The Scott/Harker Model of ethical leadership in the light of an African understanding of human existence

Abstract

Australian business consultant Ted Scott and his colleague, psychologist Phil Harker, have developed a model of ethical leadership in the workplace, involving two basic and contrasting styles of business leadership. Given their location in a wealthy, Western-type society, their model, which this paper describes, generates the following question: Does the model also have validity for Africans in southern Africa? To answer this question, the paper gives a profile of a widely held, traditional African view of human existence and correlates it with the Scott/ Harker model. This leads to the conclusion that the Scott/ Harker model is well suited to the challenges facing African business leaders.