Fluent Essays

Ethical Leader Standout Project Online Section (200 possible points) First part (80 points): (identify leader and submit dropbox form to Dr. Clark with leader’s name, email address, position by Oct. 2, then interview leader on Zoom/in person and submit notes in designated dropbox by Oct 24) Second part (120 points): Nomination Essay in lieu of final exam due Dec 6 at 11:59 pm. BACKGROUND There are leaders all around us. You do not have to be the head of the company to be a leader. For this project, a leader is someone who uses social influence to maximize the efforts of others towards the achievement of a goal. This is the definition of leadership proposed by Kevin Kruse in a Forbes article. Read that article to help you think about potential leaders you interact with often (https://www.forbes.com/sites/kevinkruse/2013/04/09/what-is-leadership/?sh=272078e25b90). I have posted a text version of the article in case the link does not work. Covid 19 has challenged businesses/organizations in many ways, and it is easy for us to seek the impact of strong leaders. Some business leaders adapted quickly to the challenge adapting the business model to survive or even thrive. Other leaders did an excellent job ensuring both were safe and secure. Then some have not been able to adapt sufficiently and businesses have not survived. Through this project, you are looking for examples of leaders that rose above the rest in terms of ethical leadership during the most difficult time. A time that continues to challenge us all. The Jones College of Business believes that leaders make ethical decisions when they adhere to six criteria: After identifying these leaders, students individually will interview a leader to learn more about the decisions and actions he or she took. This semester, we are especially exploring the Empathy criteria and its impact on ethical decision-making. After conducting the interview, submit your detailed notes in the designated dropbox to verify that the interview has occurred. This part of the project is worth 80 points. Based on the interview, each student will write an essay to nominate their designated leader for recognition as an ethical standout. You will be provided a template for the nomination. The essay is worth 120 points and will ask you to use the JCB Guidance for Ethical Decision Making to analyze the decision making process this leader uses. This assignment takes the place of a final exam in the course. STEP 1: FINDING A LEADER to NOMINATE You will work in groups of 4-5 students to identify a local (in TN) business and a leader at that business that has made decisions and taken action during the COVID 19 pandemic that your group believes were beyond what other businesses/leaders have done. For this reason, you believe this business and its leader is an ETHICAL STANDOUT. The leader does not have to be the head leader, it could be someone else at another level of the organization. Once your group has narrowed in on a business/leader to nominate, you are asked to do some research to learn more about what the business and its local leader did more specifically and accurately. Find out what you can from the internet first. Then ask an employee, if you have a contact. But you ultimately will want to talk to the leader to learn more directly. Explain you are doing a class project for your MTSU Business Ethics class, that you are identifying a local business and its leader who has taken steps during COVID 19 that your group believes is above the norm in terms of being ethical. You need to explain why you believe the actions the business took and leader took meet the following criteria: PLANNING WORKSHEET – SUBMIT THIS PAGE TO GROUP DROPBOX by end of CLASS TODAY (page 2) Group No _____ and Color ____________ List Group Members Present and Participating TODAY in the breakout session: ____ Check to indicate that group has figured out how it will communicate with each other? ____ Check to indicate that group has discussed and agreed on some expectations for how it will work with each other on the project. GROUP BRAINSTORMING OF POSSIBLE TN BUSINESSES/LEADERS Possible TN company or Organization What actions or decisions did this company take/is taking during COVID 19 that warrants “Ethical Standout” recognition? Notes/Next Steps NOMINATION WORK SHEET (keep working if your group knows who it wants to nominate) (page 3) TN Business or Organization Name: Address/Location: Website: Email/Contact Info: Leader responsible for action/decision at TN Business or Organization: Name: Position/Title: Email/Contact Info: What was/were the Action(s) or Decision(s) that your Group believed were ETHICAL STANDOUTS? List as many as you can think of. You are nominating your person to receive recognition so you want their nomination to be strong. STEP 2 – ANALYZING THE DECISION/ACTION FURTHER (page 4) Next, think about how those actions/decisions meet the Jones College of Business Guidance for Ethical Decision Making Criteria Focusing on the BUSINESS/COMPANY (don’t know who took the action/made decision) – how