1.Why do you think many women opt out from seeking higher levels of corporate leadership?  Discus why you think this either is or is not a trend that might hurt organizations over the next decade.

I believe that some women opt out from seeking higher levels of corporate leadership because the fear of being discriminated for being a female. They’re many organizations that are bias about having a female “BOSS”, some believe women are not capable of performing the job like a male would. In my work career in an interview I was once told, “The clients are used to a male manager, someone they can talk about business.” This is where I opted out from seeking higher level within leadership. I thought maybe they’re right, but I was weak minded at the time after that conversation. The fact that I am a minority, is the real reason why the job was not offered to me, because they hired a Caucasian female for the position. That same position was offered to me later, but I decided to turn it down because I have other plans for my work career. According to Daft, discriminating is illegal in the United States, and that one leader could have gotten into serious trouble for that. As a minority female, I stand firm on my belief, having women in a higher level will benefit because women can do the same job just as good or some instances better than a man.

2.Lord Acton, a British historian of the late nineteenth century, said that “power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely,” suggesting that a person’s sense of morality lessens as his or her power increases.  Do you agree?  Considering this idea, is it ethical for leaders to try to increase their power?  Discuss.

I agree, because when people have more power, they tend to abuse it and some even feel they’re above the law/policies set in place by the organization. A lot of people don’t quit jobs, they quit managers. “People and organizations get hurt when leaders fall into the temptation to use power for their own benefit rather than for the good or the whole.” (Daft 382) This is where some leaders fail and make their followers fall within their same steps and start doing unethical things in the organization.

1. Why do you think many women opt out from seeking higher levels of corporate leadership? Discuss why you think this either is or is not a trend that might hurt organizations over the next decade.

Leadership in and of itself already begins with its challenges. The perception that comes with a women in leadership roles could lead to many women opting out from seeking high levels of corporate leadership. Strong stereotypes has long existed that women are not intellectually equal to men. This could lead to increased unwillingness of the leader’s potential sphere of influence refusing to adhere to a women’s direction. While blatant discrimination may no longer be established as frequently as it once was, unconscious bias can still hinder a woman’s ability to lead (Daft, 2018). This is a trend that will likely continue to hurt organizations over the next decade. This is especially true given recent social awareness initiatives to counter racism and discrimination overall. In addition, the potential for the realization of the unconscious bias theory would likely continue to affect the workplace. This theory suggests that despite someone’s outward and conscious opinions, decisions are still influenced by unconscious prejudice (Daft, 2018). A leader has to conscious act against these possibilities. Until leaders are put in place that are both conscious and active in their pursuit to eliminate such, a decrease in the occurrence is not likely to occur. Furthermore, the existence of such unconscious bias is difficult to document, monitor, or analyze.

2. Lord Acton, a British historian of the late nineteenth century, said that “power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely,” suggesting that a person’s sense of morality lessens as his or her power increases. Do you agree? Considering this idea, is it ethical for leaders to try to increase their power? Discuss.

I believe that power does tend to corrupt as well as the notion of absolute power corrupting absolutely. As a person’s power increases, they often have less of a need to empower and aid those around them. This can lead to self-seeking initiatives and decisions. This is certainly evident among governmental and political leaders throughout world history. The idea behind the notion of ethics regarding a leader’s attempt to increase their power lies in the ultimate reasoning for such an attempt. A leader should seek to increase their sphere of influence to increase productivity of their project or task. However, this does not have to include an increase in power or authority. Power itself is a resource a leader must manage. Other leaders should be included in the process to act as a check and balance against the leader from abusing their power. When such power can be kept in check and used for the good of the team, increased power can be ethical. The power itself is not unethical in and of itself. There are certain hard powers that a leader does not have authority to utilize unless they receive additional authority (Daft, 2018). These could include motivations incentives such as rewards, bonuses, and even punishments as a method to establish protocols.