Moral Leadership - Publications - Faculty & Research

November 2011
Teaching Note

Celeritas, Inc.: Leadership Challenges in a Fast-Growth Industry (Brief Case)

By: Michael Beer and Ingrid Vargas

Teaching Note for 4360. View Details

Keywords: Technology; Morale; Conflict; Organizational Change; Team Building; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Information Technology; Leadership; Communication; Groups and Teams; Conflict and Resolution

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February 2007
Module Note

American Ground Summary: Assuming Leadership

By: Sandra J. Sucher

A summary of the major themes discussed in the thirteenth class of The Moral Leader (EC curriculum). View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Moral Sensibility

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Article

Moral Dilemmas and Trust in Leaders during a Global Health Crisis

By: Jim A. C. Everett, Clara Colombatto, Edmond Awad, Paulo Boggio, Björn Bos, William J. Brady, Megha Chawla, Vladimir Chituc, Dongil Chung, Moritz A. Drupp, Shristi Goel, Brit Grosskopf, Frederik Hjorth, Alissa Ji, Caleb Kealoha, Judy S. Kim, Yangfei Lin, Yina Ma, Michel André Maréchal, Federico Mancinelli, Christoph Mathys, Asmus L. Olsen, Graeme Pearce, Annayah M. B. Prosser, Niv Reggev, Nicholas Sabin, Julien Senn, Yeon Soon Shin, Walter Sinnott-Armstrong, Hallgeir Sjåstad, Madelijn Strick, Sunhae Sul, Lars Tummers, Monique Turner, Hongbo Yu, Yoonseo Zoh and Molly J. Crockett

Trust in leaders is central to citizen compliance with public policies. One potential determinant of trust is how leaders resolve conflicts between utilitarian and non-utilitarian ethical principles in moral dilemmas. Past research suggests that utilitarian responses... View Details

Keywords: COVID-19 Pandemic; Impartial Beneficence; Utilitarian Responses; Trust; Ethics; Public Opinion; Leadership Style

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10 Nov 2015
Op-Ed

Authentic Leadership Rediscovered

authentic. Authentic Leadership was intended as a clarion call to the new generation to learn from negative examples like Enron, WorldCom and Tyco. In it, I defined authentic leaders as genuine, moral and... View Details

Keywords: by Bill George

01 Nov 2020
Research & Ideas

Good Leadership Is an Act of Kindness

"Three things in human life are important. The first is to be kind. The second is to be kind. And the third is to be kind." —Henry James As a professor of business administration in the Organizational Behavior Unit at the Harvard Business School, I teach courses in... View Details

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg and Susan Seligson

18 Aug 2017
Op-Ed

Op-Ed: Courageous Leader Triggers a Moral Revolt of CEOs Against Trump

business community. It all came down to moral leadership. When the president refused to take the lead in speaking out against the demonstration in Charlottesville by neo-Nazis, Ku Klux Klan, and white supremacist groups, America’s CEOs... View Details

Keywords: by Bill George

09 Feb 2009
Research & Ideas

Uncompromising Leadership in Tough Times

the social institution? How can good leadership strengthen morale as well as the economic side of the organization in times of uncertainty? A: We interviewed the CEOs before the financial meltdown, so I... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

April 2009 (Revised October 2010)
Case

Golden Rule

By: Andrew Wasynczuk, Katherine Dowd and Sara del Nido

Jim Golden wants to radically change how catastrophic trucking accident lawsuit claims are handled by his trucking company. He wants to “do the right thing” for both the claimant and his company. Golden is a former litigator with 16 years of experience defending... View Details

Keywords: Business Ethics; Business Law; Law; Executives; Management Education; Management; Negotiator's Dilemma; Negotiations; Value; Moral Compass; Moral Leadership; Lawsuits and Litigation; Ethics; Moral Sensibility; Corporate Accountability; Negotiation; Conflict and Resolution; Value Creation

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September–October 2020
Article

A New Model for Ethical Leadership

By: Max Bazerman

Rather than try to follow a set of simple rules (“Don’t lie.” “Don’t cheat.”), leaders and managers seeking to be more ethical should focus on creating the most value for society. This utilitarian view, Bazerman argues, blends philosophical thought with business school... View Details

Keywords: Social Value; Leadership; Moral Sensibility; Ethics; Decision Making; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Society

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September 1994
Case

Leadership Problems at Salomon (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine and Michael Santoro

