Evaluation of the role of ethical leadership development on organisational performance: the case of Econet Wireless Zimbabwe

Abstract

The study evaluated the role of ethical leadership development on the performance of the organisation. Econet Wireless Zimbabwe was employed as a case study. The objectives of the study were to: understand the role of ethical leadership development at Econet Wireless Zimbabwe on the day to day running of the business, understand the nature of the ethical leadership development at Econet Wireless, examine the factors influencing ethical leadership development at Econet Wireless, ascertain the role of ethical leadership development in enhancing organisational perfomance and efficiency and to investigate leaders' perceptions on ethical leadership development on the organisation's effectiveness. Social learning and social exchange theory informed the study. The research employed a qualitatve approache to improve the validity,reliability and credibility of the research findings. key informnat intervews and focus group of discussion and in-depth interviews were used as data collection instruments. The study found that ethical leadership development programmes improve the perfomance of orgnisations. That is, ethical leadeship development enbaled Econet Wireless Zimbabwe to achive disticinive competence, increase profit, have a large number of subscribers and also expanded among others. Furthermore, the study shows that an ethical leadership development approach brings significant value to the organisation and, suggests that ethical leaders are more influential in organizations than currently understood. The study found that leaders could influence ethics related outcomes in the organisation by engaging in behaviours that makes them perceived as credible, attractive and legitimate by their followers.