Running head: ETHICAL LEADERSHIP 1

Ethical Leadership

Ashley North

OGL 345: Organizational Ethics

Bill Erwin

July 2, 2021
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What is Ethics?

Every day individuals must make decisions while taking into consideration ethics.

According to the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University, “Ethics is based

on well-founded standards of right and wrong that prescribe what humans ought to do, usually in

terms of rights, obligations, benefits to society, fairness, or specific virtues” (Velasquez et al.,

2010). I favor this definition as it stated “well-founded” in addition to elaborating on

circumstances in which ethics would be weighed. Not all individuals have the same notion of

what is right versus what is wrong.

What is your Chosen Profession?

It was roughly 9 years ago I decided that I wanted to work with pets but had yet to

determine the avenue. In pursuit of my dreams, I sought out my first job working with dogs at a

dog daycare. This way I would become more familiar with breeds and their behavior. To follow, I

worked at an all-natural pet store gaining a vast knowledge of pet nutrition. This pet store taught

me a variety of approaches to handling pet allergies and health issues. I learned that like humans,

there are holistic alternatives to pet health and over-the-counter medication. These approaches

aided customers in avoiding hefty vet bills while finding solutions to their pet’s issues. It was

then, approximately 6 years ago that I found my purpose. My purpose is to educate pet owners

on how to optimize their pet’s nutrition. With that said, I plan to open a pet store in my local

community. As an owner-manager and leader, it’s imperative to weigh ethical dilemmas as they

could have an everlasting impact on the business.

Case Study 1
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On April 12, 2018, footage of two African Americans being arrested inside a

Philadelphia Starbucks would send disruption across the nation. The two young men, Rashon

Nelson and Donte Robinson decided to have a seat inside Starbucks while waiting for a business

associate. According to Robinson, since neither had made a purchase, the manager decided to

confront the men asking if “she can help [them] with anything” (Roberts et al., 2018). When

Robinson stated they were merely waiting to have a meeting and would be out shortly, the

manager decided to utilize the police as reinforcements. Astonished by the events unfolding

before her eyes, Melissa DePina began recording the men’s encounter with law enforcement.

According to DePina, she and several other white people “do the same thing” (Orso, 2019), the

two young men were doing. This ethical dilemma has left her “wondering why this never

happened to us” (Orso, 2019). Once the video surfaced, Starbucks and its CEO Kevin Johnson

immediately faced scrutiny with questions of ethical leadership. At that moment, Johnson was

faced with an ethical dilemma on how to approach the situation. The Monday following the

incident, Johnson made a public apology while announcing the manager involved in the

unfortunate incident no longer worked with the company. Furthermore, Starbucks announced

that on May 29, 2018, it would close the doors of 8,000 stores to conduct training,

company-wide, regarding unconscious bias (Tangdall, 2018). Within this timeframe, Starbucks

also revised and released their new “Use of Third Place Police”. Sara Tangdall, the author of

“The CEO of Starbucks and the Practice of Ethical Leadership” (2018), established that the

updated policy “states that anyone is able to utilize Starbucks and its facilities without making a

purchase.”

I chose this ethical dilemma because I am a partner of Starbucks and I knew vague details

about this case; thus, it drew my attention. Having been in a leadership role before this position, I
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found this manager’s approach to be appalling. This dilemma demonstrated how not to approach

a situation. As a leader, we are to set an example for our team members and provide a welcoming

environment. This dilemma also provides a constructive outlook on leadership in Johnson’s

approach to rectifying the situation.

Case Study 2

For roughly 7 years, Zack Smith, assistant coach for Ohio State University, faced

allegations of domestic violence from his then-wife, Courtney Smith. The first incident occurred

in 2009 when Smith was arrested for battery against Courtney. At this point, Urban Meyer, Ohio

State University’s head football coach, and his wife, Shelley Meyer, introduced the couple to

counseling. Moving forward to 2015, Smith would have two more reports filed against him for

stalking, felonious assault, and domestic abuse; however, no reports were filed. According to

Sara Tangdall, author of “The Practice of Ethical Leadership in Ohio State’s Football Program”

(2018), “It was not known at the time if Coach Meyer was aware of these reports.” After getting

divorced in 2015, Zach Smith returned to court in mid-July of 2018 facing charges of

trespassing. It was then that Courtney filed a protection order against Smith leading to his

dismissal from OSU. The day following Zach’s firing, Meyers spoke at the Big Ten Media Days,

claiming to have no knowledge of the 2015 reports (Tangdall, 2018). When the news broke the

following week that Meyer was aware of the 2015 allegations of domestic violence against

