Addressing Moral Decline of American Politics - Nu Leadership Series
Who is accountable in Washington? As the Foley scandal spiraled out of control, government leaders took cover. Former Representative Mark Foley escaped congressional punishment by resigning in the middle of the scandal. House Speaker Dennis Hastert proclaims that he did not do anything wrong; however, Hastert publicly stated he accepts full responsibility. Many in Congress worried about the political fallout. Internal polling had shown that House Republicans could suffer massive loses if Hastert doesn't resign. The results were much worse.
On election day, voters led a massive revolt against the incumbents. This created one of the largest congressional shift since 1994. Exit polls showed that voters were more concerned about ethics than any other subject. Four Republicans resigned from the House this year due to ethical issues. Currently, American politicians suffer credibility problems. An USA Today/Gallup Poll of 1,009 adults found that only 15 percent of the people gave U.S. senators high or very high marks for honesty and ethical standards. The U.S. representatives didn't do any better at 14 percent.
As each party tries to either take advantage of a "hot button" issue or perform damage control, followers grow increasingly cynical about government leadership. Both party expects each congressperson to follow the party line. Sometimes this blind obedience leads to going against one's principles. Obviously, this is done with transactional relationships with peers. On the other hand, ethics guru Cuilla maintains that coercion is not true leadership. She argues that ethics is at the heart of good leadership.
If one evaluates these statements, the question becomes, how can any good leader blindly follow any group or party? What is the price of surrendering one's core values? A true leader stands up for his principles even though it may be forced to go against his social network. Therefore, politicians need to foster more value-based leadership.
References:
Ciulla, J.B. (1998). Ethics: The Heart of Leadership. Westport, CT: Praeger.
FoxNews.com (2006). Hastert sys he did nothing wrong in foley page scandal. Received on October 13, 2006, from http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,217943,00.html.
Koch, W. (December 12, 2006). Poll: Washington scandals eating away public trust. USA Today.
Margasak, L. (October 8, 2006). One thing's for sure in Foley investigation. Associated Press.
© 2006 by Daryl D. Green
Related Tags: values, leadership, ethics
Daryl D. Green has published over 100 articles in the field of decision-making (personal and organizational), leadership, and organizational behavior. Mr. Green is also the author of two acclaimed books, Awakening the Talents Within and My Cup Runneth Over. He is a columnist, lecturer, professor, and management consultant. Mr. Green has a BS in engineering and a MA in organizational management. Currently, he is a doctoral candidate in strategic leadership. For more information,visit his website at www.darylgreen.org.
Your Article Search Directory : Find in ArticlesRecent articles in this category:
- Answering Your Holiday Corporate Gift Giving Questions
The holiday season gives you many opportunities for making an impact on your customers or clients th - What's Green Is Gold
Many businesses aren't cognizant of their practices-especially the wasteful ones. Every day companie - Filing Bankruptcy Without A Lawyer Is Crazy
If you feel that you're on the verge of facing overwhelming financial problems, or even financial ru - Allegations of Fraud: the Disaster Restoration Inc. Indictment
The federal indictment of Disaster Restoration Inc.'s CEO and many of its employees has captured t - Napoleon Hill Code Of Ethics
"Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly"Robert Francis KennedyThis code of Eth - Marketing Your Home Business Without Being Obnoxious
When you start a home business, it is only natural to get excited about the marketing aspect of it. - Rfid-emerging Technology
Radio frequency identification, or RFID, is a generic term for technologies that use radio waves to - Affiliate Marketing Leads
There can never be enough emphasis on the fact that a great affiliate marketing business is first in - Moral Decay
I recently went out to dinner with a business friend who owns a medium sized manufacturing company - Ground Floor Mlm
Getting in on the ground floor can be a great move if you are not relying exclusively on that as you
Most viewed articles in this category:
- Does Personality Matter When Running a Business?
In order to run a business you need to have the ability to handle one. You must have certain qualiti - Difference Between Online And Offline Stock Trading
The introduction of the Internet has surprisingly changed our way of life as a society. It has defin - Business Law - Ethic of the Business
Business Law Before you start a business, legally, you need to obtain any business licenses or perm - Credibility - Without It You're NOWHERE
Internet marketers, when making a list of the things they think they need in order to successfully r - CEO Compensation And Pay - Are Millions Of Dollars Justifiable
Many workers and consumers distrust CEOs (in part due to recent scandals like at Enron) and believe - Jest Practices: Best Practices for Humor in the Workplace
Most agree that humor in the workplace can have beneficial effects. Yet not all humor is good humor. - The Dilemma of Nanotechnology - Science vs. Ethics
What is Nanotechnology and why should I care about it?Nanotechnology, referred to commonly as molecu - Ethics And Business-What About Civic Responsibility?
The question whether business and ethics are mutually inclusive remains to be one of the most contro - Balancing the Needs of Customers and Shareholders in a Public Corporation
Many people say; It is All About Money when it comes to big corporations. Well yes, that is their jo - What Are You Selling?
This has been on my mind for sometime. You see, we all have dreams, we all need money, but how are w
