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Running head: FBLA INTERVIEW

FBLA Interview Paper

Erin Marshall
Drake University

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FBLA Interview Paper

Ethics, integrity, and fairness play a major role in the effectiveness of any organization.
Without strict policies regarding ethics, employees who act with integrity, and a culture of
fairness, an organization will not be successful. This applies not only to schools and businesses,
but also in school organizations such as the school board. I interviewed leaders from each of
those areas in an effort to dig deeper into the impact of ethics, integrity, and fairness in each
environment. I interviewed Mark, a 7-12 principal; Ann, a school board member; and Jim, the
owner of a car dealership. The interview process brought to light many similarities, differences,
surprises, and big ideas regarding ethics, integrity, and fairness.
Similarities
Schools, businesses, and school organizations have very different roles, but they all need
the influence of a strong leader in order to be successful. While each leader I interviewed has a
different approach and philosophy to leadership as a whole, they shared many of the same
qualities regarding ethics, integrity, and fairness. Mark, Ann, and Jim all believe they must be the
model of integrity, they must create an environment of respect and empowerment, and their main
priority is the people they serve.
Each leader I interviewed believes that he or she must act with the highest level of
integrity within their organization. Mark strives to display integrity every day. He says, You
have to have the most integrity in the end. Jim agrees, saying that as a leader if youre not
ethical, then your people wont be ethical. Ann states that to be an ethical leader means
walking the walk and not just talking the talk. She says:
If I expect others to respect me then I need to be respectful to them. If I expect them to
follow through on a commitment then I need to follow through on my commitments. If I

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expect them to be honest with me, then I need to be honest with them. If I want them to
come to me when there is an issue, then I need to be open to listen, not pass judgment on
them for doing what they did.
Additionally, a culture of mutual respect and empowerment of employees was a
similarity between the leaders. Ann believes that leadership is founded on strong relationships
with employees. She says, A leader offers guidance, direction, and support to ensure success.
Mark believes you have to empower your people where it seems right. Jim also believes that
all employees must be empowered. He has approximately fifty employees and says there is
rarely conflict between any of them because if theres tension, someone notices it and its
everyones job to point it out and help to fix it. His employees understand that they are
responsible for creating a safe, respectful environment and that they are capable of completing
any task.
Finally, the main focus of each organization is on the people they serve. For Mark and
Ann, the focus is on what is best for the students; for Jim it is on the customer. However, they all
agree that sometimes the order must change. Mark says, Sometimes you have to put the kids
aside and put employees first. If theyre not happy or healthy, then they arent good for the kids.
Jim refers to the decision-making process as a triangle between the business, customers, and
employees. He says, Sometimes you have to pick one group over the others. If the triangle isnt
going to stay together, then whatever decision youre thinking of making is not worth it.
Differences
Although Mark, Ann, and Jim have many similarities regarding their views of ethics,
integrity, and fairness, there are also many differences. They encounter very different situations

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in their leadership roles and handle them in a different manner. These situations involve
employee hiring and training, ethical gray areas, and sacrificing fairness for equality.
Principals, business owners, and school board members play very different roles in the
process of hiring and training new employees. As the owner of his business, Jim has the ability to
hire and release employees as he sees fit. He is adamant about making sure he has the right
people working for him, so both his hiring and training processes are quite rigorous. He says,
Its the companys job to find people who have both high integrity and effectiveness. If you
dont have that, you didnt do a good job hiring. Jims number one policy is to never lie to a
customer and violating that policy is grounds for termination. As members of a school
community, Mark and Ann do not have as much freedom in letting less ethical employees go.
Therefore, Mark places a great emphasis on making sure he hires the right people in the first
place. He says, Sometimes being a detriment to kids can be worse than having things like an
OWI. If something comes up, even if they seem great, I wont hire that person. Ann relies
heavily on reference checks to ensure that applicants are not lying about information on their
resumes.
Each leader also views ethical gray areas in a unique way. Ann says, I run a pretty tight
ship when it comes to ethics in the workplace. If we have employees acting in an unethical
manner, then this is not good for our organization/district. As a school board member, she faces
the dilemma of other parents complaining to her as a fellow parent and not as a school board
member, but she must take that information to the proper authorities. She says, Its difficult in a
small community where you know everyone and you can see the repercussions play out and how
they affect the people involved.

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Mark is less rigid when it comes to ethical gray areas. When dealing with issues
regarding ethical actions, Mark will look at the big picture and make a decision based on all the
information. For example, he says, If someone has something going on at home but its not a
personal illness, you have to bend the rules. If he believes that his decision will help improve
the individual in the long run, Mark is willing to be more lenient regarding ethical gray areas.
Jim is also willing to budge a little when it comes to gray areas. He says his biggest
dilemma is elderly customers that should not be driving any longer. He says, They get very
angry when we have the conversation about whether they should be driving, but family members
can get very angry with us when they buy the car. Jim faces the dilemma of whether he wants
his company to be responsible for injury to others if those individuals get into an accident. In
these situations, Jim sticks to his philosophy of never lying to a customer but decides whether to
sell a car or not on a case by case basis.
Sacrificing fairness for equality was another difference between those I interviewed. Ann
feels as though she has never had to sacrifice fairness for equality while Jim and Mark have had
to do so on multiple occasions. Ann says, I place great value on listening, hearing both sides of
issues or concerns, so that I have the information I need to make decisions. She uses this
approach each time she must deal with a conflict in the workplace or with school board
members. She strongly believes everyone is entitled to a safe working or learning environment.
Mark, on the other hand, believes that different situations garner different solutions. He says:
The lower level the issue, the easier it is to be equal. The bigger the issue, the more you
have to go with being fair. If you have to pick and choose between situations and its
going to cause drama, then give them the same treatment.

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Jim agrees that there are situations where fairness must be sacrificed for equality. He
states that because of some of the government regulations in the business, a situation may not be
fair to some employees but accommodations must be made for an employee.
Surprises
The biggest surprises I found in the interviews were when I was talking to Jim.
Stereotypically, car dealerships are not considered places where all employees have a high level
of integrity. However, Jim is adamant that his employees act with a high level of integrity. Jims
high expectations of his employees, the lack of conflict between employees, and the amount of
training he requires were all surprises I came across in the interview.
Jim expects all employees to act in an ethical manner. When asked if he would rather
have an employee with high integrity who is not as effective or an employee who has lower
integrity but is highly effective, Jim insisted that he would not take either employee and he
would find one who is highly effective with high integrity. Furthermore, he says that if an
employee says that they will just go somewhere else and do something, he asks them if that
makes it an okay thing to do and what the employee should do in that situation.
Another surprise was that Jim has a staff of fifty employees who rarely have conflict. Jim
says every employee feels comfortable and empowered enough to confront any other employee
if something is not right. It is very evident that he has created a positive culture at his business.
Finally, the amount of training Jims employees go through was surprising. He mentioned
that it takes about two to three months to be allowed on the floor to sell cars even for employees
who have experience at other dealerships. He wants to make sure all employees understand and
are proficient in the way his company does business. I was also surprised that he requires all
employees to reread the handbook at the end of every quarter. While he understands that most

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employees will not read the handbook cover to cover at the end of every quarter, he says he uses
it as a reminder of how to do business in his organization.
Big Ideas/Take-Aways
In discovering the similarities and differences between three strong ethical leaders, a few
big ideas regarding ethics, integrity, and fairness came to surface. These big ideas were recurring
themes that each leader discussed throughout the interview. Empowering employees, listening to
employees, acting as the lead model for ethics and integrity, and hiring the right people were the
big ideas I established from the interviews.
Each leader mentioned empowering employees at some point in the interview. Marks
leadership style is based on the empowerment of employees and allowing them to do what they
believe is best. As an administrator, he believes it is critical that his staff understands that they
have autonomy in what they do in their classrooms and that he trusts them to do what is best for
students. Ann believes that empowering people will lead to them making the right decisions. Jim
says that the empowerment of employees will lead to a culture where everyone will do what
needs to be done and no one will say thats not my job.
Listening to employees was a concept reiterated through many of Anns responses. She
strongly believes that when you take the time to listen to people, they will not only feel that their
voices are heard, but they will accept the decisions you make. She also believes that by being a
good listener, employees will be more willing to admit that they made a mistake and then take
steps to learn and improve from that mistake. Additionally, making sure you have heard all sides
and have gathered all information makes decisions not only easier to make but to explain as well.
Acting as the lead model of integrity, ethics, and fairness was another critical belief of
each leader I interviewed. Jim says, An ethical leader or person is the core and foundation of

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any institution or industry. If a leader expects his or her employees to act with high integrity and
ethics, then he or she must act with high integrity and ethics. Mark, Ann, and Jim all state that
they would never ask an employee to do something that they would not do themselves and that
they believe they need to be the ones with the most integrity in the organization.
Finally, having the right people working for the organization is essential. From rigorous
hiring practices to extensive training to letting people go for lying, all three leaders place great
importance on the character of the people working for them. Each of them say they would rather
have someone with high integrity who is not as effective over someone with low integrity who is
highly effective. Mark and Ann assert that people can be taught to be more effective. Jim says,
You cant change a persons behavior. Most times, you cant make a C student into an A student.
They might be that way for a while, but when challenged they fall back on that C behavior.
Ethics, integrity, and fairness are manifested in many different ways. A strong leader must
not only display high levels of integrity but must also be able to hold others accountable for
those high standards. Furthermore, strong leaders must have the confidence to navigate ethical
dilemmas and gray areas while maintaining that high level of integrity. Mark, Ann, and Jim are
all phenomenal examples of leaders who have a deep understanding of what it means to be an
ethical leader and how to promote the success of their organizations.