The impact of senior management on middle management's experience of integrity

Abstract

A rise in the number of high-profile cases of management failure and leadership misconduct increased the awareness of one of the core challenges of management, namely to lead responsibly and with integrity. The environment which senior managers create and within which middle managers need to function seems to have a direct bearing on the moral behaviour and integrity of the middle manager. The aim of this research was therefore to gain a better understanding of how middle managers view the impact of senior managers on their experience of integrity. There is an increasing need in organisations for responsible leadership, leadership with integrity and leadership towards developing the integrity of the follower. This study was conducted within the interpretive research paradigm. Sampling was directed by criterion-based guidelines, focusing on current middle managers from different industries in the private sector. In-depth interviews were conducted and the data was analysed using a grounded theory method. The main findings indicated that senior managers should engage in two debates with middle managers in the organisation. Firstly, integrity is not something that is demonstrated but rather means that leaders can be differentiated from other leaders when they lead with integrity. Secondly, defining integrity and linking it to personal standards and values, as well as aligning these standards and values to the organisational strategy, vision and mission, are important. The findings of this study can assist senior managers with decreasing unethical behaviour and increasing integrity in the organisation. The research provided a basic framework that can assist in creating a positive context for the viii relationship between senior managers and middle managers within which to function, in order to decrease unethical employee activity and increase integrity.