The Persistent Importance of Human Values in Leadership

HUMAN VALUES IN MODERN MANAGEMENT: ISBN:9789332703995, 2024

Human values play a crucial role in leadership, guiding a leader's choices, behaviours, and engagements with others. These values include integrity, empathy, respect, fairness, and compassion, which are based on acknowledging the inherent human rights, necessities, and ambitions of individuals. Incorporating human values into leadership practices is of great importance, as it impacts decision-making, relationship-building, and shaping organizational cultures. Leaders who prioritize human values serve as a moral guide, directing individuals and organizations towards ethical and responsible courses of action. In today's socially aware environment, stakeholders like customers and investors place greater emphasis on the ethical position of organizations and their leaders. Understanding human values and their underlying motivations can offer valuable insights into behaviours, interactions, and decisionmaking systems. The Leadership Perspectives Model (LPM) is a hierarchical structure that defines a leadership style based on the leader's values being applied to the group. Values-based leadership emphasizes the transformative nature of leadership and its impact on both stakeholder growth and organizational effectiveness. Effective leadership involves establishing a culture that reflects the organization's values and qualities, defining fundamental principles that impact behaviour, decision-making, and interpersonal connections. Open and transparent communication is crucial for an organization to consistently convey its values and foster a culture of trust and collaboration. Examples of exceptional leaders throughout history, such as Sri Krishna, Adi Shankaracharya and Narendra Modi, demonstrate the importance of a strong, adaptable, and compassionate leadership philosophy. By incorporating these principles, leaders can cultivate a culture marked by genuineness, openness, and moral strength, ensuring ongoing achievement and contentment for both leaders and their teams.

Journal of Human Values

BUSINESS EDUCATION AT CATHOLIC UNIVERSITIES - THE ROLE OF MISSION-DRIVEN BUSINESS SCHOOLS, 2008

The following fieldwork seeks to develop a comprehensible and accessible frame of reference about ethics for professors in different areas of study in a business school. Three presumed extensive views on ethics: 1. A reference to conducts of relative value depending on the culture in which they are developed. 2. A “chic” acquaintanceship but, without pragmatic value 3. A derived matter from the freedom of the “post-modern” conscience It implicitly disputes with: 4. A puritan approach contrary to the taking pleasure of goods and assets 5. A formal and absolute approach towards duties 6. A forbearing approach through means of cognizance. To demonstrate that it is a pragmatic knowledge, necessary in order to lead life itself in the direction of happiness, presumably inevitable regarding company leadership in every area.

The purpose of this research paper is to underscore leadership ethics and to assist in building ethical leaders globally. It explains the concept of ethics and elaborates on the phrase ethical leadership. It outlines the tools and techniques necessary to inculcate ethics. It explains the fundamental reasons for the collapse of global companies such as Enron, Tyco, Lehman Brothers, WorldCom, and Global Crossing due to unethical practices which help explain the more recent fall from grace of BP, Volkswagen, and Wells Fargo. It illustrates these salient points with inspiring examples of ethical leaders including Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., and Mother Teresa. It places emphasis more on the "means" rather than on the "ends" to excel as ethical leaders. It implores to achieve success with integrity. It concludes that a life spent in simplicity and humility is far better than a life spent with fame, initially, and infamy, finally.

Govnet Ejournal, 2007

The assessment of 'Integrity Systems', sometimes referred to as 'Ethics Regimes', has generally focused on national perspectives, whether the right institutions, policies and procedures exist to achieve an effective national integrity system. The recently released Australian National Integrity System Assessment report highlighted the importance of mapping integrity systems and analysing whether the various elements have the resources to do their job (capacity), how they interact (coherence) and whether they are yielding the desired results (consequences). 1 However, no matter how sound an integrity system may be, without the right human capital operating within it, such a system can achieve very little. In practice, it is people, primarily leaders at all levels, who drive organisational direction, create and sustain an ethical climate and provide major incentives or disincentives for organisational and employee ethical behaviour. This paper attempts to extend this framework beyond a systems and national focus to more fully recognise the interplay of complex human relationships within individual organisations. In this context the quality of the leadership is a critical dynamic as it deeply influences the predictability of the behaviour of people in organisations. Therefore, the development of ethical leadership skills, underpinned by sound ethical decision making, is fundamental to creating organisations in which people 'Lead with Integrity'. This paper examines some of the relevant and recent literature on ethical leadership, focusing on the key issues surrounding ethical leadership roles and how these might be better understood, assessed and enhanced, not just as valuable qualities in their own right, but as a key to organisational integrity. The paper then presents some recommendations for actions within organisations to ensure and sustain ethical leadership. Finally, the paper recommends further research to assess the current standing of ethical leadership and ways in which it can be measured for improvements over time.

