Skip to main content

Part of the book series: Management for Professionals ((MANAGPROF))

  • 5956 Accesses

Abstract

That leadership without morality is a lost cause is the central tenet of this chapter on Responsible Morality, the fourth dimension of servant leadership.

The need for moral leadership is no doubt urgent in light of the prevalence of destructive leadership, but many still consider it an oxymoron. Arguments for moral leadership are presented in this chapter followed by discussion on the two values attached to Responsible Morality, namely moral reasoning and moral action. Key commitments for managerial practice are outlined at the conclusion of this chapter.

Morality is not the doctrine of how we may make ourselves happy, but how we make ourselves worthy of our happiness.

(Immanuel Kant)

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

eBook
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 79.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Badaracco, J. L., Jr. (1998). The discipline of building character. Harvard Business Review, 76(2), 114–124.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barnard, C. I. (1938). The functions of the executive. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bass, B. M., & Steidlmeier, P. (1999). Ethics, character, and authentic transformational leadership behavior. The Leadership Quarterly, 10(2), 181–217.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blasi, A. (1980). Bridging moral cognition and moral action: A critical review of the literature. Psychological Bulletin, 88(1), 129–161.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bowie, N. A. (2000). Kantian theory of leadership. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 21(4), 185–193.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burns, J. M. (1978). Leadership. New York: Harper & Row.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carson, D. A. (2012). The intolerance of tolerance. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chartrand, T. L., & Bargh, J. A. (1999). The chameleon effect: The perception-behavior link and social interaction. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76, 893–910.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ciulla, J. B. (1995). Leadership ethics: Mapping the territory. Business Ethics Quarterly, 5(1), 5–25.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dahling, J. J., Whitaker, B. G., & Levy, P. E. (2009). The development and validation of a new Machiavellianism scale. Journal of Management, 35, 219–257.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dukerich, J. M., Nichols, M. L., Elm, D. R., & Vollrath, D. A. (1990). Moral reasonings in group: Leaders make a difference. Human Relations, 43, 473–493.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Giampetro-Meyer, A., Brown, T., Browne, M. N., & Kubasek, N. (1998). Do we really want more leaders in business? Journal of Business Ethics, 17(15), 1727–1736.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gottlieb, J. Z., & Jyotsna, S. (1996). Towards an ethical dimension of decision making in organizations. Journal of Business Ethics, 15(12), 1275–1285.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Graham, J. (1991). Servant-leadership in organizations: Inspirational and moral. The Leadership Quarterly, 2(2), 105–119.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Graham, J. W. (1995). Leadership, moral development, and citizenship behavior. Business Ethics Quarterly, 5(1), 43–54.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guyer, P. (2002). Ends of reason and ends of nature: The place of teleology in Kant’s ethics. The Journal of Value Inquiry, 36, 161–186.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hollander, E. P. (1995). Ethical challenges in the leader-follower relationship. Business Ethics Quarterly, 5(1), 55–65.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jackall, R. (1988). Moral mazes: The world of corporate managers. New York: Oxford University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kant, I. (1964). Groundwork of the metaphysics of morals (H. J. Paton, Trans.). New York: Harper.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kohlberg, L. (1981). The philosophy of moral development: Moral stages and the idea of justice (Essays on moral development, Vol. 1). San Francisco: Harper & Row.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kohlberg, L. (1984). The psychology of moral development: The nature and validity of moral stages. San Francisco: Harper & Row.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kohlberg, L. (1969). Stages in the development of moral thought and action. New York: Holt, Rinehart, & Winston.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kotter, J. P., & Heskett, J. L. (1992). Corporate culture and performance. New York: Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lewin, A. Y., & Stephen, C. U. (1994). CEO attitudes as determinants of organization design: An integrated model. Organization Studies, 15(2), 183–212.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Piaget, J., & Gabain, M. (1966). The moral judgment of the child. New York: Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Price, T. L. (2000). Explaining ethical failures of leadership. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 21(4), 177–184.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reidenbach, R. E., & Robin, D. P. (1991). A conceptual model of corporate model development. Journal of Business Ethics, 19, 273–284.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rest, J. R. (1994). Background: Theory and research. In J. R. Rest & D. Narvaez (Eds.), Moral development in the professions (pp. 1–26). Hillsdale: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rost, J. C. (1993). Leadership for the twenty-first century. Westport: Praeger.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rost, J. C. (1995). Leadership: A discussion about ethics. Business Ethics Quarterly, 5(1), 129–142.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schein, E. H. (1992). Organizational culture and leadership (2nd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schein, E. H. (1996). Three cultures of management: The key to organizational learning. Sloan Management Review, 38(1), 9–20.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schein, E. H. (1999). The corporate culture survival guide: Sense and nonsense about culture change. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sendjaya, S. (2005). Morality and leadership: Examining the ethics of transformational leadership. Journal of Academic Ethics, 3(1), 75–86.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sendjaya, S., Pekerti, A., Härtel, C., Hirst, G., & Butarbutar, I. (2014). Are authentic leaders always moral? The role of Machiavellianism in the relationship between authentic leadership and morality. Journal of Business Ethics http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10551-014-2351-0.

  • Senge, P. M. (1990). The leader’s new work: Building learning organizations. Sloan Management Review, 32(1), 7–24.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sergiovanni, T. J. (1992). Moral leadership: Getting to the heart of school improvement. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sherry, S. B., Hewitt, P. L., Besser, A., Flett, G. L., & Klein, C. (2006). Machiavellianism, trait perfectionism, and perfectionistic self-presentation. Personality and Individual Differences, 40(4), 829–839.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sims, R. R. (1992). The challenge of ethical behavior in organizations. Journal of Business Ethics, 11, 505–513.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thoma, S. J., & Rest, J. R. (1986). Moral judgement, behavior, decision making, and attitudes. In J. R. Rest (Ed.), Moral development: Advances in theory and research (pp. 133–175). New York: Praeger.

    Google Scholar 

  • Trevino, L. K., & Brown, M. E. (2004). Managing to be ethical: Debunking five business ethics myths. The Academy of Management Executive, 18(2), 69–81.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Trevino, L. K., Hartman, L. P., & Brown, M. (2000). Moral person and moral manager: How executives develop a reputation for ethical leadership. California Management Review, 42(4), 128–142.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Turner, N., Barling, J., Epitropaki, O., Butcher, V., & Milner, C. (2002). Transformational leadership and moral reasoning. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87(2), 304–311.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weiss, H. (1977). Subordinate imitation of supervisory behavior: The role modeling in organizational socialization. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 19, 89–109.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wyld, D. C., & Jones, C. A. (1997). Importance of context. The ethical work climate construct and models of ethical decision-making – An agenda for research. Journal of Business Ethics, 16, 465–472.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yukl, G. (1990). Leadership in organizations. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Sendjaya, S. (2015). Responsible Morality. In: Personal and Organizational Excellence through Servant Leadership. Management for Professionals. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16196-9_6

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics