The Responsible Leadership Collection focuses on various key aspects of leadership, as firstly, developing individual leadership understood as a typology: from charismatic leadership to responsible leadership including the description of the ethical values and rules underlying the leadership typology. Secondly, responsible leadership is understood in the framework of organisations. It has administrative and governance aspects and needs to be open to an understanding of corporate and organizational cultures, technological and information science related challenges impacting the life of the organisation, and crucial ethical holistic dimensions such as to "walk the talk". Thirdly, leadership between organisations is presented trough different sectors; the economic, the political, the education and research, faith based organizations, or the environment.

Recent Submissions

  • Fostering employee promotive voice in hospitality: The impact of responsible leadership

    Seray Özkan, Osman; Huertas-Valdivia, Irene; ÜZÜM, Burcu (Elsevier, 2024-02-29)
    This research was conducted within the framework of the URJC REVTUR research project.
 
 We would like to thank the Associate Editor, Dr. Mingming Cheng, and the three anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments.
  • A New Face of Ethical Leadership: Voices of Future Educational Leaders

    Lemana II, Henry; Cabaya, Mary Grace; Catalan, Haren; Fronda, Billy; Gocotano, Orchid; Juan, Marlene; Milan, Judiel; Miranda, Joan; Omas-As, Estrella; Susbilla, Cherry (Psychology and Education: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 2024-03-08)
    <p><span>Navigating the complexities of the 21st-century educational landscape highlights the imperative for a more profound exploration of ethical leadership. This study delves into the perceptions of future educational leaders on their ethical values, visions, influencing factors, and strategies for implementing ethical leadership in the 21st century. Employing a qualitative exploratory design, this research meticulously captures nuanced perspectives from a cohort of six participants. These individuals were selected through purposive and voluntary sampling, focusing on those currently enrolled in postgraduate programs specializing in leadership. The findings of the thematic analysis of transcribed in-depth interviews highlight a transformative shift towards holistic, student-centered approaches, emphasizing equity, inclusivity, transparency, and adaptability. Moreover, the participants envision environments fostering inclusivity and advocate for transparent communication while recognizing ethical leadership as an ongoing, adaptive journey. Influenced by personal beliefs, experiences, and global trends, they stress personal integrity and the translation of values into actionable strategies within educational settings. This study contributes valuable insights, emphasizing integrating personal values into institutional practices to foster inclusive, ethically responsible educational environments. Additionally, it underscores the need for future research to explore the practical implementation of identified ethical values and assess their impact on student outcomes and institutional culture across diverse educational contexts.</span></p>
  • Engaged Leadership

    Melyoki, Lemayon; Lituchy, Terry; Galperin, Bella; Punnet, Betty; Vagire, Vincent; Senagi, Thomas; Metwally, Elham; Bulley, Cinthia; Henderson, Courtney; Osei-Bonsu, Noble (Springer, 2024-03-05)
    This chapter addresses the concept of engaged leadership in the under-researched context of African countries. It provides insights on engaged leadership based on the findings from selected Leadership Effectiveness in Africa and the African Diaspora (LEAD) research countries in Africa. The chapter utilizes qualitative data collected from leaders in business and public sector organizations using the Delphi technique, focus groups, and interviews. The findings from the Delphi technique and focus groups show that leaders who are effective are those that are perceived to be engaging, while the results from the interviews show that both local and foreign leaders view current African leadership styles as less engaging and hence ineffective. This has implications for the practice of management in Africa and similar contexts. Leaders in both business and public organizations need to be engaged to be effective in their leadership roles. Organizations, as well as universities that are involved in leadership development, need to incorporate concepts of engaged leadership in their training curricula in order to develop and foster leadership engagement competencies which would positively impact performance.
  • How responsible leadership fosters individual performance: Affective commitment and individual creativity’s sequential mediation

