P.AD. 5006/7006 ∆ Spring 2006
LEADERSHIP AND PROFESSIONAL ETHICS
Mondays 4-6:45 in SI 327
Professor Wallis
(303) 556-5991;
Office hours: Mondays 1-3 & Tuesdays 3-5 / other times by appointment
Ethics in public administration typically is taught without direct reference to leadership theory. Similarly, courses in leadership focus on the tasks and characteristics of leaders, but often ignore the ethical framework within which leadership is practiced. Combining leadership and ethics requires that we evaluate the actions of leaders in terms of whether they serve a larger public purpose and, more broadly, how their actions comport with the values of their followers and of society.
From this perspective, we will consider questions about means versus ends. If a leader’s actions are devious but the ends achieved are noble, should the leader be condemned or praised? Similarly, if the personal life of a leader is disreputable, should the acts of that leader be held suspect or should public actions be judged independent of private behavior? What is the role of a leader when neither means nor ends are clear?
In this course we will examine the idea of leadership broadly so as to include elected leaders as well as managers who are appointed or rise up through the ranks. We will also consider the leader-follower relationship, specifically in terms of the question of whether there are circumstances in which a “follower” must disobey the leader in order to satisfy a larger social obligation.
Course Readings
There are three assigned textbooks for this course. Each of these books employs case method. If you are not familiar with teaching through the case method, please be aware that you need to read cases carefully and be prepared to assume the role of any one of the principal characters in the case.
- Leadership Without Easy Answers, Ronald Heifetz
- How Good People Make Tough Choices, Rushworth Kidder
- Leading at the Edge, Dennis Perkins.
There will also be a few case studies that you can download from the Xanedu website. I will provide you with instructions for how to do this, and a few articles that I will be handing out in class.
Grading
Ethical challenges do not admit to easy answers, so the material of this course should produce lively debate. Your active participation in class is both required and essential. As part of your participation, I encourage you to bring in newspaper and magazine clippings that raise issue of ethics and leadership. Ten percent of your grade will be based on participation.
In addition to class participation, you will be required to complete a research project which is worth 40 percent of your grade. A separate handout describes this assignment. There is a final examination worth 30 percent each of your grade. Finally, I will be asking you to complete two film reviews as part of a small group. Each of these reviews will be worth ten percent of your grade.
Participation 10
Research project 40
Final 30
Two film reviews completed in
teams 20
Class will begin on time! If you are more than twenty minutes late you are considered absent. More than two absences are grounds for a reduced course grade. More than four absences are grounds for a failing grade. If you must be out for work or a genuine personal emergency please let me know in writing, preferably in advance.
Finally, identify at least one other person in class who you can call if you have been absent and need lecture notes. If you are having trouble following the lectures, please feel free to tape them so that you can replay them as needed.
Syllabus
This course is organized in three parts. In the first part we examine the book Leadership on the Edge to get an understanding of leader/follower relations and a sense of the role that emotional intelligence plays in leadership. In part two we focus of the process of ethical reasoning and developed in How Good People Make Tough Choices. We look specifically at situations where there is a right vs. right conflict. The last part of the course looks at the role of adaptive leadership, guided by the book Leadership Without Easy Answers.
NOTE: ASSIGNMENTS ARE LISTED UNDER THE DATE DUE.
Part One: Leading at the Edge
1. Jan. 23. Course Introduction: Concepts of Leadership Film excerpts from Patton and Gandhi will be used to explore different ideas of leadership. We will focus on the theory of adaptive leadership.
2. Jan. 30. The Nature of Leadership I: Leading at the Edge
As you read this first section, consider Shackleton’s leadership capabilities. Where did they come from: was he born with them or did he develop them?
Assignment: Leading at the Edge, skim Preface and pp. 1-11, read, chapters 1-4. “Emotional Intelligence” by Daniel Goleman (Xanedu)
3. Feb. 6. The Nature of Leadership II: Leading at the Edge
As you read this second section, focus on Shackleton’s role in developing effective teams. Also consider how addresses conflict, especially the mutiny by McNeish.
Assignment: Leading at the Edge, chapters 5-10, 16 and pp. 241-244. Complete the Kiersey conflict scale (handed out in class)
Ø E-mail your research topic. If you are doing a comparative book review, then send me a list of all books and indicate the critical incident that you intend to focus on. If you are doing a personal case study, submit a 1-2 paragraph description of the situation. If you are doing an analysis of “This I Believe,” provide a preliminary list of statements you will be reviewing.
Part Two: Ethics
3. Feb. 13. Right vs. Wrong Situations
Lying in office: when is something a lie? What are our expectations for honesty in a leader? Why should we be concerned about the honesty and accountability of people in public positions? Is the accountability of those in public office different than those in the private sector? How do we try to assure accountability in the use of public authority?
Assignment
Kidder, chapters 1 - 5
Chapter one summarizes the entire book. You can skim chapters 2 and 3; read chapters 4 and 5 carefully.
Ø Select teams for first film critique
4. Feb. 20. The Machine: Political Leadership & Accountability
Political Machines. For many decades major US cities were run by political machine. Many regard these machines as very corrupt, but they are also viewed as very effective. Which perception is correct? How could they be both? We will also be looking at the “Boss” as an example of a transactional leader.
Reform Politics. The reform tradition arose to counteract the political corruption of the machines. We examine some of the key elements of reform and their limitations.
Assignment
Heifetz Chaper 1-2
Film Clips: The Last Boss, about Richard A. Daley.
5. Feb. 27. Right vs. Right Situations: Developing a framework for moral reasoning
What is the difference of making ethical decisions when the choice is “right vs. wrong” or “right vs. right”? What do you do when values conflict? How do you deal with this problem when it is embedded in a policy discourse?
