Consider the following questions:
Do your ethical, moral, and legal responsibilities differ depending on your position within
an organization? If so, how?
Do ethical, moral, and legal responsibilities vary based on the organization and the
population it serves? Why or why not?
What professional standards or other guidelines are available? When and how should they
be referred to?
Write an assessment of whether leaders are “born” or can be “made.” Describe a dilemma
that you resolved or saw being resolved through ethical, legal, or moral decision making.
Specify which traits or principles were necessary to make the decision, and expound on
whether such traits are strictly innate or can be developed.
Current resource please.
Olson, D. A. (2009). Are great leaders born, or are they made? Frontiers of Health Services
Management, 26(2), 27-30.
Effective Ethical, Moral, and Legal Leadership
Leaders can either be born or made. Some individuals are born with the innate qualities
that predispose them to be great leaders (Olson, 2009). Other people who are not gifted with
leadership skills naturally can acquire them. Teaching leadership acumen is possible and it can
be ingrained in people who are willing to make efforts towards learning. Regardless of whether a
leader is made or born, he can improve his ability with effort, experience, and desire (Olson,
2009). People who are born leaders can go very far and lead for a long period. However, born
leaders who make no effort to develop their skills are eventually overtaken by those who see
leadership as a skill that should be refined and developed.
Health care technology has resulted to increased costs of health care (Olson, 2009). On
the same note, there are limited resources for offering comprehensive care in geriatric and end-
of-life care practices. In such situations, health care practitioners have to make ethical decisions.
On one hand, there is a need to consider the circumstances under which to set proper healthcare
priorities. The sickest patients can be given treatment first but this might deny resources to
EFFECTIVE ETHICAL, MORAL, AND LEGAL LEADERSHIP 2
people who are likely to recover and live a longer and quality life. Finally, there should be a keen
consideration on the point to stop medical procedures for patients with incurable conditions.
When making these decisions, professionals can be guided by the ethical principles or
standards of justice, beneficence, and autonomy so as to ensure sound decisions (Olson, 2009).
Every patient has a right to enjoy the society’s share of medical care benefits. Patients’ decisions
regarding their healthcare should be respected but a patient should receive sufficient information
beforehand. Additionally, a professional have a responsibility of enhancing a patient’s welfare
and preventing patient harm. These traits can be developed through effort, experience, and desire
or innate.
EFFECTIVE ETHICAL, MORAL, AND LEGAL LEADERSHIP 3
Reference
Olson, D. A. (2009). Are great leaders born, or are they made? Frontiers of Health Services
Management, 26(2), 27–30.