One thing that managers can do to encourage ethical behaviors in the company is to be a good role model. Being on top of the corporate ladder imposes a great responsibility to provide ethical leadership. And being an ethical leader requires honesty – telling the truth, i.e. not hiding or manipulating information. This is what RadioShack Corporation’s former CEO David Edmondson failed to do. He lied about his educational background, deceiving everyone in the company that he was qualified for the job. He must have told the truth before he accepted the position but he did not. He kept it a secret until someone discovers it.
Another burden placed on Mr. Edmondson is that he carries the name of the company as a CEO. The group believes that Edmondson’s unethical behaviors wouldn’t be a big issue if he was not a CEO. That’s why the DWI charges on him magnified his failure as an ethical leader, even though these charges are not directly related to his work. RadioShack stands for integrity, but it was not displayed by Edmondson. These issues were further intensified by the participation of the media.
What RadioShack could have done to prevent this kind of incident is to apply stricter rules on hiring new employees, conduct investigations and background checks about the applicants, and implement the company’s Code of Ethics more rigorously. In response to the news outbreak, the Board of Directors, instead of leaving all the decisions and actions to Mr. Edmondson to solve the problem, should have faced the situation head on. They should have asked Mr. Edmondson to file a leave or vacate the position to conduct investigations. Furthermore, they should have immediately responded and released an official statement on the issue to protect the company. Finally, instead of tolera ...