ETHICAL BEHAVIOUR, GOOD GOVERNANCE

 Sir,

Thank you for allowing me a chance to share my views in your widely read newspaper. Choosing the path of ethical behaviour is the basic when you want to ensure good governance.
The newspapers, televisions and radios are valuable in the dissemination of information to all citizens in a country and it is good when they do so without fear or favour.

This newspaper, for instance, leads by example as it gives us in the communities information and allows us as readers to make our views known and further raise concerns especially about governance and service delivery.

Impact

Striving towards increased ethical behavior warrants an in-depth understanding of the drivers of ethical conduct.
Among the different factors is the prominence and impact of those leaders who practice good governance. It is a starting point because leaders are widely recognised as the most influential factor shaping the behaviour of others or the people they lead.
Good leadership implies that the leader should act to set a good example by entrenching the organisation’s values and code of conduct.

It reflects what Martin Luther King said in his report on corporate governance that, ‘responsible leaders who do business ethically rather than merely satisfied with legal or regulatory compliance are the best’. Leaders have to be individuals who are characterized by the ethical values of responsibility, accountability, fairness and transparency. These are clearly immense values in ethical leadership. Examples of leaders who have proved to be practicing ethical leadership include Archbishop Desmond Tutu and the late former South African President Nelson Mandela. There are, however, many leaders who do not practise ethical leadership and they are found in both the public and private sector. It is a big challenge that nowadays there are only a few who practise ethical leadership.

Empower

However, instead of abandoning the pursuit of ethical leadership, we need to empower all leaders to practice it and also recognise those who are excelling in it.
We also need to look beyond leaders for another significant source of ethical behaviour.

Individuals, whether in their capacity as employees or citizens also need to be empowered because they can also be an important source of ethical behaviour and its principles.
In order to understand this clear, we need to learn that there are three basic features of ethics. The first is that they are centered on a choice between good and bad.

While leadership is a strong influencing factor, it is important that instilling ethical behaviour starts at the bottom. The leaders must empower the people they lead first.
Individuals’ choices are also shaped by other factors including their personal values, norms and the groups to which they belong such as families or communities.
Another feature to consider and always understand is the fact that the ethical status of an organisation is made up of the behaviour of all its members.  While the behaviour of high profile leders is more impactful than that of the individuals, it does not eclipse that of the whole organisation.

Leaders can be and have been linked to misconduct and corruption. The power of this original choice to follow a path of ethical behaviour should therefore not be underestimated. It should instead be taken seriously and encouraged in a proper manner.

George Hleta

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