In this module, we analyze loyalty and whistle-blowing as problems of responsible leadership, with special attention to case studies that have had an outsized impact on current events in our own society. Our focus in this module will be on how ethical leadership challenges are faced not only by business leaders, but also by their employees, customers, and community stakeholders. How can those with less institutional power hold to account those who have more?
Learning Objectives
Upon successful completion of this module, you will be able to:
Investigate possible failure modes for ethical leadership and apply them to our own experience.
Dialogue about loyalty: its foundations, importance, and pitfalls.
Apply what we have learned in this module to crises of ethical leadership in recent and current events of great significance for our society.
Key Concepts
This module focuses on the following major topics:
A taxonomy of ways in which stakeholders fail to practice ethical leadership in business settings
One theorist’s view of the ethical bases for employee loyalty
Practical situations where problems of responsible moral leadership, especially whistle-blowing, have had significant and continuing repercussions on society
Summary of Module Learning Activities
This section outlines the activities that you will complete in this module. It is recommended that you complete the readings in the module prior to submitting the assignments.
Read: Ciulla et. al readings, and other readings
Readings
All readings below that are listed with page numbers are in our Ciulla et al. reader unless otherwise specified.
Frederick Bruce Bird, “Moral Muteness and Moral Blindness,” p. 315
David E. Soles, “Four Concepts of Loyalty,” p. 327
Box, “Blind to Earned Loyalty,” p. 330
Hersh, S. M. (2004, April 30). Torture at Abu Ghraib. Retrieve at The New Yorker. (Links to an external site.)
Giglio, M. (2019, September 27). Revenge of the Intelligence Nerds. Retrieve at The Atlantic. (Links to an external site.)
Recommended Reading
Ross, J. (2019, September 26). Here’s the Whistleblower Complaint Against President Trump. Retrieve at The Daily Beast.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MKt1YtvSlcLSGthJcEuMfl1cWxbKDKqFXSKfBJIM7ws/edit#heading=h.a74t9fhfu2dr
