Term Paper and Presentation on Ethical Leadership
It is important that you be able to communicate your understanding of business ethics to others as a leader. Part of this involves having exemplars of ethical leaders to aspire to be like. Hence, a major component of the course will be a term paper in which you will research a recent high profile ethical leader that had to face and navigate an ethical decision. This assignment will account for 20% of your course grade. To accomplish this, you will need to first identify an ethical situation in which there is a leader that you believe behaved ethically. After researching this ethical situation, sketch out an outline for a 10 page paper in which you walk through the steps of ethical decision making (for more details on this process see Module 2). Below is an example outline and rubric. Once you have completed your outline, you will write your 10 page paper based on this.
Several points on the paper worth mentioning…
- The paper will need to be prepared in APA style. We will cover APA in class and I will give you some sample papers you can use as examples.
- The paper will be at least 10 pages. A well thought out ethical argument from multiple perspectives should take at least this amount of pages.
- This is a position paper, which means that you will need to draw from evidence and conceptual logic. The words, “I think” really should not appear in the paper. One, it is redundant (you wrote it, so obviously you thought it), and two, your personal views are irrelevant unless you can back them up with a theoretical grounding or past research. Any statement that purports a relation or causal statement (i.e., X causes Y) needs to be supported by empirical work. Empirical work can be found in peer reviewed journals. We will cover how to search, retrieve, and read a research article in class.
- Spell check and grammar check are necessary for even experienced writers.
Outline
Ethical Leadership in Action:
Rose Marcario and Patagonia’s Commitment to Environmental Responsibility
1. Introduction
- Importance of
Ethical Leadership in Business - Briefly introduce the
significance of ethics in leadership and why it matters for society and
the environment. - Reference
Example: Trevino & Nelson, Managing Business Ethics
(course text) for the importance of ethical culture in leadership. - Overview of
Rose Marcario and Patagonia - Introduction to Rose
Marcario as a leader who championed ethical practices in Patagonia. - Purpose of the
Paper - Outline how the paper
will explore Marcario’s ethical decision-making in the context of
sustainability and activism.
2. Background
- Facts of the
Case - Description of
Patagonia’s environmental and ethical initiatives under Marcario’s
leadership, including sustainable product lines, the “Don’t Buy
This Jacket” campaign, and suing the U.S. government to protect
public lands. - Reference
Example: Marcario’s statements and Patagonia’s sustainability
reports. - Why This Is an
Ethical Issue - Discussion on how
environmental responsibility intersects with ethical business practices
and corporate social responsibility. - Reference
Example: Academic or industry sources on corporate environmental
responsibility.
3. Stakeholders
- Proximal
Stakeholders - Patagonia employees,
customers, and partners in the supply chain who are directly impacted by
ethical business decisions. - Reference
Example: Supply chain management principles. - Distal
Stakeholders - Broader environmental
and activist communities, as well as the public, who benefit from
Patagonia’s advocacy and sustainable practices. - Reference
Example: Articles on corporate impact on public environmental
health.
4. Available
Alternatives
- Ethical
Alternatives Considered - The option of
prioritizing profit over environmental commitment, reducing investment
in sustainability initiatives, or choosing less radical methods of
advocacy. - Reference
Example: Business ethics literature discussing profit vs. ethical
commitment.
5. Compare
and Weight the Alternatives Using Ethical Theories
- Utilitarianism:
Evaluate how Marcario’s decision maximized benefits for society and the
environment. - Deontology:
Consider Patagonia’s commitment to environmental duty as an intrinsic
ethical responsibility. - Virtue Ethics:
Discuss how Marcario’s actions reflect personal and corporate integrity
and the virtue of stewardship. - Reference Example:
Ethical theories from Trevino & Nelson and environmental ethics
sources.
6. How
Might Such a Situation Be Prevented in the Future?
- Preventive
Strategies and Ethical Standards - Recommendations for
other businesses to implement strong environmental standards and
proactive policies. - Monitoring and
Evaluation - Suggestions for
evaluating the effectiveness of Patagonia’s environmental initiatives,
such as periodic sustainability audits and public accountability
reports. - Reference Example:
Sustainability auditing standards and ethical business frameworks.
7. Conclusion
- Summarize Marcario’s
ethical leadership qualities and the impact of her decisions on Patagonia
and beyond. - Reflect on the broader
lessons for ethical leadership in promoting sustainability and social
responsibility.
References
- Trevino, L. K., & Nelson,
K. A. Managing Business Ethics. - Patagonia. (n.d.). Our
responsibility programs. Patagonia. https://www.patagonia.com/our-responsibility-programs.html - Schreiber, D. (2020, June
11). Why Patagonia CEO Rose Marcario is stepping down after growing
the company into a billion-dollar business. Fast Company.
https://www.fastcompany.com/90515178/why-patagonia-ceo-rose-marcario-is-stepping-down-after-growing-the-company-into-a-billion-dollar-business - Columbia Business School.
(n.d.). Scaling a revolution: Patagonia CEO Rose Marcario on leading
corporate change and protecting the planet. Columbia Business School.
https://business.columbia.edu/leadership-and-ethics-news/bernstein-center-leadership-and-ethics/scaling-revolution-patagonia-ceo