| This qualitative grounded theory study examines how leaders in four of America's most ethical companies make sense of the construct of ethical leadership. More precisely, this study explores how these leaders (a) define ethical leadership and (b) describe how they participate in the process of creating an ethical corporation. Four corporations from Business Ethics' 100 Corporate Citizens of 2004 report agreed to participate in this study.; Data were collected and analyzed in multiple iterations from three sources: (a) archival documents, (b) field notes of the researcher, and (c) semi-structured in-depth qualitative interviews with seventeen leaders in the four participating organizations. The data were then analyzed in multiple iterations.; I propose that ethical leadership is the act of participating and engaging others in an on-going process of ethical dialogue that allows the organization to articulate and enact its highest ideals. I also propose that the goal of ethical leadership is to create an organizational culture that inspires, invites, and lifts people up to their highest levels of virtue, excellence, and relatedness. |