    Simões, L. M.; Duarte, A. P. (EAWOP, 2024-02-29)
    Research goals and why the work was worth doing : This study sought to answer the question “How
 employees’ perception of responsible leadership fosters their individual performance?”. It
 contributes to the literature on responsible leadership (RL), by identifying two mechanisms through
 which leaders’ behavior fosters employees performance at work, namely affective commitment (AC)
 and individual creativity (IC).
  • Reflections on a Restructuring Initiative: Conceptualization, Implementation, and Reflection on an “Episode in Contradictions”

    Forsyth, Benjamin Robert; Gilson, Timothy; Etscheidt, Susan (UNI ScholarWorks, 2024-01-01)
    This paper evaluates and critiques a recent restructuring initiative for a college at a Midwestern university in the United States in which three academic departments were reduced down to two departments. The case study presents the experiences and perspectives of three faculty members– one from each of those departments–who participated in the restructuring process. The paper first introduces the current challenges and complexities in Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) which initiate and influence restructuring efforts After laying out the context of our case study, we examine faculty perceptions of the purpose, the plan, and the process of restructuring through an interpretive phenomenological case study analysis using Putnam and Nicotera’s (2009) Communicative Constitution of Organization (CCO) as a theoretical framework. The findings are presented as three integrated themes including the importance of a clear and purposeful rationale, maintenance of consistent communication and organization, and an ethical commitment to faculty voice and choice. The ethical implications for each theme are discussed and recommendations for restructuring initiatives are offered. The results of this study will help inform restructuring initiatives in colleges and universities with a particular emphasis on characteristics of effective, ethical leadership and the value of strong communicative elements when engaging in restructuring.
  • India's system of public administration and delivery of public services in turbulent times: challenges and solutions

    Datta, Prabhat K.; Kotchegura, Alexander P. (RUS, 2024-02-28)
    The paper explores the peculiarities of the current system of public administration in India, the role and functions of civil servants and their interface and relations with politicians. It delienates existing main problem areas and outlines certain "remedy" actions to overcome current difficulties and raise performance of the national bureaucracy, in particular - its ability to deliver timely and better quality public services. The findings and inferences of the accomplished research are largely based on the analysis of the performance of Indian civil servants in the current administrative and political setting, specifically at the regional and local levels. The colonial legacy of civil service still persists in this fast-changing era of globalization. It is in this context that civil service reform constitutes a quintessential element of the system of good governance. The study focuses on the internationally recognized experience of the regional administration in Kerala State, focused on the successful mobilization of citizens, businesses and street level bureaucrats to withstand the impact of the pandemic. The relative success of Kerala in addressing key issues of survival for tens of thousands of citizens is largely explained by the ability of the regional and local governments to encourage and coordinate stakeholders in their joint anti-coronavirus efforts and support innovative grassroots intiatives.
  • The Corporation Ten Years On: An Interview and an Audience with Joel Bakan

    SAGE Publications, 2015-11-25
    More than 10 years ago, the Canadian documentary film The Corporation, written by University of British Columbia professor of law Joel Bakan, significantly challenged the way we think about the modern corporation by unraveling its legal status as a person pathologically committed to the pursuit of power and profit. The film won 26 international awards and Bakan’s book also became a widely translated bestseller. In this interview and Q&A session, Bakan talks about his motivations in making the movie and writing the book, the response they generated, and the changing nature of the modern corporation. His commentary provides insight into the relationship between documentary filmmaking and scholarship and enables understanding of the use of film as a resource with the potential to generate social change by bringing insights from research to a wider audience. The interview also explores connections between scholars of law and management in critically analyzing corporations.
  • Green Human Resource Management as a Catalyst for Sustainable Performance: Unveiling the Role of Green Innovations