Smith, Meyers was promptly put on paid administrative leave (Tangdall, 2018). Following his

leave, Meyers would be investigated for the accusations of his dishonesty as well as his practice

of ethical leadership. According to Tangdall (2018), once the investigation had concluded two

weeks later, OSU’s Board of Trustees “decided to suspend Meyer without pay for the first three
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games of the season, and they also suspended AD Gene Smith without pay for the same period

(August 31-September 18).”

I chose this ethical dilemma because I read The Motivational Techniques of Urban

Meyer: A Leadership Case Study of the Ohio State Buckeyes Football Head Coach in my OGL

365: Sports Leadership course. For that reason, I wanted to gain awareness of some poor

leadership choices he had made. Leaders make mistakes. I feel as though how a leader recovers

while learning from their mistakes defines their leadership skills. I found this case to be

necessary to leadership development because it exposes that leaders periodically experience a

conflict of interest. It also illustrates that no good comes from unethical decision-making.

Case Study 3

On December 2, 2015, Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik made a terrorist attack

on the San Bernardino County Department of Public Health holiday party. The party consisted of

roughly 80 employees, all which were Farook’s colleagues. The mass shooting and attempted

bombing ended in 14 fatalities and 22 critical injuries. Four hours after the attack, law

enforcement pursued the couple’s rented vehicle which concluded in a shootout and their death.

According to Ann Skeet and Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University

(2016), following the terrorist attack, Apple was asked by a federal judge to assist the FBI with

“reasonable technical assistance” to the perpetrator’s iPhone. As skeet (2016) stated, the court

order was to “bypass the phone’s security measures: specifically the 4-digit login code and a

feature that erases all data after ten incorrect attempts”. Apple released the data they held in their

possession; however, they refused to comply with the court’s order to bypass security measures.
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While waiting for the hearing, the FBI retracted its request just days before stating they no longer

needed Apple’s assistance accessing the phone.

I find this case to be imperative to leaders as Tim Cook, Apple CEO, personified ethical

leadership at this moment. Skeet (2016) reminds us that against court orders, “Cook advocated

for the benefits of encryption in society to keep personal information safe.” Cook was stuck with

an ethical dilemma of complying with the government or adhering to personal values. I feel as

though Cook made the right decision as his choice could have had a lasting impact on Apple.
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References

Fryer, M. (2015). Ethics theory & business practice. SAGE.

Keown, A. J., Martin, J. D., & Petty, J. W. (2020). Foundations of finance: the logic and practice

of financial management. Pearson Education.

Orso, A. (2019, April 12). One year later: A timeline of controversy and progress since the

Starbucks arrests seen 'round the world. https://www.inquirer.com.

https://www.inquirer.com/news/starbucks-incident-philadelphia-racial-bias-one-year-anni

versary-stutter-dilworth-park-homeless-tables-20190412.html.

Roberts, R., Strahan, M., Stephanopoulos, G., Nelson, R., & Robinson, D. (2018, April 19). Men

arrested at Starbucks speak out. YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWOz3OZ6J9M&t=79s.

Skeet, A., & Markkula Center Staff. (2016, January 1). Apple vs. FBI Case Study. Markkula

Center for Applied Ethics.

https://www.scu.edu/ethics/focus-areas/business-ethics/resources/apple-vs-fbi-case-study/

Tangdall, S. (2018, August 29). The CEO of Starbucks and the Practice of Ethical Leadership.

Markkula Center for Applied Ethics.

https://www.scu.edu/leadership-ethics/resources/the-ceo-of-starbucks-and-the-practice-of

-ethical-leadership/.
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Tangdall, S. (2018, October 19). The Practice of Ethical Leadership in Ohio State's Football

Program. Markkula Center for Applied Ethics.

https://www.scu.edu/leadership-ethics/resources/the-practice-of-ethical-leadership-in-ohi

o-states-football-program/.

Velasquez, M., Andre, C., Shanks, T., J, S., & Meyer, M. J. (2010, January 1). What is Ethics?

Markkula Center for Applied Ethics.

https://www.scu.edu/ethics/ethics-resources/ethical-decision-making/what-is-ethics/.