Leadership Ethics: An Introduction

by Terry L. Price

• ISBN13: 9780521699112
• ISBN10: 0521699118
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-08-18
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

Are leaders morally special? Is there something ethically distinctive about the relationship between leaders and followers? Should leaders do whatever it takes to achieve group goals? Leadership Ethics uses moral theory, as well as empirical research in psychology, to evaluate the reasons everyday leaders give to justify breaking the rules. Written for people without a background in philosophy, it introduces readers to the moral theories that are relevant to leadership ethics: relativism, amoralism, egoism, virtue ethics, social contract theory, situation ethics, communitarianism, and cosmopolitan theories such as utilitarianism and transformational leadership. Unlike many introductory texts, the book does more than simply acquaint readers with different approaches to leadership ethics. It defends the Kantian view that everyday leaders are not justified in breaking the moral rules.

Author Biography

Terry L. Price is associate professor and associate dean for academic affairs at the Jepson School of Leadership Studies at the University of Richmond

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. ix
Introduction	p. 1
Leader-Centric Approaches
Relativism and Exceptionalism	p. 15
Reason and Amoralism	p. 38
Power and Self-Interest	p. 65
Traits and Virtues	p. 93
Group-Centric Approaches
Permission and Consent	p. 119
Situations and Circumstances	p. 142
Membership and Moral Particularity	p. 165
The Greater Good	p. 191
Everyday Leadership Ethics	p. 215
Select Bibliography for Students	p. 229
Works Cited	p. 233
Index	p. 243
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