Characterizing Ethical Decision-Making and its Influences: Examining Higher Education Leaders in the United States and Poland

Abstract

Research suggests what leaders should do or the qualities or characteristics they should have to be ethical leaders (Brown & Treviño, 2006). The ethical decision-making process that leaders should follow to avoid scandals and unethical behavior are overlooked. Few studies focused on ethical decision-making within higher education. Yet, educational leaders have an ethical responsibility that may be even more complex than those of other leaders due in part to increasingly diverse student populations enrolled in higher education that is having an impact on the growth of educational institutions on a global basis (Shapiro & Stekfovich, 2011). Further, ethical scandals are no longer contained by national borders. The rapid growth of technology coupled with changes in political and societal landscapes has advanced ethical scandals to global prominence. A more collective need to understand ethical values and ethical decision-making practices on a global level has emerged. To be globally effective, leaders must be aware of the similarities and differences across and within cultures that could influence business practices (Resick, Hanges, Dickson, & Mitchelson, 2006). However, cross-cultural research has not yet addressed the topic of ethical decision-making. In this study, the ethical decision-making process of higher education was not only examined in the United Stated but also in Poland. This exploratory study used the Delphi research technique to identify an ethical decision-making definition that higher administration leaders in both the United States and Poland use to make ethical decisions and identify the environmental factors that influence their decisions. Findings showed that the United States and Polish expert panels were different and showed very little in common in the identification of a definition and environmental factors. Lastly, both sets of experts identified a new process for ethical decision-making, each constructing a different ethical decision-making process model. This research on ethical decision-making provided evidence that the Polish and United States cultures are not as similar as identified in previous studies in terms of how they identify ethical decision-making and the factors they identify with influencing ethical decision-making. Using this information will create a better understanding of the practices and approaches to ethics that leaders use because of the huge influence they have and exert on people within their own organization and society around them.