Journal of Leadership, Accountability and Ethics

Courageous, Fearful, Bureaucratic, and Quantum Organizational Types, and Personal Ethics

2024-11-18T04:03:14-05:00

Integrating the perspective of the values in action classification theory (Peterson & Seligman, 2004), which asserts that personal attributes, such as fearlessness, authenticity, enthusiasm, and perseverance, create courage, and the deontological theory of ethics (Kant, 1996), which posits that what is wrong for one person to do is wrong for anyone and that morality is for everybody, this research examined four organizational types—courageous, fearful, bureaucratic, and quantum—to determine their effects on ethical behavior. The type of organization an employee works in can influence ethical behavior regarding supporting fairness and dignity, advocating for personal beliefs, challenging discrimination, defending colleagues’ rights, empowering underrepresented voices, and championing meritocracy and inclusivity (Kilmann et al., 2002). A statistically significant difference between fearful and quantum organizations was identified. This research affirms that individuals who worked in fearful organizations rated lower on personal ethics than those in quantum organizations, who rated higher on personal ethics. Furthermore, ethnicity emerged as the only statistically significant socio-demographic variable regarding the relationship between organizational type and personal ethics.

Leader Perceptions of Gender (In)equality in the Workplace

2024-11-18T04:14:25-05:00

Despite gains in gender equality in the workplace, data collection and reporting inconsistencies may mask ongoing issues. Research categorizes employment concerns into four areas: representation, pay, health, and satisfaction. These categories help organizations identify issues and metrics to assess progress. However, meaningful change requires shifts in mindsets and practices. This qualitative study explores insights on gender (in)equities through interviews with 36 leaders. Data, analyzed using the Four for Women framework, reveal a focus on representation and satisfaction for women in the workplace over health and pay and suggest the need for a deeper understanding of gender issues at work.

Complexity Leadership: The Third Decade

2024-11-18T04:18:08-05:00

Complexity leadership, complex adaptive leadership, and adaptive leadership are distinct yet interconnected research areas, originating in the early 1980s. This article extends a systematic review, focusing on the third decade of literature in these fields. The authors examined 778 business-related articles, narrowing down to 91 published between 2003 and 2012 for detailed deductive analysis. Findings from this decade highlight a shift from traditional, leader-centric models to adaptive, holistic frameworks that emphasize emergence, nonlinearity, feedback loops, and interdependence. Key themes include adaptive capacity, self-organization, and distributed cognition, which underscore the importance of collaborative leadership in managing complex, volatile environments. These insights offer practical guidance, illustrating how organizations can use these principles to foster continuous innovation, adaptability, and resilience—laying the groundwork for the most recent fifteen years of complexity leadership research.

Examining Social and Economic Dynamics: A Comparative Analysis of Varna and Ashrama Systems in Ancient India and Adam Smith’s Division of Labor

2024-12-27T07:55:52-05:00

This research paper presents a comparative analysis of social and economic dynamics, focusing on the Varna and Ashrama systems in ancient India and Adam Smith’s theory of the division of labor. Delving into the principles of the ancient Indian systems, namely Varna and Ashrama, the study examines their influence on social structures, labor allocation, and economic roles. Simultaneously, it explores Adam Smith’s influential theory on the division of labor during the Enlightenment era, emphasizing its conceptualization and implications for economic development. By comparing these distinct frameworks, the research seeks to unveil commonalities, disparities, and the enduring impact of these historical systems on societal organization, economic efficiency, and individual contributions. Employing a multidisciplinary approach, the paper contributes to a nuanced understanding of the historical roots of economic philosophies and their implications for social and economic dynamics.

Organizational Leadership’s Responsibility to Better Understand the Occupational Stressors Effecting Crime Scene Investigators

2025-01-01T03:38:47-05:00

Organizational leadership in law enforcement has an ethical responsibility to understand the emotional needs of law enforcement personnel. This includes those highly trained professionals referred to as crime scene investigators. These professionals are tasked with working in horrific environments, conducting investigations into some of the most heinous crimes. The impact to the crime scene investigator is both physically and mentally taxing. Leadership must produce highly trained and proficient crime scene professionals best suited to serve the community's needs. To achieve this, organizational leadership must recognize the occupational stressors and coping mechanisms that impact these professionals.

Why the Way We Love Matters: A Comparative Examination of Sufi and Western Love Ideals in Shaping the Economy, Power, and Autonomy

2025-01-01T03:48:03-05:00

This study investigates how cultural narratives of love- often overlooked in economic discourse-fundamentally shape economic behaviors, power dynamics, and autonomy in both personal and professional contexts. By analyzing 25 Sufi and 25 American texts, this paper contrasts the self-transcendent, communal love emphasized in Sufi literature with the economically conditional, individualistic relationships depicted in Western literature. Our findings reveal that these divergent narratives profoundly influence gender roles, financial dependence, and societal power structures. This cultural framing of love impacts economic decision-making, contributing to financial inequalities and reinforcing gendered economic dependencies. As artificial intelligence increasingly drives high-stakes economic and leadership decisions, AI models must incorporate cultural dimensions like those of love, which shape decision-making in nuanced and often unquantifiable ways. A more holistic understanding of human values will achieve socially responsible outcomes. By highlighting the economic significance of cultural ideals around love, this paper offers a novel framework for integrating culturally diverse narratives into economic modeling, ultimately supporting ethical leadership, accountability, and inclusivity in decision-making systems.

Logistics and the Fall‒ Unpacking Civilization Collapse Through Two Lenses

2025-01-01T03:54:10-05:00

The study of civilization collapse has gained significant attention since the 1980s, largely due to researchers like Joseph Tainter and Jared Diamond. Tainter explores how increasing societal complexity leads to higher management costs, ultimately causing collapse when marginal returns diminish, including in areas like logistics. In contrast, Diamond investigates various drivers of collapse, particularly environmental factors, and highlights that societies often fail when they cannot adapt their supply chains to challenges such as environmental degradation and climate crises. While Tainter views logistics as a fundamental aspect of societal complexity, Diamond includes it within his broader analysis of the causes of collapse. Despite this, it is unfortunate that the topic remains largely overlooked in supply chain management research. This paper seeks to fill that gap by demonstrating that logistical failures play a critical role in the collapse of civilizations, linking historical patterns to current vulnerabilities in modern, interconnected systems. By examining these past cases, the contribution underscores the need for resilient logistics in avoiding similar outcomes today.

The Impact of Presidential Elections on Organizational Leadership in Business Environments

2025-01-01T03:57:44-05:00

This essay delves into the impact of U.S. presidential elections on organizational leadership within the business sector. By scrutinizing shifts in economic policy, regulatory practices, market expectations, and leadership behavior, this work evaluates how these elections shape the strategic and operational decisions of corporate leaders. The study integrates various theories of leadership and organizational behavior, alongside recent case studies, to demonstrate how different election outcomes influence corporate governance and the broader market landscape. Ultimately, it highlights the intricate relationship between political events and business leadership, offering insights into the adaptive strategies employed by corporate leaders in response to electoral changes.