Abstract

Current events clearly demonstrate the failure of organizational governance structures to consistently provide positive guidance, oversight, and identity protection that fosters positive outcomes for organizations. Organizations as diverse as Toyota, Goldman Sachs, Sunbeam, and Enron have experienced massive failures that may have roots in failed organizational governance structure. This article will investigate the relationship among various governance factors including organizational climate, leadership, and ethics to attempt to find common features of organizational governance structures. A range of both successful and unsuccessful organizations will be analysed in an attempt to understand the nature of organizational governance. Building upon the results of previous studies, this article will also propose several research propositions for future researchers to further examine the relationships between ethical leadership, organizational governance structures, ethical climate, and organizational and employees’ ethical conducts.

Keywords:Positive guidance; Demonstration; Ethical leadership; Environment