Prologue

What is ethical leadership and why does it matter? At the turn of the 21st century, scandal after scandal came to light and in reaction, ethical leadership as a contemporary field of study began to take shape. The formative research studies argued that not only was ethical leadership a moral imperative, but it also stood to make managers more effective, employees more productive, and organizations more successful. This collection traces the path toward ethical leadership, examining how thoughts on leadership have changed over time and how they have been inspired by philosophical ethical theories. Exploration of how ethics can be applied to professional and personal endeavors sheds light on why ethical leadership matters in everyday life.

• Module 1 explores the theoretical and classical philosophical foundations of leadership to provide a jumping-off point for the rest of the course. This module introduces the concept of ethical leadership, and traces it back to antiquity through an analysis of the philosophical theories of Plato and Aristotle.
• Module 2 examines historical leadership models like trait and behavioral approaches, as well as more contemporary leadership theories to illuminate the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches to leadership that have been popularized over time.
• Module 3 investigates core values for ethical leadership that emerged as a reaction to a number of corporate scandals that surfaced at the turn of the twenty-first century. This module focuses on values-based leadership to identify the principles that guide ethical and transformational leaders.
• Module 4 analyzes the connection between values and ethics in decision-making and leadership. This module explores how the key principles of modern ethical frameworks like deontology, utilitarianism, virtue ethics, and social contract theory inform ethical leadership today.
• Module 5 explores how values and ethics affect actions at an organizational level. Much like individuals have personal values, organizations embody organizational values that influence organizational culture.  This module will explore the relationship between corporate compliance and values-based leadership.
• Module 6 investigates how ethical decision-making and values-based leadership work in terms of a real-life scenario. This module highlights the perils of unethical leadership in order to explore the challenges of ethical decision-making that can arise within an organization. It considers the role of values and voice in the decision-making process and considers the impact of leadership decisions on stakeholders.