OL 675 6-2 MyOL675Journal: Reflect and ApplyAssignmentReflect on what you have learned this week and how you will apply it at your current job.For additional details, please refer to the Journal Guide

OL 675 6-2 MyOL675Journal: Reflect and Apply

Assignment

Reflect on what you have learned this week and how you will apply it at your current job.

For additional details, please refer to the Journal Guidelines and Rubric document.

Duties of Leaders and Followers

The Oxford Dictionary defines duty as (1) a moral or legal obligation; a responsibility and

(2) (often duties) a task or action that one is required to perform as part of one's job (“duty” 2010).

Human beings have a range of duties to meet on a daily basis, regardless of age. These may be related to work, family, finances, school and community. Watch this video on Ethics and Enlightened Leadership (Length: 1 hour 46 minutes approximately) (The transcript for this video can be found here.) in which Dalai Lame speaks of promoting ethics in a secular society. In a work related environment all employees have necessary duties they must fulfill, besides the necessary leadership competencies they may be asked to practice within their organization. Check out this PDF that outlines some critical leadership competencies. Sometimes these are clear and defined by a job description, while in certain cultures they may be assumed. Parents expect their child to study hard and do well in school. A goalie’s duty is to make sure that the opposing team does not put a goal in the net. All citizens have the duty to obey the law. A doctor’s duty is to maintain “patient-doctor” confidentiality. A bread-winner has the duty to pay bills and provide for the home. A parent’s duty is to provide a stable, healthy, loving home for their child. A politician’s duty is to do what is best for his/her constituents while abiding by the law and the constitution. In certain cultures siblings feel obliged to provide personal care for elderly parents and not have them placed in an elderly/retirement home.

A job description usually includes a short introduction of the company, the position to be filled with expected tasks and a list of required qualifications of the applicant. For example, some of the duties expected of a CEO could be to:

• Set the strategy and vision of the organization
• Build a healthy working culture
• Foster team building
• Increase company profits

But do the duties simply end here? For example, a high school principal may have assistants but as a leader he or she is still required to plan, direct, and supervise the high school program and has the “duty” of fulfilling a long list of duties which are not limited to the ones listed.

A child usually mirrors behaviors, talking style, and facial expressions from parents. A fan imitates a rock star’s fashion trend and style. A campaign member supports a cause or an individual because there is a common vision. Even a country’s president is a follower of the will of the people he/she serves. A follower needs to fulfill expected duties and “expects” - in most cases - that the leader has his/her best interest in mind.

Judgment

At one point or another in life, one has to make a judgment call that ultimately would affect his/her workplace, class or community. As teenagers, expectations are mostly school related and duties include studying, behaving responsibly, and undergoing constant evaluation (grades, exams, etc.). A student’s better judgment of not attending a peer’s party to study for a collegiate Calculus exam, will most probably affect the final exam grade in a positive way. However, what If the student is a good multiple choice test-taker and decides to go to the party and study right before the exam? His/her judgment here is based upon risk (going to the party) and luck (hopes to do well).

At a higher level, U.S. President Barack Obama was faced in May 2010 with a judgment call for the selection of a Supreme Court member and was questioned for his non-selection of an African-American candidate. In early 2010, Greek citizens are faced with a “surprise” economic crisis (€300 billion) that came about after years of uncontrolled spending, cheap lending and failure to implement financial restructure by the government. Ex BP CEO Tony Hayward lost his position due to his inability to handle the Gulf oil spill and his continuous error of judgment.

When a leader makes a wise judgment call the end results automatically benefit the people and organization. Adidas, ebay, the Gap, Timberland, Microsoft, Xerox, Stonyfield Farm, American Express are some of the companies that have received recognition in the 2011 WME (World’s Most Ethical) Companies list that have led using ethical and compliance programs. In order for a company to be considered ethical, its vision, objectives and means need to reflect ethical leadership.