Synopses & Reviews
The Enron debacle, the demise of Arthur Andersen, questionable practices at Tyco, Qwest, WorldCom, and a seemingly endless list of others have pushed public regard for business and business leaders to new lows. The need for smart leaders with vision and integrity has never been greater. Things need to change— and it will not be easy.
We can take a first step toward producing better business leaders by changing some of our own ideas about what it means to "win." Noel M. Tichy and Andrew R. McGill have brought together a stellar group of contributors from a variety of perspectives— including General Electric CEO Jeffrey Immelt, former Secretary of State James A. Baker III, and renowned management gurus Robert Quinn and C. K. Prahalad, among others— to offer insights that will help build better leaders, communities, and organizations. They show how to present a "Teachable Point of View" about business ethics that will help all leaders within an organization:
- Internalize core values
- Build a values-based culture across the organization
- Become engaged to teach the same values lessons to their staff
- Take action and raise the ethical bar
Successful business leaders must be able to articulate their own unique Teachable Point of View on business ethics and drive it through their organization to ensure that everyone knows the ethical line and is neither shy nor silent if others risk crossing it.
Synopsis
Today's business leaders must fight to win the renewed support of a skeptical public— not through new products, fads, or other manipulations— but with foundations of ethical absolutes the world can trust. Noel M. Tichy and Andrew R. McGill bring together thought leaders from private, public, nonprofit, and governmental organizations to highlight the dilemmas leaders are facing, the decisions some are making, and the reasoning they all must contemplate.
Contributors include:
- Professors Noel M. Tichy and Andrew R. McGill on teaching ethics
- Professor C. K. Prahalad on the "core invariants"
- UMBS Dean Robert Dolan on courage
- James Hackett, CEO of Steelcase, on ethics in everyday situations
- Professor Robert Quinn on doing the norm vs. the ethically right thing
- Eleanor Josaitis, cofounder of Focus: hope on living values every day
About the Author
Noel M. Tichy— author of the best-selling
The Leadership Engine and the
Cycle of Leadership— is a professor of organizational behavior and human resource management at the University of Michigan Business School, where he is director of the Global Leadership Program and the Global Business Partnership. His consulting clients have included Citibank, Exxon, General Motors, Hitachi, IBM, Pepsico, Royal Dutch Shell, and other international corporations.
Andrew R. McGill is director of the Global Business Partnership at the University of Michigan Business School, where he is also adjunct associate professor of organizational behavior and human resource management. His research focuses on organizations changing to better serve their customers and he consults widely on the topic in the health care, financial services, technology, and automotive industries.
Table of Contents
A Special Thanks x
Introduction: Teaching Your Values and Ethics Will Plant Them Across Your Organization 1
Noel M. Tichy, Andrew R. McGill
PART 1 The Abuse 21
1 Business Ethics Reality Stunned Americans as Enron, Others Misled Investors and Employees 23
Andrew R. McGill
2 Ethics and Culture of ServiceMaster Sustain Important Values Over Time 53
C. William Pollard
3 Sustaining Business Ethics Requires Teachable Point of View 57
Jonathan Ward
4 Business Ethics in Skeptical Times 61
James A. Baker III
5 Peripheral Issues Can Evolve; "Core Ethics" Must Be Stable 77
C. K. Prahalad
6 We Need Great Leader-Teachers with Great Skills and High Ethics 87
Robert E. Knowling Jr.
7 Ethics "Honor One's Self" In Your Business Behavior 101
Robert Dolan
PART 2 The Aftermath 105
8 Values: The Best Tools to Lead a Large Global Organization 107
Jeffrey Immelt
9 Competence Without Credibility Won't Win in the Long Run 125
Anjan Thakor
10 Leadership Dilemmas: Ethical Challenges Can Make or Break a CEO 135
James Hackett
11 Ethics and Fundamental Decisions: The Internally Directed and Other-Focused Mindset 159
Robert Quinn
12 Superstar Entrepreneur Meets Today's High-Bar Ethics: How Trilogy Is a Very Different Software Company 171
Joe Liemandt
13 Ethics, Virtuousness, and Constant Change 185
Kim Cameron
14 The Best Ethical Choices Come When Long-Term Impact Rules 195
Tim Fort
PART 3 The Ethical Future 209
15 Students Meet Ethical Dilemmas in Their Workplace Challenges 211
Noel M. Tichy and Six MBA Students
16 Ethical Markets Are Essential for Trust, Global Development 231
E. LaBrent Chrite
17 Living Beautiful Values Every Day Makes Focus: HOPE Special 237
Eleanor Josaitis
18 Corporate Global Citizenship: The Ethical Path for Business 247
Noel M. Tichy, Andrew R. McGill
Acknowledgments 272
The Authors 274
Index 281