Leadership and Change: The Case for Greater Ethical Clarity

Citation

Burnes B & By RT (2012) Leadership and Change: The Case for Greater Ethical Clarity. Journal of Business Ethics, 108 (2), pp. 239-252. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-011-1088-2

Abstract
This article addresses the relationship between the ethics underpinning leadership and change. It examines the developments in leadership and change over the last three decades and their ethical implications. It adopts a consequentialist perspective on ethics and uses this to explore different approaches to leadership and change. In particular, the article focuses on individual (egoistic) consequentialism and utilitarian consequentialism. The article argues that all leadership styles and all approaches to change are rooted in a set of values, some of which are more likely to lead to ethical outcomes than others. It also argues that all stakeholders in an organisation have a role to play in ensuring ethical outcomes. It concludes that in order to achieve sustainable and beneficial change, those who promote and adopt particular approaches to leadership and change must provide greater ethical clarity about the approaches they are championing.

Keywords
Ethical leadership; Ethical change; Utilitarianism; Consequentialism; Planned change; Emergent change

Journal
Journal of Business Ethics: Volume 108, Issue 2