202 Ethics in Higher Education: Values-driven Leaders for the Future
- Ethic of Community: This situates the best interests of the local
community as the fundamental principle in decision making that
serves the best interests of the community. Consideration is given
to what the communities'/country’s demands and concerns about
the issues facing the institution are, and how these can be
mediated through the goals of the university. - Ethic of Profession: This ethic acknowledges that there are
guiding values (e.g., principles, codes, assumptions, mores, and
expected behaviours) within each profession. According to
Shapiro & Stefkovich (2008), leaders operating from this
standpoint should view and adhere to professional codes of ethics
through the lens of their practical experience in education; be
cognisant of their own personal beliefs, convictions, and values
in relationship to those within the field; consider the standards
and needs of the local community; and place students at the
centre of the decision-making process.
Viewed through the foregoing analytical lens, ethical leadership is
grounded in a set of competencies that can be strengthened and
developed through carefully designed opportunities for reflection,
dialogue and practice. Resonant with this, Benoit & Graham (2015)
argue that the essence of ethical leadership is the ability to build trusting
relationships, based on moral principles of trust, respect, integrity,
honesty, fairness, equity and compassion. There is a shared
understanding that success depends on a constellation of relationships,
both internal and external, not all of which are under the institution’s
control, but which it can influence through the way it operates from a
platform of ethical principles (Berghofer & Swartz, 2012).
Ethical frames such as those illuminated above can enable and
empower leaders as they construct and consider alternative courses of
action. All decision-making processes would have ethical dimensions to
a greater or lesser degree. Using an ethical frame or multiple such