They have blinders on -- some of which are part of society, and some of which are self-inflicted. If only they would break out of the chains which enslave them in that Cave they could climb up into the light where they could truly see, and they would be aware of all the beauty and wonder in this world.
Unfortunately, the people in the Cave choose not to make an attempt at going outside, and because they do not strive to see more and to learn more, they do not teach the children to see more and to learn more. The cycle simply perpetuates, and this is the case with most leaders today, as well. They do not strive to do more, and they do not encourage those who work for them to do more, so people remain just where they were, instead of moving forward and accomplishing as much as they can and that they are capable of. If only one person would have believed the man who came back to the Cave and said "Guess what I saw outside? You have to see what's really there!" If only one person would have gone out there with him and taken a look, perhaps they would have told others, and others would have come, and the chains could have finally been broken for everyone (Nails, 2006). The true leader of today should be that 'one person,' but too often he or she is not.
Modern Leadership and Business Ethics
In business, ethics become somewhat clearer than they are when they are simply discussed in a general sense. Addressed here will be information about business ethics, because most of the leadership roles that society values are conducted within the confines of the business world. This also serves as a good example of how leadership generally works today and what people view as being valuable. There are specific rules and regulations that are to be followed where ethics are used in the business world. Because of this some of the more unethical behaviors become much more obvious, where they might have blended into the background of personal life and not been spotted quite as quickly and easily.
Business ethics has two specific aims. Those aims are: (1) to study ethics within a business itself, and (2) to study ethics in a business as it relates to society overall (Lacroix, 1979). This particular approach to ethics is sometimes called total 'political correctness,' which is almost impossible for the average person to conform to on anything like a daily basis. What is politically correct seems to change quite often, as well, so what was acceptable previously might not be acceptable tomorrow or next month. It can leave a leader looking unethical and impolite when he or she meant no harm.
Political correctness has been vastly removed from most of the academic disciplines but it remains strongly entrenched in ethics, and it can make the concept seem very stilted and completely unnatural. There are many things that cannot be said, and people are afraid to speak out, for fear they say something which might offend someone else. While that does keep a lot of individuals out of serious trouble, others are increasingly frustrated and uncomfortable with the idea that they have to be constantly vigilant against the wrong word or an improper phrase. It keeps them from leading in the most effective and appropriate way, because they are continually guarding themselves to avoid even the slightest hint of offense to someone else.
Elements of Ethical Dilemmas
There are six elements that cause most of the ethical dilemmas in business (Donaldson and Gini, 1984). Four of these apply almost exclusively to business, but two of them can also be applied to the life of an average person. Those two are worth mentioning here.
The first of these is the information dilemma. In this dilemma, people try to decide how much information they want or need to give out, and what they can say in order to make themselves look really good without actually lying to the person asking the question. Most people use this in their job interviews, on first dates, and in other meetings that are awkward and in which they want to appear more accomplished or better at something than they really are but do not want to completely lie, so that...
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