Ebbers Deviant Behavior

Introduction:
Ethics in organizational theory is a topic that is constantly in the limelight due to the various cases of unethical behavior from executive members of different companies. The Enron case saga was one that has yet to get out of people’s mind where chief executive officer (CEO) Jeffrey Skilling who performed numerous fraudulent activities to hide the financial status of the company. Bernard Ebbers, CEO of WorldCom made history in terms of unethical approaches. Today this essay will talk about Ebbers odyssey in WorldCom and the leadership behind the downfall of the company.
1. To what extent were the actions of Bernard Ebbers indicative of leadership, and to what extent did Ebbers display destructive deviant behavior? Provide examples

With a 6ft 4inch stature and debonair attire, he had a charismatic charm that proved to be irresistible by many to such an extent that they were ready to perform to their best and prove their loyalty toward him (Treviño, L., 2005). They had high respect for him and his simplicity was one of the factors that was attracting people. Year after year he was able to show a drastic increase in the company’s revenue and made WorldCom into a giant through several acquisitions. Some even thought of him as focused and his mindset to reduce costs was a highlight at that time. Before the WorldCom bubble, he was perceived as responsible and highly ethical for his altruistic approaches toward the community (Treviño, L., 2005). At some point, he was even considered a mentor by many. On the other hand, everyone was not keen with his approaches. After every acquisition, many staffs were laid off but simultaneously, he was displaying his wealth procurement through real estate ownerships and farming. The primary focuses were to takeover and merge with other similar entities but less on time allocation for proper integration within the business environment (Treviño, L., 2005). He was spiteful with those who questioned the operations of WorldCom and was very loud with his comments toward few European companies who dared query about the company.

As a transformational leader who was for dishonesty, he created a culture within WorldCom for what he supported. He embraced fraud, falsification of numbers, and unethical conspiracy and he dragged his people into following his footstep. As a transactional leader who supported the ‘reward and punishment’ system, his managers and employees fell prey to his goals. If only he used his leadership aspects positively, managers could perform their job effectively and ethically by abiding to his demands to raise the company with transparency and honesty. Using the ‘reward and punishment’ action plan as a method to magnify positive outcomes and eliminate negative features could really establish the culture of WorldCom. His charisma could have had a magnetic effect in attracting people to do what is good and