    Wang Zihan; Zafir Khan Mohamed Makhbul (MDPI AG, 2024-02-01)
    Green human resource management (GHRM) has emerged as an essential strategy for achieving environmental sustainability within organizations. However, there remains a significant gap in understanding its direct impact on sustainable performance. This study seeks to address these gaps by investigating the relationship between GHRM and sustainable performance, with a focus on the mediating role of green innovation and the moderating influence of transformational leadership. A cross-sectional study was conducted among Malaysian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to explore the interrelationships between green HRM, green process and product innovation, sustainability, and the role of sustainable leadership. The study’s findings reveal a positive and significant relationship between green HRM practices and sustainability, encompassing environmental, economic, and social aspects. The findings suggest that management support for environmental initiatives is a critical factor in enhancing the effectiveness and spread of green innovations, emphasizing the importance of GHM in the broader context of organizational change and sustainability. In addition, the study underscores the critical role of transformative leadership in fostering sustainable practices, particularly the significant moderator role of responsible leadership in driving sustainable business practices. In summary, this study provides a roadmap for businesses, particularly SMEs, to leverage HGRM as a strategic tool in their pursuit of sustainability.
  • A liderança ética e a influência na promoção do bem-estar dos trabalhadores: um estudo exploratório intersetorial

    Machado, Carolina Feliciana; Silva, Beatriz Sousa (2024-01-29)
    Dissertação de mestrado em Gestão de Recursos Humanos
  • How Executive Boards Set the Stage for Unethical Behavior in the Financial Sector

    Social identity: Morality and diversity; Leerstoel Ellemers; van Steenbergen, E.F.; Jansen, W.S.; Ellemers, N. (2023-12-31)
    Unethical behavior in the financial sector is a common and costly phenomenon. The main purpose of this study was to examine how ethical board leadership in the financial sector relates to the ethical climate and incidents of unethical workplace behavior. Surprisingly few studies have examined whether ethical leadership of the top management of organizations relates to lower levels of unethical behavior displayed by organizational members at the work floor. Moreover, the few existing studies have used generic measures of ethical leadership which provide little insight into concrete and visible leadership behaviors that should be displayed by board members to build an ethical climate. Building on Ethical Leadership Theory, Signaling Theory, and the Social Identity Theory of Leadership, we examined whether employees’ perceptions of the board’s commercial focus, unjustified board pay and the board’s focus on consumers’ interests related to an instrumental ethical climate in financial organizations, and indirectly to the incidence of observed unethical behavior. The Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets collaborated with the authors of this paper to develop an online survey. At the end of 2018 and the beginning of 2019, the survey was distributed in 18 organizations, which operated in four subsectors of the Dutch financial sector (four banks, four insurance companies, five financial intermediary companies, and five funeral insurance companies). The survey was completed by 4,144 employees in total. We do not think that the Dutch context is unique, although after the financial crisis, Dutch behavioral codes came to the fore which stated that that executive boards are responsible for preventing unethical behavior. The quantitative, correlational data of the survey were used to conduct structural equation modeling. Confirming our research questions, results showed that the board’s commercial focus and unjustified board pay related to higher levels of unethical workplace behavior, via a more instrumental climate. Moreover, the board’s focus on consumers’ interests negatively related to unethical behavior, via a less instrumental climate. Additionally, we performed content analysis of free-format comments in the survey (N= 195). Results revealed that most comments centered around board pay and addressed this in a negative sense. Perceptions of unjustified board pay seemed to lead to lower identification with the board and elicited ‘them’ (at the top) versus ‘us’ (at the work floor) thinking among employees. In conclusion, this study in the financial sector indicates that exemplary behavior at the top, regarding board pay and the board’s focus on commercial and consumers’ interests, shapes ethical climates in organizations and as such can set the stage for unethical behavior, also towards consumers. Future research on the effects of ethical board leadership should strive to use experimental or longitudinal research design and include objective measures of unethical behavior. We also hope to inspire future research on possible additional dimensions of ethical board leadership in the financial and other sectors. For practice, this study provides insight in concrete and visible behaviors that executive boards must (and must not) display when they want to invest in the ethical climate and lower the likelihood of unethical behavior. It is advisable for (financial) organizations to examine how the ‘tone from the top’ is perceived by employees via anonymous employee surveys and, possibly for board members, to reconsider what kind of ‘tone at the top’ they want to broadcast regarding consumers, profit and pay.
  • Gestión educativa desde el liderazgo, para el fortalecimiento de la cultura organizacional, del Liceo Turrúcares de Alajuela