did Business/Company take action consistent with the criteria? Focusing on the LEADER of the Business/Company, how did this Leader take action consistent with the criteria? EMPATHY Does the action taken or decision made reflect an understanding of how the action will impact others? Explain. TRUTH and INTEGRITY Was the company/leader honest, fair and truthful when making the decision? As the action was taken or decision implemented, were others respected? Was trust built? Did the action/decision show professionalism? Explain. HELPS more than it HARMS Did the action/decision help more than it harmed? Did the decision/action address the real project or issue? Explain. INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS Did the decision or action adequately protect the rights of others? Explain. COMPLIANCE Was the decision/action in compliance with company policies, codes of ethics, society norms, and/or laws? Explain. STAKEHOLDERS’ VALUE Did the decision/action take into account the overall value to STAKEHOLDERS (not just shareholders), with the goal of ensuring long-term success? Explain. MORE STEPS COMING ON SEPT. 29th about LEARNING MORE ABOUT LEADER and MAKING NOMINATION page 5))))) TME IN CLASS TO WORK · Tuesday, Sept 17th entire class. Assign groups and work in class. In your group TODAY, do the following: · Exchange contact information with each other · Discuss how you will work together, expectations for the group (respond within ___ hours, if not doing what you say, then what?), etc. · Talk about the project · Generate ideas TODAY on possible companies to nominate. Talk about what decision/action they have taken that you believe makes them an ethical standout. · If you narrow in on a company, then talk about who would be the leader at this company to nominate · SUBMIT PAGE 2 of this document in the designated dropbox for the class. Additional time to work in class: · Tuesday, Sept. 29th. Part of class. · Thursday, Oct. 8. Check in with Dr. Clark. Part of Class. · Tuesday, Oct. 27. Part of Class. · Submit final project (nomination form and video) by Tues, Nov. 17th. · Nov. 19 & 24th – teams will play video & answer questions. Additional time working virtually or individually may be needed, but I do give you significant time in class to make progress. Ethical Leader Standout Project Online Section ( 2 0 0 possible points) First part (80 points): (identify leader and submit dropbox form to Dr. Clark with leader’s name, email address, position by Oct. 2 , then interview leader on Zoom /in person and submit notes in designated dropbox by Oct 24) Second part (120 points) : Nomination Essay in lieu of final exam due Dec 6 at 11:59 pm. BA CKGROUND There are leaders all around us. You do not have to be the head of the company to be a leader. For this project, a leader is someone who uses social influence to maximize the efforts of others towards the achievement of a goal. This is the definit ion of leadership proposed by Kevin Kruse in a Forbes article. Read that article to help you think about potential leaders you interact with often ( https ://www.forbes.com/sites/kevinkruse/2013/04/09/what - is - leadership/?sh=272078e25b90 ) . I have posted a text version of the article in case the link does not work. Covid 19 has challenged businesses/organizations in many ways, and it is easy for us to seek the impact of strong leaders. Some business leaders adapted quickly to the challenge adapting the business model to survive or even thrive. Other leaders did an ex cellent job ensuring both were safe and secure. Then some have not been able to adapt sufficiently and businesses have not survived. Through this project, you are looking for examples of leaders that rose above the rest in terms of ethical leadership duri ng the most difficult time. A time that continues to challenge us all. The Jones College of Business believes that leaders make ethical decisions when they adhere to six criteria: After identifying these leaders, students individually will interview a l eader to learn more about the decisions and actions he or she took. This semester, we are especially exploring the Empathy criteria and its impact on ethical decision - making. Ethical Leader Standout Project Online Section (200 possible points) First part (80 points): (identify leader and submit dropbox form to Dr. Clark with leader’s name, email address, position by Oct. 2, then interview leader on Zoom/in person and submit notes in designated dropbox by Oct 24) Second part (120 points): Nomination Essay in lieu of final exam due Dec 6 at 11:59 pm. BACKGROUND There are leaders all around us. You do not have to be the head of the company to be a leader. For this project, a leader is someone who uses social influence to maximize the efforts of others towards the achievement of a goal. This is the definition of leadership proposed by Kevin Kruse in a Forbes article. Read that article to help you think about potential leaders you interact with often (https://www.forbes.com/sites/kevinkruse/2013/04/09/what-is-leadership/?sh=272078e25b90). I have