1. The Importance of
Ethics and Integrity in
Leadership
Dr. Richard Tavernaro
Magnet Counselor

2. Goals of Today’s Lesson
 Understand the meaning of “Ethics”
 Analyze Ethical Dilemmas
 Learn the Steps for making Ethical
Decisions
 Apply the Ethical Decision Making Process

3. Ethics – A good starting point.
“The reputation of a thousand years is
determined by the conduct of one hour.”
– Japanese proverb

4. Ethics – A good starting point.
“The reputation of a thousand years is
determined by the conduct of one hour.”

5. Ethics Vocabulary
Obligation
Responsibility Virtue
Professionalism
Morals
Character Courage
integrity
Honesty Accountability
Ideals
Self-Respect

6. What is Ethics?
Merriam Webster -
The embodiment of those values that the
person or organization feels are important,
and spell out proper conduct and
appropriate action.

7. Ethics……
 A system that provides a guide for daily living
 Relates to right and wrong in daily living
 Establishes principles for conduct
 Simple honesty
 Without it, life becomes a constant struggle of intrigue,
second-guessing, and maneuvering

8.  Choosing the ethical way is not
always easy
 Ethical confrontations can be
some of the most stressful events
we experience

9. Ethical Choices
The toughest ethical choices are not
between good and evil, but rather between
two goods:
 Truth versus Loyalty
 Individual versus Community
 Short-term versus Long-term
 Justice versus Mercy

10. Ethical Principles
 Objectivity
 Selflessness
 Stewardship
 Transparency
 Integrity

11. What about …..?
 Values
 Morals
 Integrity
 Character
 Laws

12. Values
 Acts, customs or institutions that a group of
people regard in a favorable way
 Usually words of approval
 Intrinsically valuable or desirable principles or
qualities
 Equality
 Freedom
 Hard Work
 Personal and societal beliefs
 What really matters to us most

13. Morals
 A set of rule or modes of conduct upon which
society is based
 Very similar to ethics
 Four Points to Remember (R.C. Solomon)
 Moral rules are important
 Morality consists of universal rules
 Morals are objective
 Morality affects other people
 Conforms to accepted rules of right or wrong
 Established by society

14. Integrity
 Adhering to a moral code in daily decision
making
 Being honest and sincere
 Assurance that “It will happen because I
say it will.”

15. Character
 Pattern of behavior or personality trait of an
individual or group that denotes moral
strength
 Drives what we do when no one is looking
 Involves a choice to act morally at all times
 We build character by how we live, thinking
good thoughts, performing good acts
 Similarly bad thoughts and bad behavior
destroy character
 Character pertains to organizations too.

16. Laws
 A set of rules and regulations designed to
express the needs of and to control a society
 Protect people from the most blatant and
despicable affronts to morality (such as murder
and theft)
 Needed to maintain the functioning of a society
 Change to reflect a society’s changing standards

17. Summary of Terms
 Ethics: a system or code of morals that provides guidance for living
in society
 Values: Intrinsically valuable or desirable principles or qualities
 Morals: A set of rules or modes of conduct on which society is
based
 Integrity: Adherence to a moral code in daily decision making,
emphasis on honesty and reliability
 Character: A personality trait of pattern of behavior that denotes
moral strength
 Laws: A set of rules and regulations designed to express the needs
of society

18. Ethics, Morals, and the Law
Classification of Actions:
 Morals Unethical
 Principles of right Ethical
and wrong
 Ethics
 A set of moral Legal Illegal
principles guiding
behavior and action
 Laws
 Binding codes of
conduct; formally Unethical Ethical but
recognized and but Legal Illegal
enforced

19. Business Today
 Business recognizes the impact of unethical
behavior: “Business Ethics” movement
 Poor public image
 Increased government scrutiny
 Public reluctance to use a product or service
 Ethics is good business
 Most major corporations have their own code of
ethics and provide training
 It is not new or trendy, it will impact you
personally and professionally

20. Ethical Dilemmas or Landmines
 Like unexploded bombs, must be defused before
they blow up in our faces
 Company expectations for employee commitment
 Pressure from managers and co-workers
 Opportunities for unethical behavior
 Internal pressure in the form of personal ambitions
 External forces such as family needs
 Personal reputations, legal standing, company’s
public name are at risk
 Much is at stake for companies and individuals in
facing ethical dilemmas

21. Historical Perspective
 Ethics can be traced to ancient times
 Greek philosophers (Socrates, Plato, Aristotle;
biblical figures)
 Moralists (Immanuel Kant, John Stewart Mill,
and Jean-Paul Sartre)

22. Moral Codes and Religion
 Religion and morality are closely interwoven but
are not the same thing
 People can be moral without being religious and vice versa
 People can do good because of:
 altruism or fear of punishment
 out of habit or because of upbringing
 Code of Hammurabi:
 1762 B.C. general set of moral rules so strong
did not oppress weak, economic and family laws,
criminal laws, civil laws. Not based on religion

23. Ethical Theories
 Many different ethical theories
 Focus will be based on two theories
 Duty-Based ethical theory (Immanuel Kant)
 Utilitarian theory (John Stuart Mill)

24. Duty-Based Ethical Theory
 Everyone has the duty or
obligation to do the right thing,
regardless of outcome
 An act is moral if it could become
a universal rule for society
Immanuel Kant
 To consider the morality of an act,
one must consider the perspective
of both doer and recipient

25. Utilitarian Theory
 Moral behavior is tied to the
common good
 Results are the measure of moral
behavior, not the intent
John Stuart Mill  An act is good if it results in the
greatest benefit for the most
people

26. Ethical Decision Making Model
Ethical Issue Intensity
Individual Factors Ethical Decision
Organizational Factors

27. Determining an ethical action:
Six Practical Steps
1) Is the action legal?
3) How will it make me feel about myself?
5) Is it fair to all concerned?
7) Is it the truth?
9) Will it cause anyone personal loss or pain, or violate
confidentiality, or harm somebody in any other way?
11) Is there a conflict of interest?

28. Ford Pinto: Cost -vs- Benefit

29. Ford Pinto: Cost -vs- Benefit
(Cost/Benefit Analysis)
Cost of Changes:
Sales: 11 million cars; 1.5 million light trucks
Unit Costs: $11/car and $11/truck
Total Cost: 12.5 million vehicles x $11/vehicle = $137.5 million
Benefits to Society:
Savings: 180 burn deaths; 180 burn injuries
Unit Costs: $200,000 per death, $67,000 per injury; $700 per car
Total Benefit: (180x $200,000+180 x $67,000+700 x 12.5 million)
= $49.5 million

30. Ethical Dilemma
1) Is the action legal? Classification of Actions:
Unethical
3) How will it make me feel
about myself? Ethical
5) Is it fair to all concerned? Legal Illegal
7) Is it the truth?
9) Will it cause anyone Cost of Fixing Problem
personal loss or pain, or
violate confidentiality, or = $137,500,000
harm somebody in any other
way? Cost of Not Fixing Problem
= $49, 500,000
11) Is there a conflict of
interest?
FORD CHOSE NOT TO FIX THE MECHANICAL PROBLEMS

31. In February of 1978, a California jury
created a nationwide sensation when it
awarded the record-breaking sum of $128
million in a lawsuit stemming from a Pinto
accident. This one lawsuit was three times
what Ford executives and engineers had
estimated their final cost would be.

32. Quote
“If you can’t be a good example, then you’ll
just have to be a horrible warning.”
- Catherine Aird