Ethics and leader integrity in the health sector

• Main Author: Aronson, Edward
• Other Authors: Jaeger, Alfred M. (advisor)
• Format: Others
• Language: en
• Published: McGill University 2003
• Subjects: Leadership.; Ethics; Integrity.; Health services administration
• Online Access: http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=82823

This thesis examines the determinants of ethical leadership and the manner in which they are associated with the directive, transactional, and transformational leadership styles, as well as their effects on organizational followers. A review is first conducted of the major theories of leadership and ethics, and current perspectives on ethical leadership are discussed. The determinants of ethical leadership are postulated to be altruism, manifested through some combination of teleological and deontological values, intellectual integrity, and moral integrity. A framework is then presented which integrates ethics and leadership by illustrating the proposed linkages among the ethics variables, leadership styles and effects on followers. This is followed by a series of hypotheses concerning the suggested relationships among the variables. The empirical investigation to test the hypotheses was conducted in a series of Canadian hospitals. Leaders were heads of various departments and services while followers were individuals who reported directly to the leader. Leader altruism was measured by a self-report questionnaire completed by the leaders themselves. Since leadership style and integrity are conceptualized as attributions by followers, all other variables were assessed via a self-report questionnaire having subordinates as respondents. The main findings of the thesis are the significant relationships between intellectual integrity and the three leadership styles compared with insignificant associations observed for moral integrity, as well as the stronger, although indirect, effects of leader intellectual integrity on subordinates compared with those for moral integrity. The thesis concludes with suggestions for future research and practical implications for management.