Ethics and Leadership - Essay Example

The article under review is a paper written by Susan Kavanagh. The paper discusses what exactly the role of Chief Ethics and Compliance Officers (CECOs) is. The key question regarding what the role of the CECOs should be, the paper states, depends on what the characteristics of the organization itself are, which includes the business objectives as well as the size of the organization. Moreover, the paper stresses that the CECOs should be allowed to “assume a broad and substantial position” (Kavanagh, 2007).

There are also some suggestions about the reporting relationship of the CECOs, as in to whom should they report, and that CECOs should be given the power to enforce the standards at all levels. Not only that but they should also “have direct, unfiltered access to the governing authority to solicit advice and receive information” (Kavanagh, 2007).The paper outlines the responsibilities that a CECO has in an organization s/he is assigned to, proposing that for a CECO to effectively do his/her job, it is essential that s/he be provided with adequate resources.

The paper also remarks on the professional and personal skills, qualifications and characteristics that a CECO must possess to be successful at his/her job, also recommending that the CECO be made to continue his/her education and training.In the end the paper recommends what steps to be taken in the future to enhance the role of CECOs in an organization and their job performance.Ethics is basically a study of what is the right thing to do in any given situation and what is morally, not in a religious context, correct.

It is to do something right. Leadership is also concerned with action, and effective leadership is where the leader guides his/her followers to the right path and, ultimately, towards success.In essence both ethics and leadership are intertwined in the sense that without ethics there is no effective leadership. There is a strong link between the two as it is often the leadership that comes from adhering to ethics that leads to success in any given situation in life, whether it is in a personal capacity or a professional one.

Bibliography:Kavanagh, S. (2007). Professional and personal skills and qualifications that are simply a must for the job. CCH Federal Ethics Report, 14 (10), 25-28, 74-75.