard
way. (Hackman & Johnson, 2013, p. 356) Altruism leaders help others even if it does not gain
them any benefit and my supervisor requires that trait to be a better supervisor and leader to me.
c. Describe how you can build on your strengths and address any weaknesses.
Questions like question 7 that asks if your supervisor is evil is very bizarre but
understandable for a follower to bear. To eliminate this feeling of dread that comes from my
supervisor he would need to be more of an altruism leader and build a bond with me and other
that will nurture a cooperative and trust necessary environment. He can also balance his loyalty
and duties when making decisions. Admirable leaders put the needs of others above selfish
concerns. Instead of my supervisor trying to make himself look like the big dog on campus and
he should worry more about giving praise to those who help and support him like myself and
helping me advance. By him doing this, he will gain my loyalty and support which will not only
elevate him but the company as well.
A strength that he does have above all his faults is his ability to produce. He can use this
to build a referent power, role model power, and show off his skills and bring positive attention
that will motivate the followers and gain respect from his peers. (Hackman & Johnson, 2013, p.
141) He can use task and interpersonal leadership to maximize production and create structure
among the followers. He can emphasize teamwork, cooperation and supportive communication
with me and other out-group employees.
Part C: The Case of the Missing Cutlery
1. Explain how this case illustrates Kevin Allen’s concept of buoyancy.
Allen explains that you don’t have to intimidate, bully or dictate for followers to abide by
you, you ignite something in their heart and consequently they follow you. That is what the book

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illustrated what buoyancy is for any manager or leader who wants to succeed in their career and
gain a sense of respect from their followers. One great example is when Kevin Allen is
introduced to the dish team and the lukewarm welcome he received. Allen reflected on his
previous job history and uses the strategy of a team leader. Followers make you buoyant when
they can recognize you truly understand them. To achieve this Allen came up with the hidden
agenda: wants, needs and values. (Allen, 2014, p. 22)
Wants is based on ambition. It reflects confidence and what the future may bring. (Allen,
2014, p. 23) Allen demonstrates this when he stood up to Daisy and told her to stop being
verbally negative. He did it in a respectful manner but also got his point across and showed
confidence that later converted Daisy from a resistor to a catalyst of the group.
Needs is based upon fear and desires for something that is lacking, like the missing
silverware. Allen need was to prevent cutlery from disappearing and with the needs of the dish
team being not being disciplined and their sense of longing to be appreciated, they support him
in his need. (Allen, 2014, p. 23)
Values is centered around the person’s beliefs. Allen believed in a supportive, jovial team
that will motivate each other and value and welcome their leader. With his good nature and
determination, Allen establish this value in his Marriot In-service dishwashing team. This
strategy validates Allen’s ability to float above the adversities he comes across, making him a
buoyant leader.
2. Reflect on the case presented in part 1. Was there anything you found particularly
interesting or useful? Anything that surprised you?
What I found interesting in the case in part 1 is how Kevin Allen could turn the spirit of
the dish team around from indifferent to enthusiastic and supportive. On Allen’s first meet up
with the group they showed signs of being bystanders, followers that observe what is going on

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but do not participate. (Hackman & Johnson, 2013, p. 55) By standing around followers allow
the status quo to continue. Allen changed this by practicing the leader-member exchange theory.
This is where you focus in the quality of the relationship between the leader and the followers
rather than putting the followers into categories like in-group and out-group. (Hackman &
Johnson, 2013, p. 91) Allen would classify as a high LMX leader due to the increase in work
production after solving the case of the missing cutlery, employees feeling more valued and
satisfied with their jobs and duties, communication is better between followers and their
supervisors and employees are more comfortable with providing honest feedback that could
better the organization.
Allen’s approach showed characteristics of a transformational leader with his ability to
articulate in a way the dish team could understand where he was coming from and what he
needed from him. His vision for a better Marriott In-service business motivated the group to do
better in their jobs which brighten the company’s future in airline service. Transformational
leaders are passionately committed to their work, and even though Kevin Allen was
inexperienced in managing, he loved his job and had a great deal of affection for his crew that
abetted in the search and resolution of the missing silverware. (Hackman & Johnson, 2013, p.
120)
3. How could you use the leadership concepts discussed in part 2 of the book in your
job today? Relate these concepts to the other course materials and to your own
experiences.
“People on your team will dedicate themselves and accomplish amazing things
when they see that you believe in them with your whole heart.” (Allen, 2014, p. 21) I
truly believe this and would follow that quote in my everyday life today. From my own
experience, when you have a leader that does not support your dreams and does not
appreciate or value your work o effort, it is very disparaging. You often ask yourself,

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“What did I do to ever deserve this?” or “Why am I even working here?!”. A leader
should never want their follower or subordinates to ask those types of questions or doubt
their moral or ethics.
To adjust this, take on your leadership, you must influence them otherwise and to
do so you would assimilate credibility. You can build your credibility by using
statements that view you as human relatable to your followers. Communicate in a
language your followers can understand, avoid technical, jargon-laced language that will
distance you from your audience. (Hackman & Johnson, 2013, p. 169) Leaders play a
critical role in boosting the spirits of their followers, and sustaining hope can turn
stressed, unmotivated followers to trusting, buoyant followers. This in turn will increase
work performance and create a positive passion to gratify you but advance the
organization.
References
Hackman, M., Johnson, C. (2013). Leadership: A Communication Perspective, 6th Edition.,
[VitalSource Bookshelf Online]. Retrieved from
https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781478602590/
http://www.reallycoolblog.com/john-f-kennedys-we-go-to-the-moon-speech
Allen, K. (2014). The case of the missing cutlery: A leadership course for the rising star. New

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York, NY, United States: Bibliomotion.