Assignment
Kidder, chapters 6-8
Film clips from Insomnia, A Man for All Seasons and Gandhi
Ø Submit titles for first film critique
6. Mar. 6. When Personal Values and the Responsibilities of Office Conflict
How does Califano balance his own personal beliefs with the requirements of the abortion policy he is charged with administering? How do his principal advisors suggest that he resolve the conflict? What resolution principles do they appear to be employing?
When official responsibilities conflict: the Steve Judy Case. What is Steve Judy’s dilemma? How do his principal advisors suggest that he solve it? What resolution principles do they appear to be employing?
Assignment
Joseph Califano and the abortion policy decision (class handout)
Mayor Steve Judy (Xanedu case)
Ø Submit first film critique
Part Three: Adaptive Leadership
7. Mar. 13. Nature of Adaptive Work
What is the nature of adaptive work, and under what situations (problem types) is it appropriate to employ the skills of adaptive leadership?
We will examine these questions by focusing on the ASARCO case. In this case, EPA director Ruckelshaus involves the public in determining what level of risk is acceptable. What are the strengths and weakness of such involvement? How does he try to take into account competing interests?
Assignment
Film clips from Twelve Angry Men.
Heifetz, chapters 3-5
Ø Choose film for second critique
March 20- Spring Break
8. Mar. 27. Innovation and Teamwork in bridging the adaptive gap
Adaptive work often involves the leader engaging the creative thinking of the followers. In this case, how does Schall do this? How do you think she should overcome the suspicion with which she is held by long-time employees?
Assignment
Ellen Schall and the Department of Juvenile Justice (Xanedu)
“Use of case management as a revitalizing theme in a Juvenile Justice Agency,” Gilmore and Schall. (reading packet)
“Notes from a Reflective Practitioner”, Schall. (reading packet)
Ø Submit second film critique
9. Apr. 3. The two presidencies of LBJ’s: The Voting Rights Act and the war in Vietnam
How does Johnson structure his relations with Dr. King, Governor Wallace, and leadership in Congres in working to pass the Voting Rights Act? How does Heifetz analyze Johnson’s failure in Vietnam?
Assignment
Heifetz, Chapters 7
Film Clips: LBJ (documentary on the American Presidency)
10. Apr. 10. Exit, Voice, Loyalty
The Whistleblower. Under the administration of President Johnson, US troop build up in Vietnam escalated rapidly. Daniel Ellsberg was a high-level Pentagon analyst who realized that the public was being lied to about the build up and whether the war was being won. He blew the whistle, but at great person cost. What values justify the whistleblowers actions, what values are violated?
The Loyal Opposition. Blowing the Whistle on your “boss” is an extreme behavior. More often people express opposition within an organizations. An example is Robert McNamara’s protests against the War in Vietnam expressed from within the administration.
Assignment
Heifetz, Chapter 7, pp.150-170 (skim the rest of the chapter)
Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon papers (reading packet)
Film clip: Fog of War
Ø Research papers due
11. Apr. 17. Moral authority and informal leadership
How does MLK’s leadership exemplify the notion of adaptive work? From what source is the authority of his leadership derived?
Assignment
Heifetz, chapter 6 & 9
Read the 1991 Nobel Prize acceptance speech delivered for Aung San Suu Kyi http://nobelprize.org/peace/laureates/2004/maathai-lecture.html
Film clips: Eyes on the Prize and The Last Boss
12. Apr. 24. Leadership without authority & power of symbolic acts
What does it mean to have leadership without authority? What are the sources of a leader’s power under this condition?
Film (during class): Fundi, The Life of Ella Baker; excerpt from Gandhi
Assignment
Heifetz, chapter 8
Read or watch the Nobel Prize acceptance lecture by Wangari Maathai <http://nobelprize.org/peace/laureates/2004/maathai-lecture.html
Film Excerpts: Eyes on the Prize; Daley: the Last Boss;
13. May 1. Class Summary & presentation of selected research papers
May 8. FINAL (in class open book exam)
PAD 5006/ Course Projects
There are two assignments for this course. The first will be something that you do in groups of 3-4 and the second will be an individual project. Each assignment is described below.
Film Critique (10% of your grade for each)
Many films deal with a moral dilemma or leadership in some situation, and often films combine both. For example, the film Insomnia focuses on a homicide detective who is under investigation for tampering with crime scene evidence. The plot examines the questions: did he do it; and if he did, what were his justifications?
In this assignment you will form into small groups of three to four classmates. You should select a film which examines a moral dilemma in the public or nonprofit sector and/or the role of a public or nonprofit leader. If you want to select a film that is not on the attached list, make sure that I approved before you view it. Do not choose a documentary (e.g., Eyes on the Prize about the civil rights movement), but you may choose a docu-drama (e.g., Oliver Stone’s Nixon). You will review the film and then write a critique of no more than four double-spaced pages. Do not focus your critique on summarizing the entire film. I know what the plot is. Rather, in your critique you should focus on the most critical scenes which reveal the nature of the moral dilemma or leadership challenge being portrayed. Examine closely the position of specific characters and how they justify their actions or positions.
For the film, addressing a moral dilemma, you should consider the nature of the dilemma and the resolution principle(s) used to resolve it. You should be guided by Kidder’s analysis in approaching this critique. Be aware that many films deal with more than one moral dilemma, or they deal with the same dilemma faced by different characters. Be clear about whose dilemma you are examining.
For the second critique, choose a film about a leader, then discuss the “theory” of leadership that the film seems to embrace (is this a leader who is trait-based, situational, transactional or transformational?). What are the challenges that the leader faces and the strategies that he or she employ? Then consider whether the leader was successful. This last part is especially important, because you must consider what defines “success”. Be guided in this by Heifetz discussion of value-based leadership.