Moral/Ethical Leadership

and corruption are interrelated, acting in concert with one another. In May 2016, the civil society organizations in Mexico collected more than 630,000 signatures and proposed an initiative called d “3 de 3”—or “3 out of 3”—which would require government officials to reveal their assets and potential conflicts of interest, and to provide the documentation on the payment of their taxes. Corruption is so woven into daily life in Mexico that it has been enshrined in a common saying: “El que no transa, no avanza”—“He who doesn’t cheat doesn’t get ahead” (Semple 2016). The “worst problems and challenges faced by Mexico are directly caused or aggravated by corruption,” according to Juan E. Pardinas, the managing director of the Mexican Institute for Competitiveness, a research group that has helped to lead the citizens’ push for the initiative (Semple 2016). The social scientists suggested changing the strategies from controlling drug trafficking to combating corruption. In a country characterized by a weak rule of law, criminals realize that they can get away with any crime committed by them by paying bribes. As a result, the challenge of public governance is to establish the rule of law to punish the criminals. Nevertheless, all public agencies are under pressure to publicize the steps taken to control corruption. The pressure is more intense in the developing world than it is in developed countries. Public administrators in the developed world realize that they have to suffer serious consequences in the case of corruption and other ethical violations. Unfortunately, in many developing countries, as a result of the weak rule of law and the lack of an independent judiciary, the public administrators may not suffer the consequences. Efforts to enforce ethical principles may be unsuccessful in an environment of a weakening rule of law and a weak judicial system. Developing countries need an improvement on the enforcement of law, and strengthening of the judiciary before the implementation of ethical principles.

moral/ethiCal leadershiP With the rise of complex problems and increased scrutiny as a result of the openness, there is a greater demand for moral leadership in the world. Moral leadership demands solutions to the severe and complex problems faced by the world: hunger, poverty, terrorism, drug and human trafficking, income inequality, health care, discrimination, and environmental degradation. Globalization has led to an understanding of the common problems that people in the world face. There is a realization of the global

problems, which requires cooperation among the people of the world. These are complex problems. However, people have an expectation that their country’s leadership can take steps to eradicate problems or take steps towards the removal of the problems.

The Internet has exposed the corruptions of world leaders, diminishing people’s trust in countries’ institutions. Accordingly, people demand moral and ethical leadership, which will help to reestablish this trust. People demand that leadership should display the highest level of ethics in its administration to convince them that no resource is being wasted on unethical purposes. Public leaders are expected to conduct their businesses in an ethical manner because any improper use or misuse of ethical principles can have a devastating effect on the country. A public leader’s decision can affect many individuals with devastating results. Hanbury et al. (2004) emphasize that public leaders are encouraged to take the same type of risks as private entrepreneurship, and also to take ethical oaths. Safty (2003) mentioned that leadership is not limited to the corporate chiefs, army commanders, or politicians, and that it has become an increasing concern for the public. In fact, the general public was instrumental in bringing about the revolution in Eastern and Central Europe and overthrowing the autocratic regimes in that region. Similarly, global civil society played an active role in the prosecution of former dictators such as Pinochet, Suharto, and Milosevic (Safty 2003). It also played a vital role in organizing the Rio Earth Summit in 1992. Safty (2003) emphasized morality as a crucial element of leadership rather than power or authority. He cited the examples of Lincoln’s commitment to democracy for all the people, Wilson’s self-determination for former colonies, Ataturk’s nation building, Gandhi’s moral authority, and Nelson Mandela’s struggle for freedom and equality (Safty 2003). Public leadership requires vision and commitment for global justice, equality, and sustainability. Unfortunately, the multinational corporations do not have any clear sense of responsibility to the societies, cultures, and individuals they encounter in the course of their international ventures (Cragg 1988). Cragg (1988) claims that globalization has undermined the willingness and the capacity of national governments to undertake the traditional responsibilities of coordinating economic and social development. Therefore, globalization must be considered from the point of an improvement in the quality of life for the people (Cragg 1988). The critical consideration of globalization is the welfare of the people and moral leadership involves honesty in performing the tasks assigned to the position. The chief criterion of moral leadership