posted a text version of the article in case the link does not work. Covid 19 has challenged businesses/organizations in many ways, and it is easy for us to seek the impact of strong leaders. Some business leaders adapted quickly to the challenge adapting the business model to survive or even thrive. Other leaders did an excellent job ensuring both were safe and secure. Then some have not been able to adapt sufficiently and businesses have not survived. Through this project, you are looking for examples of leaders that rose above the rest in terms of ethical leadership during the most difficult time. A time that continues to challenge us all. The Jones College of Business believes that leaders make ethical decisions when they adhere to six criteria: After identifying these leaders, students individually will interview a leader to learn more about the decisions and actions he or she took. This semester, we are especially exploring the Empathy criteria and its impact on ethical decision-making. https://www.forbes.com/sites/kevinkruse/2013/04/09/what-is-leadership/?sh=272078e25b90 Apr 9, 2013,10:06am EDT What Is Leadership? Kevin Kruse Contributor Careers CEO of LEADx and author of Great Leaders Have No Rules. TWEET THIS · Leadership is a process of social influence, which maximizes the efforts of others, towards the achievement of a goal. What is  leadership , anyway? Such a simple question, and yet it continues to vex popular consultants and lay people alike. I’ve now written several books on leadership for  employee engagement , and yet it occurred to me that I never actually paused to define leadership. Let’s start with what leadership is not… Leadership has nothing to do with seniority or one’s position in the hierarchy of a company. Too many talk about a company’s leadership referring to the senior most executives in the organization. They are just that, senior executives. Leadership doesn’t automatically happen when you reach a certain pay grade. Hopefully you find it there, but there are no guarantees. Leadership has nothing to do with titles. Similar to the point above, just because you have a C-level title, doesn’t automatically make you a “leader.” In all of my talks I stress the fact that you don’t need a title to lead. In fact, you can be a leader in your place of worship, your neighborhood, in your family, all without having a title. Leadership has nothing to do with personal attributes. Say the word “leader” and most people think of a domineering, take-charge charismatic individual. We often think of icons from history like General Patton or President Lincoln. But leadership isn’t an adjective. We don’t need extroverted charismatic traits to practice leadership. And those with charisma don’t automatically lead. Leadership isn’t management.  This is the big one. Leadership and management are not synonymous.  You have 15 people in your downline and P&L responsibility? Good for you, hopefully you are a good manager. Good management is needed. Managers need to plan, measure, monitor, coordinate, solve, hire, fire, and so many other things. Typically, managers manage things.  Leaders  lead people. So, again, what is Leadership? Let’s see how some of the most respected business thinkers of our time define leadership, and let’s consider what’s wrong with their definitions. Peter Drucker: "The only definition of a leader is someone who has followers." Really? This instance of tautology is so simplistic as to be dangerous. A new Army Captain is put in the command of 200 soldiers. He never leaves his room, or utters a word to the men and women in his unit. Perhaps routine orders are given through a subordinate. By default his troops have to “follow” orders. Is the Captain really a leader? Commander yes, leader no. Drucker is of course a brilliant thinker of modern business but his definition of leader is too simple. Warren Bennis: "Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.” Every spring you have a vision for a garden, and with lots of work carrots and tomatoes become a reality. Are you a leader? No, you’re a gardener. Bennis’ definition seems to have forgotten “others.” Bill Gates : "As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others." This definition includes “others” and empowerment is a good thing. But to what end? I’ve seen many empowered “others” in my life, from rioting hooligans to Google workers who were so misaligned with the rest of the company they found themselves unemployed. Gates’ definition lacks the parts about goal or vision. John Maxwell: "Leadership is influence - nothing more, nothing less." I like minimalism but this reduction is too much. A robber with a gun has “influence” over his victim. A manager has the power to fire team members which provides a lot of influence. But does this influence make a robber or a manager a leader? Maxwell’s definition omits the source of influence. So what is leadership? DEFINITION:  Leadership is a process of social influence, which maximizes the efforts of others, towards the achievement of a goal. Notice key elements of this