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Emily Lean |
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Darin White |
Union's Newest Professor Publishes Cutting Edge Leadership Research
Sep 3, 2008 - In a study to be published in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Business Ethics, Union's newest business professor, Emily R. Lean, and the McAfee SOBA Director of Research, Darin W. White, found that perceived team leader integrity may influence subordinate ethical intentions towards fellow team members, the team itself, and even the organizational as a whole.
The study, as explained by Darin W. White, “involved over 240 MBA students who work and study together in cohesive teams for approximately two years. Team members were asked questions about themselves as well as their team leaders. Participants were also given several ethical scenarios and asked to identify their responses. Based on their answers, we were able to determine specifically how subordinates perceive their leader’s behavior and, in turn, what impact that may have on the subordinates behavior.”
Emily R. Lean acknowledged that, “While previous research has hinted at the possibility, this study is the first, to our knowledge, to actually prove the link between leader integrity and employee behavior. In addition, prior work researching the effects of leadership on employee behavior has looked at the effects of CEO or top management ethical behavior rather than at the team level, as in our study.”
“The findings from this study are very important because they suggest that the ethical behavior of one manager can impact not only those directly under the influence of the leader but the entire company as well,” White noted. “We hope to continue this line of research in order to fully understand how an employee’s impression of their leader’s integrity develops and how it may change over time.”
MCAFEE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
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