    Penabad Camacho, Liana; Vargas Rodríguez, Daniel (2024-02-19)
    Esta investigación establece como propósito analizar la cultura organizacional del Liceo 
 Turrúcares de Alajuela, vista desde la perspectiva de la gestión educativa y el liderazgo, seguido 
 de lo cual, se realiza una cuidadosa revisión bibliográfica, sobre antecedentes disponibles a 
 nivel nacional e internacional en referencia al tema en estudio, así como una conceptualización 
 de los temas por analizar. Seguidamente se determina la metodología a implementar en la 
 investigación, en este caso, la investigación se sustenta en el paradigma naturalista, mediante 
 el enfoque cualitativo, y para la recolección de datos establecen las técnicas: entrevista 
 individual y grupo focal. La población colaboradora del centro educativo se compone de 59 
 personas, de las cuales se selecciona una muestra de 12. Como principales hallazgos se 
 identifica que en el centro educativo se evidencia un liderazgo del tipo distributivo, identificado 
 en un grupo de personas que tienen roles claves para el funcionamiento del centro, tal es el caso 
 del gestor, la asistente de dirección, la coordinadora académica y las orientadoras del centro 
 educativos. Los resultados se organizan en categorías y subcategorías, para facilitar su análisis, 
 de las cuales resultan los insumos para formular una propuesta, que consiste en un plan de 
 capacitación, compuesto por 3 módulos y cada uno de ellos integrado por talleres, dirigidos 
 según las temáticas a los grupos de población colaboradora. Un primer módulo se titula: 
 Liderazgo y habilidades directivas, compuesto por 2 talleres dirigido a toda la población 
 colaboradora, un segundo módulo titulado: TIC en la mediación educativa, compuesto por 3 
 talleres, dirigido al personal docente y docente administrativo y un tercer módulo titulado: 
 Cultura organizacional, integrado por 2 talleres, dirigido a todo el personal.
  • Influence of ethical leadership on employees' job strain and outcomes, moderating role of organizational compassion

    Hayat, Zoofishan (Zenodo, 2024-02-23)
    <p>In recent years' ethics has emerged as a leading subject of discussion in contemporary <br>organisations. The topic of ethical leadership is still making headlines all around the world. <br>Countries like Pakistan are not exempt from ethical lapses resulting in intense job strain and <br>ineffective outcomes for the organisation. Based on existing literature such as (Brown, Trevino <br>and Harrison, 2005; Mayer et al., 2009), this study investigated the influence of ethical leadership <br>on employee job strain and outcomes in the Islamic banking sector of Pakistan with specific <br>emphasis on the exploration of the moderating role of organisational compassion. The study <br>employed descriptive and correlation research designs to determine the nature of the relationships. <br>To maintain methodological rigour, the researcher used the most established quantitative survey <br>technique and collected data through structured questionnaires from 200 employees working in <br>Islamic banks of Pakistan. The researcher used correlational statistics to determine the relationship <br>between the variables listed above. Data analysis has been performed using appropriate statistical <br>tools such as simple, multiple, and regression analyses. This served as the foundation for the indepth analysis, findings, and suggestions. <br>The key findings of the study showed a substantial negative relationship between ethical <br>leadership and employee job strain, a direct relationship with employee outcomes, and a <br>statistically significant moderate positive relationship between organisational compassion, <br>employee job strain and outcomes. The contribute to the body of knowledge theoretically by <br>conducting SLR and providing entire understanding of ethical leadership influences. The research <br>expands the literature on ethical leadership by investigating the EL influences with organizational <br>compassion practices. The research also contributes practically to HRM and HRD departments to <br>enhance employee outcomes. The research provides empirical evidence to address employee job <br>strain problem by incorporating ethical leadership and organizational compassion practices. <br>Based on the findings, the study made the following conclusions. Islamic Banking sector <br>and overall banking organisations in Pakistan should provide ethical leadership to their employees <br>along with the acts of organisational compassion practices; this will improve outcomes for <br>employees by reducing their job strain level. This study was valuable since it was the first of its <br>kind in Pakistan's Islamic banking sector, in which the workforce was provided with the <br>opportunity to generate empirical data relating to the ethical behaviour of their leaders, as well as <br>to recognise the value of compassionate practices. The results bare significant implications for <br>management in the Islamic banking sector of Pakistan, as they have a responsibility to ensure <br>ethics remain an ongoing discourse, and the essence of compassion must be at the heart of overall <br>management responsibilities. This research has opened new horizons for future research. The <br>findings identify significant implications for the Islamic banking sector and the overall banking <br>industry in Pakistan. Finally, Islamic banking organisations in Pakistan should not only consider <br>a financial resource, but they should also consider the fact that other variables can impact their <br>employment outcomes.</p>
  • Code of Corporate Ethics as a Tool for Developing the Potential of Enterprises