definition: · Leadership stems from social influence, not authority or power · Leadership requires others, and that implies they don’t need to be “direct reports” · No mention of personality traits, attributes, or even a title; there are many styles, many paths, to effective leadership · It includes a goal, not influence with no intended outcome Lastly, what makes this definition so different from many of the academic definitions out there is the inclusion of “maximizes the efforts”. Most of my work is in the area of employee engagement, and engaged employees give discretionary effort. I guess technically a leader could use social influence to just organize the efforts of others, but I think leadership is about maximizing the effort. It’s not, “Hey everyone, let’s line up and get to the top of that hill someday.” But rather, “Hey, see that hill? Let’s see how fast we can get to the top…and I’ll buy the first round for anyone who can beat me up there.” So what do you think of my definition of leadership?  Social influence, others, maximize effort, towards a goal. Do those key elements work for you? --- Kevin Kruse is the creator of the  Leading for Employee Engagement  eLearning program for managers. and author of the bestselling book,  Employee Engagement 2.0 . https://www.forbes.com/sites/kevinkruse/2013/04/09/what - is - leadership/?sh=272078e25b90 Apr 9, 2013,10:06am EDT What Is Leadership? Kevin Kruse Contributor Careers CEO of LEADx and author of Great Leaders Have No Rules. TWEET THIS · Leadership is a process of social influence, which maximizes the efforts of others, towards the achievement of a goal. What is leadership , an yway? Such a simple question, and yet it continues to vex popular consultants and lay people alike. I’ve now written several books on leadership for employee engagement , and yet it occurred to me that I never actually paused to define leadership. Let’s start with what leadership is not … Leadership has nothing to do with seniori ty or one’s position in the hierarchy of a company. Too many talk about a company’s leadership referring to the senior most executives in the organization. They are just that, senior executives. Leadership doesn’t automatically happen when you reach a certain pay grade. Hopefully you find it there, but there are no guarantees. Leadership has nothing to do with titles . Similar to the point above, just because you have a C - level title, doesn’t automatically make you a “leader.” In all of my talks I stress the fact that you don’t need a title to lead. In fact, you can be a leader in your place of worship, your neighborhood, in your family, all without having a title. https://www.forbes.com/sites/kevinkruse/2013/04/09/what-is-leadership/?sh=272078e25b90 Apr 9, 2013,10:06am EDT What Is Leadership? Kevin KruseContributor Careers CEO of LEADx and author of Great Leaders Have No Rules. TWEET THIS  Leadership is a process of social influence, which maximizes the efforts of others, towards the achievement of a goal. What is leadership, anyway? Such a simple question, and yet it continues to vex popular consultants and lay people alike. I’ve now written several books on leadership for employee engagement, and yet it occurred to me that I never actually paused to define leadership. Let’s start with what leadership is not… Leadership has nothing to do with seniority or one’s position in the hierarchy of a company. Too many talk about a company’s leadership referring to the senior most executives in the organization. They are just that, senior executives. Leadership doesn’t automatically happen when you reach a certain pay grade. Hopefully you find it there, but there are no guarantees. Leadership has nothing to do with titles. Similar to the point above, just because you have a C-level title, doesn’t automatically make you a “leader.” In all of my talks I stress the fact that you don’t need a title to lead. In fact, you can be a leader in your place of worship, your neighborhood, in your family, all without having a title. ETHICAL LEADER STANDOUT Your Name: ___________________________________________ Who would you like to interview for this project? You stick with the person you nominated before or you can change your mind and select someone else. I will interview: _______________________________________________ Email address for this person: ___________________________________ Position/Title:________________________________________________ Company: ___________________________________________________ How do you know this person? Submit this form in the designated dropbox as soon as possible but no later than October 2, 2021. Dr. Clark will email this person to explain the project and copy you on the email using your school email address. Once the email is sent, you may reach out to the person to set up the interview. Review “Next Steps” document to prepare for the interview. ETHICAL LEADER STANDOUT Your Name: ___________________________________________ Who would you like to interview for this project? You stick with the person you nominated before or you can