The Ethical Leader showcases the necessity and practicality of using an ethics-based business model for competitive advantage and long-term organizational success.

Ethical behaviour by businesses, or their staff, is often seen as the corporate and social responsibility icing on an organizational cake - something that is nice to do but never really essential. But by turning this view around - and making ethical behaviour a primary focus - Witzel shows how businesses can create and maintain long-term competitive advantage.

Trust and respect among key stakeholder groups, particularly employees and customers, cannot be overstated in their importance to an organization's success: trust engenders loyalty and good reputation, which in turn builds brand value. However, while ethical behaviour is key to trust-building, in order for an organization to see lasting, positive outcomes it needs to go deeper than something managers do out of a sense of moral duty.

The Ethical Leader shows why ethical practice has to be the platform on which a strong and enduring business can be built, and leaders and managers need to provide the necessary tools and insights to enable this to happen. Witzel offers a practical introduction to some of the key concepts in ethics, including how to deal with ethical paradoxes and making ethical decisions. The book explores the specifics of what makes an ethical leader, and how leaders can communicate values and standards across an organization in order to engage the trust of employees, consumers, shareholders and the wider community.

MORGEN WITZEL has taught business ethics at numerous universities and business schools, including for many years on the MBA Programme at the University of Exeter Business School, where he is also a Fellow of the Exeter Centre for Leadership. He has also worked with some highly ethical and values-driven organizations, and is a popular speaker on management issues for a wide variety of clients across many sectors, including Rabobank, Shell, and the Federation of Small Businesses.