calitatea.ro, 2023

Modern society has abandoned much of the existing local wisdom resulting in a decline in community morale. Morality is necessary for managing a business organization so that it can become a sustainable business. Therefore, the values of local wisdom are essential in managing a business. Local wisdom can encourage a business to perform well when organizational performance is as challenging as it is today. This research fills the research gap in the management literature by analyzing the role of values on ethical leadership and organizational performance. The research population was LPD employees and administrators in Bali. This study uses the Slovin formula to determine the sample, which is 158 employees. Data collection was done through questionnaires, and data analysis was done using SEM-PLS. The results of the study show that values do not have a significant effect on organizational performance; however, values have a significant effect on ethical leadership. Finally, ethical leadership has a significant effect on organizational performance. The research results indicate that there is full mediation of ethical leadership in the influence of values on organizational performance. This implies the impact of ethical leadership formed by values that will continue to exist and enhance organizational performance. Besides, culture becomes an essential tool in an organization, especially in Bali, which has a very strong local culture. Future research is expected to explore local culture and leadership transformation in state and private organizations.

Global Business Review, 2020

In the book Good Values, Great Business, the authors had expressed their views on the importance of value system, which is not always appreciated highly in a business context. The authors tried to discuss the value system while understanding the very nature of 'values'. They debated how these values are important for an organization in today's cynical business environment, where survival of a business always remains a challenge. Also, the critical question here is, whether 'values' and 'organizational objectives' can go hand in hand. In general discussions, the weakening of value system is debated in the context of the family system, but less in an organizational setup. The business world now seems fascinated with the word 'values'. Many of them find it to be something utopian, unpractical and far from reality. But, the authors contemplate that any institution, whether it is a family or a business or society, cannot survive without it. However, today we see a decline in the value system, which needs to be strengthened. In this book, value system in the context of a business organization is discussed with the perspective of different stakeholders. Also, it has been realized that instilling proper values into the system is a constant challenge. One can understand that it is not possible to follow a standard value system, but definitely some values can be identified, which shall remain critical for an organization. The belief that values are crucially important even in the business context is the hardest truth to be accepted. When there is a choice between values and profits, people always go for the latter. But once the top leadership recognizes and appreciates it, the follow-up in the subsequent levels is insured at least to some extent. It is the responsibility of the leader to understand the collective voice of their organization. Leaders of an organization need to understand what kind of atmosphere they want to create in their organization. Will the prevailing environment help the organization to go beyond its capability while meeting the demands of the fastgrowing competition? Will this inspire individuals, who would find it exciting to stay with the organization? In the present book, the emphasis is given on understanding the primary business goals. For example, the important pillars of an organization are people (employees), customer and business. If we talk about people as the key for a successful business, then they are human beings first, and need empathy, trust, respect, compassion, camaraderie, etc., which are nothing else but 'values' themselves. In other words, the values once given importance, will lead to improvement in productivity, quality, innovation, creativity and excellence, which are the main objectives of the organizations. Openness or transparency is considered crucial for an organization; hence people can step back and become defensive when it comes to adopting some values. Another example is honesty, which is being 'truthful' to your work. And third is 'teamwork', a critical foundation, but once it is missing, the organization fails to come together as a cohesive team for achieving bigger goals. On the contrary, the pressing question is about the presence of certain values (such as flexibility, empathy, respect for others,

2007

The assessment of 'Integrity Systems', sometimes referred to as 'Ethics Regimes', has generally focused on national perspectives, whether the right institutions, policies and procedures exist to achieve an effective national integrity system. The recently released Australian National Integrity System Assessment report highlighted the importance of mapping integrity systems and analysing whether the various elements have the resources to do their job (capacity), how they interact (coherence) and whether they are yielding the desired results (consequences). 1 However, no matter how sound an integrity system may be, without the right human capital operating within it, such a system can achieve very little. In practice, it is people, primarily leaders at all levels, who drive organisational direction, create and sustain an ethical climate and provide major incentives or disincentives for organisational and employee ethical behaviour. This paper attempts to extend this framework beyond a systems and national focus to more fully recognise the interplay of complex human relationships within individual organisations. In this context the quality of the leadership is a critical dynamic as it deeply influences the predictability of the behaviour of people in organisations. Therefore, the development of ethical leadership skills, underpinned by sound ethical decision making, is fundamental to creating organisations in which people 'Lead with Integrity'. This paper examines some of the relevant and recent literature on ethical leadership, focusing on the key issues surrounding ethical leadership roles and how these might be better understood, assessed and enhanced, not just as valuable qualities in their own right, but as a key to organisational integrity. The paper then presents some recommendations for actions within organisations to ensure and sustain ethical leadership. Finally, the paper recommends further research to assess the current standing of ethical leadership and ways in which it can be measured for improvements over time.