    Vasyl Pihosh (Mukachevo State University, 2020-06-01)
    The key role in the creation, maintenance, and development of corporate ethics is played by codes of corporate ethics. The relevance of the problem lies in determining approaches to the creation of the content and the importance of codes of corporate ethics as a tool for developing the potential of the enterprise. Each company defines its own tasks, for which it intends to use such a tool as the code of corporate ethics. Nevertheless, the creation of the code, admittedly, extends beyond writing the text of the document. There is a specific implementation of such documents: it is impossible to force one to comply with the code of ethics. The purpose of the study is to determine approaches to the creation of the content and the importance of codes of corporate ethics as a tool for developing the potential of an enterprise. The study defines the essence of the “code of corporate ethics”. Classification of existing codes of corporate ethics is conducted. Universal codes and ethical codes, including professional and corporate ones, are highlighted. The main functions performed by corporate codes in organisations are identified and investigated, including the factors that determine the content of the code. Approaches to creating ethical corporate codes are covered. Two versions of the code, such as declarative and detailed, are considered, which is reflected in examples of actual codes. The classification of existing approaches to the codes of corporate ethics is given to build a methodological base. The study describes the importance of each employee's adoption of the code of corporate ethics, since only under this condition will it be implemented. Based on the above, it is recommended that at the stage of creating the code, procedures should be provided that would include all employees of the company in developing the document, if possible
  • Estudo de adaptação e validação de uma escala de perceção de liderança ética para líderes portugueses

    Neves, Maria de Lurdes Gomes; Jordão, Filomena; Cunha, Miguel Pina E; Vieira, D. A.; Coimbra, Joaquim Luís (Edições ISPA, 2024-02-27)
    Resumo: Os líderes influenciam o comportamento individual e organizacional, incluindo a sua dimensão ética,
 sendo igualmente influenciados pelas suas expectativas, interpretações e interações com os outros (Glynn & Jamerson, 2006; Kellerman, 2004). Frequentemente intervêm em diferentes contextos éticos, tornando difícil para as pessoas “boas” “tomarem boas decisões em situações más” (Glynn & Jamerson, 2006, p. 154). A liderança ética pode ser considerada como “a demonstração de conduta normativamente adequada através de ações pessoais e das relações interpessoais, assim como a promoção de tal conduta para os liderados através de uma comunicação bidireccional, reforço e tomada de decisão” (Brown, Treviño, & Harrison, 2005, p. 120). O estudo aqui apresentado teve como objectivo desenvolver uma escala de liderança ética (Hanges &
 Dickson, 2004) para líderes portugueses baseada na adaptação e validação da escala realizada por De Hoogh e Den Hartog (2008). Os resultados obtidos evidenciam qualidades psicométricas adequadas, e um valor elevado de consistência interna. As análises fatoriais exploratórias revelam uma estrutura que aponta para a existência, no total, de dois fatores para a escala definidos como Liderança Ética e Liderança Despótica. Importa, futuramente, realizar uma análise da estabilidade das escalas com outra amostra para se verificar a
 consistência dos valores obtidos.
  • RESPONSIBLY. Le dimensioni della responsabilità

