According to a study by Ballentine and Nitzschke (2013) one of the main challenges organizations face is controlling stakeholder demands that defy or undermine consistent ethical business operations. Their research indicates that when the influence of leadership is corrupted by the unethical actions of stakeholders, that influence can become contagious among those following leadership. In other words, what the leader does, subordinates will …show more content…
Employees generally have concern for one another and they notice when ethical behaviors are being acknowledged and when performance should be rewarded. Employees appreciate recognition by the organization, therefore it’s up to leaders to acknowledge excellent performance and ensure its just rewards are given to those who deserve them rather than those who break the rules or demonstrate lower levels of job performance. According to their research employee recognition and performance incentives are the primary tools that ethical leaders have at their disposal to ensure employees are engaged motivated not just for performance reasons, but also to inspire them to demonstrate the same ethical behaviors of the leaders they follow. Gopal and Chowdhury concluded that the most significant factor for motivating business metrics, retaining customers or sustaining innovation, is the trust that is developed when leadership can convince employees to invest themselves in ethical behavior.