The Experience of Filipino Executives in Exercising Ethics in Leadership: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis

The Experience of Filipino Executives in  Exercising Ethics in Leadership: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis

by Johann Fabrian Q Bolinao, PhD in Leadership Studies major in Organization Development Candidate

ABSTRACT:
The top leaders of business organizations, also known as executives, create the tone that shapes the ethical culture and strategy of the organization. The behaviors and choices that executives make and how they respond in each situation are directed by their ethics. Most of the literature provide a quantitative analysis of the effects of ethical and unethical leadership to the employees, or the employees’ evaluation of the leader. Since the ethical dimension of leadership is likely to have a subjective dimension that is open to multiple interpretations, this research utilized Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to explore leadership ethics by examining the phenomenon from the perspective of executives who have lived through the experience. Four executives from different organizations were interviewed with the aim of answering the question, “How do Filipino executives make sense of ethics in the practice of leadership?” This research highlighted three major themes that expounds our knowledge and understanding about leadership ethics: prioritizing the clients and the community, avoiding unethical leadership practices, and modeling ethical practices. This context came from the healthcare industry and based on the experiences of the top leaders who set the tone for ethical culture of the organization.

5:00pm, Thursday, April 18, 2024 (Online)

Adviser:

Emerald Jay D Ilac, PhD

Co-Adviser:

Dennis T Gonzalez, PhD

Panelists:

Oscar G Bulaong, PhD

Edna P Franco, PhD

Mira Alexis P Ofreneo, PhD

Fr. Augustine Thomas, SJ

Keywords/Key Phrases: ethics, ethical leader, healthcare leadership, role model