    Magni, Massimo; Pennarola, Ferdinando; Cavallazzi, Stefano; Magni, Massimo; Cavallazzi, Stefano (Egea, 2015)
    Il capitolo affronta le dimensioni principali della responsabilità di lungo periodo.
  • ETİK LİDERLİĞİN YENİLİKÇİ İŞ DAVRANIŞI ÜZERİNDEKİ ETKİSİNDE DUYGUSAL BAĞLILIĞIN ROLÜ

    Çelebi Yaşar; Mihriban Cindiloğlu Demirer (Hitit University, 2022-06-01)
    Çalışmanın amacı, etik liderliğin yenilikçi iş davranışı üzerindeki etkisini ve duygusal bağlılığın bu iki değişken arasındaki aracılık rolünü belirlemektir. Araştırmanın örneklemi Çorum ilindeki tekstil işletmelerinde görev yapan toplam 333 çalışandan oluşmaktadır. Duygusal bağlılığın etik liderlik ve yenilikçi iş davranışı üzerinde ilişkisi ve etkisinin olup olmadığını belirlemek için, yapısal eşitlik modeli testinde sıklıkla kullanılan AMOS paket programı ile analiz yapılmıştır. Analiz sonucunda etik liderliğin yenilikçi iş davranışı ile anlamlı ve pozitif bir ilişki ve etkisi olduğu tespit edilmiştir. Etik liderliğin duygusal bağlılık ile duygusal bağlılığın ise yenilikçi iş davranışı ile ilişkisi ve etkisi olmadığı tespit edilmiştir. Sonuç itibariyle duygusal bağlılık bu ilişkide aracılık rolü üstlenmemektedir, sonucuna ulaşılmıştır. Araştırmanın bulguları sonuç kısmında yorumlanmış ve ilgili öneriler sunulmuştur.
  • O impacto da inteligência emocional e da liderança ética na sustentabilidade das carreiras dos colaboradores

    Gonçalves, Tiago; Amorim, Miguel Costa Pessoa de (Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestão, 2024-02-12)
    Mestrado Bolonha em Ciências Empresariais
  • School heads’ ethical leadership styles: a case study of selected Gweru district schools in Zimbabwe

    Shepherd Shoko (Editura Universității Adventus, 2024-02-01)
    The subjectivity of ethics in leadership makes ethical decision-making a challenge for school heads, particularly when faced with ethical dilemmas. Informed by Ethical Leadership theory. A mixed methods research design was used to explore ethical leadership styles used by school heads when confronted with ethical dilemmas with a view of profiling school heads’ ethical leadership styles and common sources of ethical dilemmas. An Ethical Leadership Style Questionnaire (ELSQ) and semi-structured interviews were used to generate data from 50 primary and secondary school heads in the Gweru district in the Midlands province of Zimbabwe. The findings of the study were that school heads had a high preference for using duty ethics more than the other styles. Care ethics, Justice Ethics, utilitarian ethics virtue ethics, altruism ethics, and egoism ethics followed respectively. Sources of ethical dilemmas were found to be based on inequality issues in schools, dishonesty, personal conflict, and bullying. It was concluded that school heads had a preferred ethical leadership style. There are more ethical leadership styles that school heads use than previously profiled. It is recommended that school heads must be staff-developed in ethical leadership and decision-making to improve their leadership effectiveness.
  • The role of ethical leadership on employees’ behaviours and commitment to the organisation