Deryck Maughan, a vice chairman and co-head of investment banking at Salomon Brothers, learns that his superiors have been less than candid about their knowledge of bidding improprieties by the firm's government trading desk. He must decide what, if anything, he should... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Decision Choices and Conditions; Ethics; Moral Sensibility; Values and Beliefs; Crime and Corruption; Rank and Position; Financial Services Industry

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27 Jul 2021
Op-Ed

What Pirates Can Teach Us About Leadership

With the blessing of the vessel’s owner, the captain treated crewmen as he saw fit, often harshly. Sailors were beaten, overworked, underpaid, and sometimes starved. Morale was low. Dissent was punished as mutiny. Pirates, by contrast,... View Details

Keywords: by Francesca Gino

2016
Teaching Note

Advanced Leadership Pathways: Shelly London and Ethics Education

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Tessa Natanay Hamilton and Ai-Ling Jamila Malone

Teaching Note for Case 313-028. Following a successful career as a Senior Vice President, Vice President, and Chief Communications Officer at two large corporate companies, Shelly London became a Harvard Advanced Leadership Fellow. During her fellowship she set out to... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Education; Moral Sensibility; Behavior; Decision Making; Leadership; Innovation and Management; Change Management; Social Enterprise; Education Industry; Service Industry; North and Central America

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01 May 2019
What Do You Think?

What Should the Leadership of YouTube Do?

littleny Can YouTube’s Users Help the Company Deal With Its “Moral” Problem?* This month’s mini-case described the dilemma faced by Susan Wojcicki, CEO of YouTube: how far to promote “sustainability,” viewership, and (to some) free speech at the risk of losing what is... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Entertainment & Recreation; Media & Broadcasting

17 Aug 2020
Research & Ideas

What the Stockdale Paradox Tells Us About Crisis Leadership

leadership is to provide the communication necessary for that civilization, that ritual, those laws, those traditions.” Angela Duckworth’s concept of grit may be useful here. By grit, Duckworth does not mean endurance for its own sake,... View Details

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg and Robin Abrahams

April 2017
Teaching Note

Golden Rule

By: Andrew Wasynczuk

Jim Golden wants to radically change how catastrophic trucking accident lawsuit claims are handled by his trucking company. He wants to “do the right thing” for both the claimant and his company. Golden is a former litigator with 16 years of experience defending... View Details

Keywords: Business Ethics; Business Law; Law; Executives; Management Education; Management; Negotiator's Dilemma; Negotiations; Value; Moral Compass; Moral Leadership; Lawsuits and Litigation; Ethics; Moral Sensibility; Corporate Accountability; Negotiation; Conflict and Resolution; Value Creation

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May 2012
Case

BoldFlash: Cross-Functional Challenges in the Mobile Division

By: Michael Beer and Rachel Shelton

Roger Cahill has spent less than a year as head of the Mobile Division of BoldFlash, a flash memory component maker. On the corporate level, BoldFlash has adapted to an evolving and difficult marketplace, but the Mobile Division is struggling. The four groups within... View Details

Keywords: United States; Massachusetts; Morale; Human Resource Management; Technology; Leadership; Opportunities; Organizational Design; Conflict and Resolution; Product Development; Change Management; Information Infrastructure; Business Processes; Manufacturing Industry; Electronics Industry; Massachusetts

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02 Oct 2013
What Do You Think?

Is Leadership an Increasingly Difficult Balancing Act?

Summing Up What's the Future of the Authority Figure In Leadership? Leadership involves the effective management of tensions characteristic of all organizations. Are such tensions exacerbated by today's need for increasing speed and... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

Article

Creating High-Impact Coalitions: CEOs Can Lead the Charge on Society’s Biggest Problems

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Tuna Cem Hayirli

Traditionally, responses to crises and societal problems—the COVID-19 pandemic, natural disasters, racial inequities—are considered the responsibility of the public sector and NGOs. But addressing the world’s most critical problems requires leadership, resources, and... View Details

Keywords: Coalition; Change; Problem Solving; Organization; Boundaries; Evolution; Mission; Moral Leadership; Balance; ＂Solutions Approach; Society; Problems and Challenges; Organizations; Mission and Purpose; Leading Change; Trust

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2016
Case

Advanced Leadership Pathways: Alberto Mora and the Costs and Consequences of Torture

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Benjamin Summers

Alberto Mora's time as General Counsel of the Navy from 2001–2006 greatly influenced his mission to illuminate the policy consequences of torture. Mora's drive to restore the nation's awareness and conscience against torture was gaining traction. Prominent... View Details