change your mind and select someone else. I will interview: _______________________________________________ Email address for this person: ________ ___________________________ Position/Title:________________________________________________ Company: ___________________________________________________ How do you know this person? Submit this form in the designated dropbox as soon as possible but no later than October 2, 2021. Dr. Clark will email this person to explain the project and copy you on the email using your school email address. Once the email is sent, you may reach out to the person to set up the interview. Review “Next Steps” document to prepare for the interview. ETHICAL LEADER STANDOUT Your Name: ___________________________________________ Who would you like to interview for this project? You stick with the person you nominated before or you can change your mind and select someone else. I will interview: _______________________________________________ Email address for this person: ___________________________________ Position/Title:________________________________________________ Company: ___________________________________________________ How do you know this person? Submit this form in the designated dropbox as soon as possible but no later than October 2, 2021. Dr. Clark will email this person to explain the project and copy you on the email using your school email address. Once the email is sent, you may reach out to the person to set up the interview. Review “Next Steps” document to prepare for the interview. Next Steps – Setting up Interview and Preparing for Interview Next Steps (READ): Once Dr. Clark has the name, email address, company, and title/position for your leader, Dr. Clark will send an email to the selected leader and copy you on the email. I will use your MTSU student email address. Reach out to the leader once you see that the email has been sent, to see if the person is willing and if so, to set up a time for an interview. The interview should be limited to 45 minutes. I encourage that the interviews be conducted using Zoom but I understand some of you may be working with these leaders, and meeting in person may make the most sense. Please be sensitive to the desire of the leader in how they want to meet. PREPARE FOR THE INTERVIEW You are representing yourself, me, and MTSU during the interview. Be sure that you are prepared and that you dress appropriately. Business casual is usually the safest choice. However, if the culture is something less casual, you may do so as long as it still is appropriate. INTERVIEW QUESTIONS Think about your particular leader and what you already know about the decisions that person has made this past year. I’m including a possible script for the Interview but I want you to modify it to meet your situation. You need to be prepared to have a good, quality interview during the 35-45 minutes of time. You want no more than 10 mins of small talk, introduction, closing and 35 minutes of decision-making focused conversation. Start the interview at the time you say you will do so. If Zooming, be sure you sign in at least 5-10 minutes early. If meeting in person, arrive at least 10 minutes prior. Welcome __________ and thank you for meeting with us. As Dr. Clark explained to you in the email she sent, we were asked to identify a local business leader that we thought made ethical decisions. For me, you came to mind. Share a little about why this person came to mind for you. What you have seen this person do. So, through this conversation today, we are asked to understand better how you make decisions, how you balance the interests of many different people, how you make the tough calls but still do so in the way that is ethical. Possible questions: · As you think about the hard decisions you have had to make this past year, what comes to mind as one of the toughest? Why was it so difficult? How did you decide what to do? · When making decisions, do you have personal criteria you follow? Do you mind sharing with us what those are? · Have there been decisions you made this past year that have stayed with you as not the best decisions in hindsight? If so, what could you have done differently when making the decision to get a better result? · The Jones College of Business provides us with criteria for making ethical decisions. I believe Dr. Clark share those criterial with you but we can share the criteria again. They include: · EMPATHY – The proposed action or decision reflects an understanding of how the action will impact others. · TRUTH and INTEGRITY – The decision maker is honest, fair, and truthful when making the decision. The decision or action respects others, builds trust, and shows professionalism. · HELPS more than it HARMS – The decision or action helps others more than it harms others. The decision addresses the real problem or issue. · INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS – The decision or action adequately protects the rights of others. · COMPLIANCE – The decision or action is in compliance with company policies, codes of