solved 1. Are ethical theories relevant for ethical leadership? Explain. 2.

1. Are ethical theories relevant for ethical leadership? Explain.
2. How should a police officer respond if the officer witnesses the unethical behavior of another officer?

-Must respond to two peers:
PEER 1:Ethical theories are the ideas that theorists come up with to define moral and ethical thinking, reasoning, and action. We can not discuss ethical theories without mentioning some of the most popular theories such as the Kantian theory, Teleology, or Utilitarianism. The Kantian theory was developed by Immanuel Kant that made up other different ethical theories composed of good will, duties of the job, moral obligations, rationalism ect. Teleology comes from the Word Telos which is defined as goal or aim. It’s an explanation of the end purpose of the goal or function. Last but not least Utilitarianism is the idea that an action is appropriate if it produces benefits to most of the population (Stafford Library). Ethical theories can be for ethical leadership to develop since many of the ideas that ethical leadership use comes from the ethical theories itself or came from the ethical theories in other forms. To further explain that since ethics is not a universal concept, the definition of ethics is created through cultural experiences and practices ( Dion 2012). In an analysis between many leadership approaches there are connections between ethical theories and leadership.
A police officer has a lot of control on the streets since discretion is one of the main decision making factors that dictates what action an officer will take. Urges and desires will be present when the officers are at their most vulnerable. In an ideal world police officers should be able to report any unethical and immoral behaviors to their supervisors to preserve the dignity of the organization but that does not always happen. Sunahara (2003) explains the aspect of what it’s like to be an officer working in the security departments of the agency. Unethical practices occur in police workplaces all the time and it’s difficult to set examples for recruits to follow when the police officers themselves are condoning those same behaviors. The workplace environment within a police department is the decider of what culture and practices are tolerable and what is not. The subculture of law enforcement can include subtle control over other officers, lack of trust between citizens and law enforcement, and the hierarchy that they serves allow them to think of their position as superior to civilians which creates a illusion of power abuse.

PEER 2:
Are ethical theories relevant for ethical leadership? Explain.
Ethical theories are relevant for ethical leadership. Although ethical theories are composed of different many different variables, they all revolve around what would be considered right by social standards. These variables include, beneficence, least harm, respect for autonomy, justice ect. Through all these variables, the focus is drawn on doing what is morally right. In being a leader, we should always want to set a good example, and in turn those that are following our lead to do the same. In this week’s article, a quote from John C. Maxwell stated, “A leader is one who know the way, goes the way, and show the way (Miguel, 2017).” If leaders know what’s ethically right, does what’s ethically right, and shows others ethically right, then their followers should do the same.
The ethical principle beneficence, express that the decision maker do what is right and good (Chonko, n.d.). This philosophy states that we should try to produce as much good as possible to over evil. In any profession, we should all strive to do as much good as we can. This creates a stable environment in the workplace and also is a way of encouraging other to do the same.
Least harm is pretty similar to beneficence. Utilizing that way of thinking, individuals are expected to deal with situations in an effort to do the least harm as possible. Trying to harm the fewest people as possible is the objective.
Having respect for others should always be a priority for every. If we lived in a world where everyone respected on another, the world would definitely be different. Being a leader, he/she should always encourage their followers to respect other. Always teach others how you would want to be treated.
The justice principle tells us that our actions should be fair to every individual involved. This means that our decisions should coincide with what is ethical in society.
Ethical theories are very important in any situation, workplace and especially leadership role. With ethical leadership come more ethical behavior. Ethical behavior can bring about change in any environment.
How should a police officer respond if the officer witnesses the unethical behavior of another officer?
Within the law enforcement community there is a tight bond between officers. This bond comes from training, being on the front line is stressful situation and trusting their fellow officer with their live and a daily basis. Although this bond is strong, every officer should be held to a very high standard. Police officers across the nation is task with one of the toughest jobs in world. With enormous task come great responsibility. Every day officers deploy to the streets and at any given time the faith of someone life can be in their hands. Preforming this this in an ethical manner should always be on the forefront. Any unethical behavior should not be tolerated. If another officer witness’s unethical behavior, he/she should step in and explain to the officer that this behavior is not expectable and not what they were taught. In order for department to have change it starts with the guys on the front lines holding each other accountable for their actions. Without this, we have situation like George Floyd and countless others. Everyone needs a reality check, if he/she doesn’t address this unethical behavior then it becomes the norm for that officer committing it. Holding each other accountable for their action not only starts with leadership, but also the person witnessing these actions.