Ethical Decision-Making

"By including thoughtful and extremely difficult questions to ponder at the end of a chapter, the book challenges the reader to think more deeply about ethical decision making, the potential consequences of unethical decision making and the ethical dilemmas that may arise. With 43 case studies to read and to reflect upon, the reader will most certainly benefit from this text and may even be able to relate to a few of the case studies on a more personal level as it applies to their respective setting. This book would serve well those professors charged with preparing aspiring education leaders. Finally, this book would be an excellent choice for a leadership book study within a school district."

Review excerpt by Denver J. Fowler for School Administrator (September 2020 issue)

"Leadership is one of those elusive notions that everyone believes they can explain but few actually know how to command. Patricia Mitchell has done us a wonderful service as well as increased our knowledge base and understanding of the nuances of decision‐making across many fields and professions. I suspect it will become a standard text in leadership courses everywhere."

Gloria Ladson‐Billings, President, National Academy of Education

"Knowledgeably compiled and deftly edited, Ethical Decision-Making: Cases in Organization and Leadership provides a unique collection of case studies across a wide range of organizations (higher education, K-12 education, military, state and local government administration, non-profit institutions, and agency management, etc.). Collectively, these cases examine ethical decision-making and organizational and leadership behavioral concepts that are practiced in these organizations. The individual cases cover topics facing our workforce today and ask the reader to solve the dilemma. Through a discussion of these cases, students apply decision making and organizational and leadership strategies to analyze each case and therefore gain a better understanding of how to effectively lead and manage within their organizations. Students are encouraged to reflect on options a practitioner could use to solve the problem. All of the cases end with an open scenario and a set of questions, allowing students to offer a wide range of opinions and participate in reflective and robust discussions."

Julie Summers, MBR Bookwatch: September 2019

“The intriguing cases make the book highly readable. It never gets bogged down in jargon. The cases show how seemingly abstract ethical decision-making can be understood in concrete, practical terms. The book is never boring.” (Click HERE to read the full review.)

Yinying Wang, Georgia State University, for Teachers College Record, ID Number: 23607, 2/22/21

Preface
Foreword
Acknowledgments
About the Editor
Introduction

Part I: K –12 Education
Overview
Claudia Coughran

Case study:
1.1 Principal for the Day
  Niki T. Newman-Brown

1.2 Is It Policy or Favor?
  Rebecca Loboschefsky

1.3 Can One Woman Make a Difference?
  Claudia Coughran

1.4 The Honest Teacher
  Michael Blanco

1.5 A Bully Boss or Just Doing the Job?
  Silvia Ramirez

1.6 Restorative Practices
  Shawntee Reed

1.7 He Said, She Said
  Niki T. Newman-Brown

1.8 Football Is King
  Claudia Coughran

1.9 The Manager Who Retaliates
  Michael Blanco

1.10 A Predicament: Promotions and Team Conflict
  Helena Young

1.11 Educational Choices
  Catherine Crouse Barnes

Part II: Higher Education
Overview
Silvia Ramirez

Case study:
2.1 Teaching Implicit Bias in Public Education 
  Richard Greggory Johnson III

2.2 Who Gets the Scholarship?
  Jay Le Roux Dillon

2.3 Lack of Recruiting Disclosure
  Jamie Williams

2.4 Faculty-Student Relationship
  Mitchell Friedman

2.5 Board Gone Wild—When Ethics Don’t Matter
  Stanford Simmons

2.6 Senior Management Challenge
  Jamie Williams

Part III: Public and Nonprofit Organizations
Overview
Marie Roberts De La Parra

Case study:
3.1 Battling Board Members
  Mitchell Friedman

3.2 The Big Easy
  Jason Mitchell

3.3 Coming Up Short: The Challenge of Food Stashing
  Janith Norman

3.4 Promoting from Within
  Jay Le Roux Dillon

3.5 The Nonconsequentialist Leader
  Marie Roberts De La Parra

3.6 No Need to Rush
  Cynthia Mitchell

3.7 Keeping Secrets
  Candy Smolik

3.8 The Paying Public and Private Problems
  Candy Smolik

Part IV: Government and Law Enforcement
Overview
Tyree Robinson

Case study:
4.1 Dignity, Sweetheart Deals, and Politics
  Janith Norman

4.2 Management Accountability
  Tyree Robinson

4.3 Who’s Really Being Served?
  Matthew Escover

4.4 Dirty Deeds
  Dominic Yin

4.5 Acceptable Racism
  Tyree Robinson

Part V: Corporate America
Overview
Tommy Moreno and Marion Moreno

Case study:
5.1 The Case of the Missing Performance Reviews
  Susan R. Stryker and James B. Stryker

5.2 Sponge Management—Compassionate Leader or Colluder?
  Beverly Davis

5.3 Cultural Sensitivity
  Shawntee Reed

5.4 Misbehaving or Misunderstanding?
  Harold Wilson

5.5 Ethics During a Crisis
  Mel Davis

5.6 No Pressure—Hire My Son
  Tommy L. Moreno

5.7 What’s the Harm—To Share or Not to Share?
  Marion C. Moreno

5.8 Forced Ethics
  Mel Davis

5.9 Leadership Lessons Learned
  Brad Hatton

5.10 Moving Manufacturing to India
  Susan R. Stryker and James B. Stryker

5.11 Managing Work Force Diversity
  Melvinia King

Part VI: Health Industry
Overview
Patricia Mitchell

Case study:
6.1 Equal Pay for Equal Work
  Veronica Knott

6.2 English-Only Workplace Policies
  Jonathan Pettey

Postscript
List of Contributors

Patricia A. Mitchell

Dr. Patricia A. Mitchell is Professor Emeritus and the former chair of the Department of Leadership Studies at the University of San Francisco (USF). Dr. Mitchell has over 40 years of professional and teaching experience in postsecondary education. She has been a major player and has made an impact on training and preparing leaders and managers to transform their organizations. Her research interests include organization and leadership issues; curriculum development; women’s issues; and diversity in higher education. Mitchell has written and co-edited six textbooks, authored scholarly publications, and facilitated professional presentations. She was the recipient of the USF Ignatian Service Award for 2015. This award honors a faculty member whose service to students, the university and the community at large constitutes an exceptional contribution. Additionally, she received the Morgan State University Alumni Special Achievement Award for 2017. Mitchell serves on the executive board of the USF Chapter of Phi Delta Kappa at the University of San Francisco.