    Serlin Serang; Ramlawati Ramlawati; Suriyanti Suriyanti; Junaidi Junaidi; Ris A. Nurimansjah (AOSIS, 2024-01-01)
    Orientation: The rapid competition among companies puts pressure on managers to maintain their business’s competitive advantage. However, because of the massive competition and economic downturn during and after the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, financial scandals occurred at a much higher rate than in the past. This phenomenon has caused organisational leaders to shift their focus from material concerns to ethical leadership contexts in the workplace. It has a strong correlation with employee attitudes. Research purpose: This research examined the effects of ethical leadership on work engagement and knowledge sharing, which influence job performance and commitment among employees to the organisations. Motivation for the study: Investigating the relationship between ethical leadership, work engagement, and knowledge sharing among employees in Indonesia can provide insight on strategies to enhance employees’ job performance and commitment to the organisation. It plays an important role in significantly obtaining organisational outcomes and goals. Main findings: A survey was conducted with 670 Indonesian government employees, and structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to validate the research framework. The results showed that ethical leadership significantly affects employees’ work engagement and knowledge-sharing, which further enhances employees’ job performance and commitment to organisations. Furthermore, the mediator variables partially mediate the relationship between ethical leadership and outcome variables (e.g., employees’ job performance and organisational commitment). Practical/managerial implications: The leaders of public organisations should address moral and rational concerns to improve service quality in society. Additionally, it should be centred on purifying employees’ and organisation leaders’ ethical concerns and communication patterns to promote society’s service quality. Contribution: The research outcomes provide insight into the fact that leadership style plays an important role in employees’ attitudes and commitment. Hence, the organisation leaders should apply it to enhance employees’ commitment to organisations and performance.
  • Ethical leadership, group learning behaviour and group cohesion in the energy sector: a psycho-social model

    Flotman, Aden-Paul; Motabologa, Reneilwe Mathabo (2024-01-18)
    Orientation: At present, it is essential for organisations to have a sound ethical context which will enable the organisation to achieve sustainability, and to maintain a positive corporate image. For these reasons, ethical leadership has garnered increased attention from academics and practitioners alike.
 Research purpose: The purpose of the present study was to describe the phenomenological experiences of employees’ group learning behaviour and group cohesion as predisposed by ethical leadership, and to develop a psycho-social model that describes the influence of ethical leadership on group learning behaviour and group cohesion in the South African energy sector.
 Motivation for the study: Ethical leadership is regarded as a key resource that can either reinforce or deteriorate the manifestation of ethical behaviour within organisations. A learning organisation is one that is continuously increasing its capacity to create its future. Thus, groups have become the basis that enables organisations to adapt to the emerging pressures in today’s world of work.
 Research design: The study applied a qualitative approach within an interpretive framework. The research strategy led to an inquiry into the lived experiences of employees’ group learning behaviour and group cohesion as predisposed by ethical leadership. Purposive sampling, of eight individuals enabled a research method of face-to-face interviews and two focus group sessions to be conducted. Data was analysed by means of the content analysis technique.
 Main findings: The general perception held by individuals may be that an ethical leader will yield an efficient and productive group or team, while an unethical leader will yield the opposite. This is not always the case, as was demonstrated by the findings in present research
 iv
 study. The study found that leaders who were perceived as unethical displayed the same personal characteristics and showed only slightly deviated behavioural characteristics from those who were regarded as ethical. With regard to leaders influencing groups or teams, although ethical leadership demonstrated a higher likelihood of influence, the study found that other mediating factors play a role in this link as well.
 Contribution/value added: The projected practical contribution of the study involves an understanding of development of, and the potential application of the psycho-social model which will be able to accentuate the importance of leadership within group dynamics. An additional contribution pertains to the practical application of the findings which may also be used as a coaching or consulting tool within organisations to assist leaders in their leadership roles.

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