Discussion post. Should be between 350-500 words in length. Should use at least 2 scholarly articles with in text citations.
Examine the relationship between an organizations values and ethics and its culture. Discuss the relevance of Hofstede and Bond (1984), Dorfman et al. (2012) or Minkov and Hofstede (2012); then explain how global leaders can apply this research to establish a culture of ethics in their organizations.
(Do not attempt to address all of these points in your first post. Challenge yourself to develop your understanding and interaction with the course concepts as the discussion progresses.)
Discussion posts should reflect scholarly analysis and interpretation of the topic as well as supporting research. Follow APA formatting guidelines (current edition) to integrate your research and cite your sources. Each post (the initial post as well as the response posts) should be between 300-500 words in length.
This is a discussion response. Should be between 350-500 words in length. You are only writing a response to what is underneath here.
Ethical leadership is crucial for creating and maintaining an ethical organizational culture. Leaders set the tone, and their actions determine whether stated values are truly followed. Caldeira and Infante-Moro (2025) argue that ethical leadership is a key factor in organizational sustainability. It builds employee commitment and fosters trust with stakeholders, both of which are essential for long-term success. Organizational culture is fundamentally shaped by its values and ethical principles.
Culture encompasses the shared norms, underlying assumptions, and anticipated behaviors that evolve within an organization. Values define an organization’s priorities, whereas ethics dictate the practical application of those values. Consequently, the interaction of these components influences employees’ perceptions of their surroundings, their decision-making processes, and their alignment with the organization’s objectives.
Research increasingly indicates that ethical leadership is crucial for integrating organizational values within the wider cultural context. Caldeira and Infante Moro (2025) found a connection between ethical leadership and organizational commitment, characterized by consistent actions rooted in integrity, fairness, and adherence to core values. Leaders who embody these ethical tenets influence employees’ cultural expectations and solidify norms that encourage responsible conduct. As a result, ethical commitment acts as a crucial mediating element, thereby fortifying and sustaining a positive ethical culture within the organization.
This finding emphasizes that culture is not simply a passive consequence of an organization’s existence; rather, it is actively molded by leadership guided by fundamental values. When leaders articulate ethical expectations, employees internalize these values, thus cultivating a culture that encourages transparency, accountability, and a common moral purpose. Hofstede (2011) provides a broader cultural perspective, clarifying how societal-level values affect organizational culture. The framework demonstrates that cultural dimensions, such as power distance, individualism versus collectivism, and uncertainty avoidance, influence assumptions about authority, communication, and acceptable behavior within organizations (Hofstede, 2011).
These cultural dimensions subsequently affect the interpretation and application of ethics. For example, organizations operating within high power-distance cultures may depend more on hierarchical ethical directives, whereas those in collectivist cultures may prioritize group-oriented moral standards. Now the research underscores the significance of shared values, both internal and external to the organization, in shaping its culture (Hofstede’s, 2011). These values, in turn, dictate the definition, communication, and practical application of ethics throughout the organization.
Sinclair (1993) suggests that organizational culture is a crucial factor in determining employees’ ethical behavior, given that culture establishes the implicit behavioral norms. The examination of organizational culture models distinguishes between the “unitary culture” approach, wherein leaders strive to cultivate a unified, cohesive set of shared moral values, and a “subculture” approach, which acknowledges the presence of diversity and discussion within the organizational structure (Sinclair,1993). It is suggested that cultures fostering open dialogue and critical assessment of established norms might be more successful in promoting ethical conduct than those that mandate strict conformity. The research also emphasizes that ethics are not merely codified regulations; rather, they are socially constructed through everyday interactions (Sinclair,1993). The congruence or incongruence between stated values and actual practices ultimately dictates whether ethical standards are maintained or compromised.
Ethical leadership (Caldeira & InfanteMoro, 2025) ensures that values and ethics are communicated and modeled consistently, strengthening organizational culture. Broader cultural dimensions (Hofstede, 2011) influence how values and ethics are understood and enacted. Cultural mechanisms (Sinclair, 1993) determine whether ethical behavior is reinforced through strong shared norms or through constructive dialogue among diverse subgroups. Ultimately, an organizations culture becomes the living expression of its values and ethics. Where alignment exists, culture fosters trust, integrity, and sustainable performance; where misalignment occurs, ethical risks and dysfunctional behaviors are more likely to emerge.
Caldeira, R., & Infante-Moro, A. (2025). The Importance of Ethics in Organisations, Their Leaders, and Sustainability. Administrative Sciences, 15(9), 372.
Hofstede, G. (2011). Dimensionalizing Cultures: The Hofstede Model in Context. Online Readings in Psychology and Culture, 2 (1).
Sinclair, A. (1993). Approaches to Organisational Culture and Ethics. Journal of Business Ethics, 12(1), 6373.
This is a discussion response. Should be between 350-500 words in length. You are only writing a response to what is underneath here.
Organizational values and ethics form the normative core of an organizations culture, shaping how employees interpret expectations, resolve dilemmas, and understand appropriate conduct. Culture becomes the lived expression of these values, reinforced through leadership behaviors, shared assumptions, and the social influence processes that unfold across levels of the organization (House & Aditya, 1997). Leadership research increasingly shows that ethical culture is not created through policy alone but emerges through dynamic interactions among leaders, followers, and contextual forces (Eberly et al., 2013).
House and Aditya (1997) emphasize that leadership is a social influence process embedded within broader cultural systems, meaning that values and ethics are transmitted through leader behaviors, follower expectations, and contextual cues. This perspective aligns with Eberly et al.s (2013) integrative process model, which conceptualizes leadership as a series of event cycles in which leaders, followers, and contextual factors continuously influence one another through cognition, affect, and behavior. Through these repeated interactions, ethical culture becomes internalized and reinforced across the organization (Eberly et al., 2013).
Hofstede and Bonds (1984) cultural dimensions framework adds a critical global layer by demonstrating that societal values such as power distance, collectivism, and longterm orientation shape how individuals perceive authority, fairness, and ethical responsibility. These cultural value patterns influence how employees interpret ethical expectations and what they consider legitimate leadership behavior (Hofstede & Bond, 1984). Dorfman et al. (2012) extend this understanding through the GLOBE project, showing that societal culture indirectly shapes leadership effectiveness through culturally endorsed leadership prototypes. For example, charismatic/valuebased leadership is universally endorsed, whereas participative leadership varies significantly across cultures (Dorfman et al., 2012).
For global leaders, applying these insights requires integrating cultural awareness with consistent ethical leadership. Leaders must model ethical behavior in ways that resonate within local cultural frameworks while upholding universal principles such as integrity, transparency, and respect (Hofstede & Bond, 1984; Dorfman et al., 2012). By aligning organizational values with culturally informed leadership behaviors and reinforcing these values through ongoing event cycles leaders can cultivate ethical cultures that are both globally coherent and locally meaningful (Eberly et al., 2013).
References
Dorfman, P., Javidan, M., Hanges, P., Dastmalchian, A., & House, R. (2012). GLOBE: A twenty year journey into the intriguing world of culture and leadership. Journal of World Business, 47(4), 504518.
Eberly, M. B., Johnson, M. D., Hernandez, M., & Avolio, B. J. (2013). An integrative process model of leadership: Examining loci, mechanisms, and event cycles. American Psychologist, 68(6), 427443.
Hofstede, G., & Bond, M. H. (1984). Hofstedes culture dimensions: An independent validation using Rokeachs value survey. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 15(4), 417433.
House, R. J., & Aditya, R. N. (1997). The social scientific study of leadership: Quo vadis? Journal of Management, 23(3), 409473.
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