ethics, societal norms and/or laws. · STAKEHOLDERS’ VALUE – The decision/action considers the overall value of the action/decision on stakeholders. Stakeholders include employees, customers, suppliers, shareholders and owners, community, and other impacted individuals or entities. Can you think of a decision you have made this past year that involved considering many of these criteria? Can you tell us about that decision-making process? Dr. Clark has asked us to focus on the criteria of Empathy. How do you consider the impact of the decision on other people? Is empathy something you have always had or used in decision making or is it a skill that you have developed? Has Covid-19 changed how you make decisions or communicate decisions? How so? Do you have any advice for us in learning how or practicing making ethical decisions that will make it more likely we will do so in our work lives? What are other questions you want to ask? List at least three. 1. 2. 3. How will you structure your time? You need a game plan. Create an agenda. YOU MUST INTERVIEW THE PERSON either in person or on Zoom or using another face-to-face digital platform. YOU MAY NOT send them questions for them to answer. That is not an interview. I want you to be able to go back and forth with them to learn more. Next Steps – Setting up Interview and Preparing for Interview Next Steps (READ) : Once Dr. Clark has the name, email address, company, and title/position for your leader, Dr. Clark will sen d an email to the selected leader and copy you on the email. I will use your MTSU student email address. Reach out to the leader once you see that t he email has been sent, to see if the person is willing and if so, to set up a time for an interview. The interview should be limited to 4 5 minutes . I encourage that the interviews be conducted using Zoom but I understand some of you may be working with th ese leaders, and meeting in person may make the most sense. Please be sensitive to the desire of the leader in how they want to meet. PREPARE FOR THE INTERVIEW You are representing yourself, me, and MTSU during the interview. Be sure that you are prepare d and that you dress appropriately. Business casual is usually the safest choice. However, if the culture is something less casual, you may do so as long as it still is appropriate. INTERVIEW QUESTIONS Think about your particular leader and what you alre ady know about the decisions that person has made this past year. I’m including a possible script for the Interview but I want you to modify it to meet your situation. You need to be prepared to have a good, quality interview during the 3 5 - 4 5 minutes of time. You want no more than 10 mins of small talk, introduction, closing and 3 5 minutes of decision - making focused conversation. Start the interview at the time you say you will do so. If Zooming, be sure you sign in at least 5 - 10 minutes early . If meeting in person, arrive at least 10 minutes prior . Welcome __________ and thank you for meeting with us. As Dr. Clark explained to you in the email she sent, we were asked to identify a local business leader that we thought made ethical decisions. For me, you came to mind. Share a little about why this person came to mind for you. What you have seen th is person do. So, through this conversation today , we are asked to understand better how you make decisions, how you balance the interests of many di fferent people, how you make the tough calls but still do so in the way that is ethical. Possible questions: · As you think about the hard decisions you have had to make this past year, what comes to mind as one of the toughest? Why was it so difficult? How did you decide what to do? · When making decisions, do you have personal criteria you follow? Do you mind sharing with us what those are? Next Steps – Setting up Interview and Preparing for Interview Next Steps (READ): Once Dr. Clark has the name, email address, company, and title/position for your leader, Dr. Clark will send an email to the selected leader and copy you on the email. I will use your MTSU student email address. Reach out to the leader once you see that the email has been sent, to see if the person is willing and if so, to set up a time for an interview. The interview should be limited to 45 minutes. I encourage that the interviews be conducted using Zoom but I understand some of you may be working with these leaders, and meeting in person may make the most sense. Please be sensitive to the desire of the leader in how they want to meet. PREPARE FOR THE INTERVIEW You are representing yourself, me, and MTSU during the interview. Be sure that you are prepared and that you dress appropriately. Business casual is usually the safest choice. However, if the culture is something less casual, you may do so as long as it still is appropriate. INTERVIEW QUESTIONS Think about your particular leader and what you already know about the decisions that person has made this past year. I’m including a possible script for the Interview but I want you to modify it to meet your situation. You need to