Leadership, ethics, and justice in strategic decision making

Abstract

Purpose

Managers and leaders are faced with organizational decisions that impact policies and procedures every day. Managers and leaders in this post‐Enron era are required to make decisions that support the fair and ethical treatment of employees, and act in ways that are perceived as ethical and responsible. There is a pressing need to develop strategies for increasing organizational justice and promoting responsible decision‐making.

Design/methodology/approach

We begin with a discussion of leadership, emphasizing the difference between transactional and transformational leadership. We then go on to describe different decision‐making styles that have been validated by research and put into practice in many organizations. Next we examine the nature of organizational justice and how attention to justice issues has both theoretical and practical significance. Following these discussions, we present an integrative model of leadership, decision‐making, and justice.

Findings

We demonstrate, with real‐world examples and practical scenarios, how this model can be used to create a “great” company or “best” organization.

Research limitations/implications

Although many of the suggestions and recommendations are based on the best evidence to date, future studies should focus on the connections between traditional measures of effectiveness (e.g. profit, productivity, competitiveness) and the qualities of leadership, decision processes, and justice addressed in this paper.

Practical implications

This article describes strategies for improving morale, exercising strong leadership, making critical decisions, increasing performance, and promoting a positive corporate image.

Originality/value

The paper presents a new look at the relationships among leadership, decision‐making and justice. The article has value to business, corporate, and agency leaders who desire improvements to their organizations using a strategy that focuses on sound judgment and a just and responsible outcome.

Citation

Tatum, B.C. and Eberlin, R.J. (2007), "Leadership, ethics, and justice in strategic decision making", Business Strategy Series, Vol. 8 No. 4, pp. 303-310. https://doi.org/10.1108/17515630710684358