The relationship between business ethics and leadership is derived from the manner in which the ethical stance of leaders in business environments is related to their brand of leadership. Ethics and leadership in the corporate world is a broad concept that encompasses a wide range of scenarios, all of which impact the way in which a business leader makes decisions. Such ethical consideration include factors like the manner in which the leader relates with the employees, the organizational culture in the organization, the relationship between the company and clients or customers, and decisions regarding finances and other forms of business deals.
One of the more prominent considerations in the discussion of the relationship between business ethics and leadership is the way in which the leader responds when he or she is faced with business deals that might be viewed as unethical. An example of such a situation is where the owner of a jewelry store is approached with diamonds that were obtained under questionable circumstances at a fraction of the price on the open market. The link between business ethics and leadership will come into play as it will determine the action that the business leader in this situation will take. Most times, ethical considerations are just related to issues of what are considered fundamentally wrong or right, since they often do not involve the breaking of any law.
One connection between business ethics and leadership can be seen in the relationship between a business leader and employees. For example, a business man might have a perfectly good secretary whom he might decide to transfer to another department, or even fire, in order to hire an attractive new applicant. If the business leader transfers the secretary to another department within the organization, the leader has not broken the law, but such a treatment might foster resentment among the employees who are treated in such a shabby manner.
Another application of business ethics and leadership involves the way in which the business leader relates to customers. Such considerations include taking into consideration the feelings of the customers as well contributing to the welfare of the community and members of the community. For instance, if the consumers are against the testing of products on animals, an ethical leader would look for other ways of conducting product tests. Also, the business leader would show responsible leadership by taking care not to contribute to unnecessary environmental pollution as well as sponsoring projects aimed at the development of the host community.