be prepared to have a good, quality interview during the 35-45 minutes of time. You want no more than 10 mins of small talk, introduction, closing and 35 minutes of decision-making focused conversation. Start the interview at the time you say you will do so. If Zooming, be sure you sign in at least 5-10 minutes early. If meeting in person, arrive at least 10 minutes prior. Welcome __________ and thank you for meeting with us. As Dr. Clark explained to you in the email she sent, we were asked to identify a local business leader that we thought made ethical decisions. For me, you came to mind. Share a little about why this person came to mind for you. What you have seen this person do. So, through this conversation today, we are asked to understand better how you make decisions, how you balance the interests of many different people, how you make the tough calls but still do so in the way that is ethical. Possible questions:  As you think about the hard decisions you have had to make this past year, what comes to mind as one of the toughest? Why was it so difficult? How did you decide what to do?  When making decisions, do you have personal criteria you follow? Do you mind sharing with us what those are? MTSU’s Jones College of Business MGMT 3940 Business Ethics Students recognize Local Business Leaders for being Ethical Standouts during the Past Year Student’s Name: Nominated Leader: Written nomination due December 6th NOMINATION of Tennessee Business or Organizational Leader Nominee: Nominee’s Local TN Business or Organization and Role/Position at that Business/Organization: Address/Location: Website: Email/Contact Info for Nominee: Date of Interview: How was interview conducted? WORD COUNT – I am providing some guidance as to recommended word counts for each area of the nomination essay. If you find you need to go over the word count, that is fine, but you should meet the minimum number of words. Please answer each question under the designated heading. Introduction (100-200 words) Before conducting the interview with your nominee, explain why this person came to mind as an ethical leader for you or the group? Nomination Essay (1000 – 1500 words) After learning more about the leader, why should this person be recognized as an Ethical Leader Standout for actions/decisions taken over the past year? Write a compelling, strong essay of what this person has done/does and what these actions/decisions are “ethical.” In your essay, discuss specifically how the leader has used or met the JCB Ethical Decision-Making Criteria being sure to focus first on how this person makes decisions/takes actions with EMPATHY. Then discuss other criteria that the leader also uses. Give specific examples of decisions/actions the leader took and explain the impact of those decisions/actions on others. Since COVID-19 has impacted all businesses/organizations this past year and continues to be a challenge, include a discussion of what the leader has done in relation to COVID-19. This may be the majority of your focus which is fine. It is also fine, if COVID-19 actions/decisions are only a part of your essay. Jones College of Business Ethical Decision-Making Criteria EMPATHY - Does proposed action/decision reflect an understanding of how the action/decision will impact others? TRUTH and INTEGRITY - Was the company/leader honest, fair and truthful when making the decision? As the action was taken or decision implemented, were others respected? Was trust built? Did the action/decision show professionalism? HELPS more than it HARMS - Did the action/decision help more than it harmed? Did the decision/action address the real project or issue? INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS - Did the decision or action adequately protect the rights of others? COMPLIANCE - Was the decision/action in compliance with company policies, codes of ethics, society norms, and/or laws? STAKEHOLDERS’ VALUE - Does the action/decision consider the overall value of the action/decision on stakeholders? Stakeholders include employees, customers, suppliers, shareholders and owners, community, and other impacted individuals and entities. Interview Reflection (500 – 1000 words) What did you learn from interviewing the leader about making decisions or taking action that would help others in making ethical decisions? What did the leader rely on most when making tough decisions? Does the leader have a personal code of ethics or refer to personal values/beliefs that inform his/her decision making? What did you learn from this project? (200 – 400 words) Share what you learned from this project? What were the main take-aways? MTSU’s Jones College of Business MGMT 3940 Business Ethics Students recognize Local Business Leaders for being Ethical Standouts during the Past Year Student’s Name: Nominated Leader: Written nomination due December 6th MTSU’s Jones College of Business MGMT 3940 Business Ethics Students recognize Local Business Leaders for being Ethical Standouts during the Past Year Student’s Name: Nominated Leader: Written nomination due December 6th