A rise in the number of high-profile cases of management failure and leadership
misconduct increased the awareness of one of the core challenges of management,
namely to lead responsibly and with integrity. The environment which senior managers
create and within which middle managers need to function seems to have a direct bearing
on the moral behaviour and integrity of the middle manager. The aim of this research was
therefore to gain a better understanding of how middle managers view the impact of senior
managers on their experience of integrity. There is an increasing need in organisations for
responsible leadership, leadership with integrity and leadership towards developing the
integrity of the follower. This study was conducted within the interpretive research
paradigm. Sampling was directed by criterion-based guidelines, focusing on current middle
managers from different industries in the private sector. In-depth interviews were
conducted and the data was analysed using a grounded theory method.
The main findings indicated that senior managers should engage in two debates with
middle managers in the organisation. Firstly, integrity is not something that is
demonstrated but rather means that leaders can be differentiated from other leaders when
they lead with integrity. Secondly, defining integrity and linking it to personal standards and
values, as well as aligning these standards and values to the organisational strategy,
vision and mission, are important. The findings of this study can assist senior managers
with decreasing unethical behaviour and increasing integrity in the organisation. The
research provided a basic framework that can assist in creating a positive context for the
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relationship between senior managers and middle managers within which to function, in
order to decrease unethical employee activity and increase integrity. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M.A. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:unisa/oai:umkn-dsp01.int.unisa.ac.za:10500/4783 |
| Date | 02 1900 |
| Creators | Van Niekerk, Annelize |
| Contributors | May, Michelle S. |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Dissertation |
| Format | 1 online resource (vii, 119 leaves) |
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