He had perpetrated a huge practical joke. The vendor, however, had failed a major test of his ethics. He never forgot it. Ethics as a Competitive Necessity John Akers, chairman of the board of IBM, suggests that ethical behavior is not only a requisite to leadership, but also an essential ingredient to a thriving and vigorous economy. My research confirms my initial hypothesis.
Ethical behavior is essential to effective leadership.
The opportunities are virtually limitless, but a checklist of the most frequent and important ones might read as follows. Am I scrupulously honest in my stewardship of university resources, both physical and human. For example, recently I approached a local contractor who was working on campus and sought to hire him to work on my home. He offered to do the work, which amounted to less than a day's activity for him, at no cost to me. It would be, he said, his expression of appreciation for the cordial, partnering relationship he enjoyed with our department and the university.