Virtuous Leaders and Organizations

This report examines virtuous leadership and organizations through the DeVoe Virtuous Business Model. It analyzes Ginni Rometty's leadership at IBM and the company's Results Oriented Work Environment (ROWE) initiative. The report also discusses the characteristics of virtuous organizations and IBM's use of collaborative software for effective communication.

Running head: VIRTUOUS LEADERS AND ORGANIZATIONS
Virtuous Leaders and Organizations
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1VIRTUOUS LEADERS AND ORGANIZATIONS
Executive summary
The main purpose of this brief report is to understand the chosen leader and organization
from the perspective of the DeVoe Virtuous Business Model. The model analyses in brief the
virtuous leadership in ‘Ginni Rometty’ who is the current CEO and president of IBM. The
model also studies IBM from the perspective of virtuous organizations.

2VIRTUOUS LEADERS AND ORGANIZATIONS
Table of Contents
Examining virtuous leadership...................................................................................................3
Examining virtuous organizations..............................................................................................3
References..................................................................................................................................4

3VIRTUOUS LEADERS AND ORGANIZATIONS
Examining virtuous leadership
The DeVoe Model of Virtuous Leadership outlines many characteristics of virtuous
leaders such as leadership is an opportunity to achieving the greatness by nurturing the
greatness in others (Palanski et al., 2015). The chosen leader is Ginni Rometty who is the
current president, chairman and CEO of IBM. Ginni Rometty is a leader of virtuous character
from a perspective that the CEO is responsible for bringing in the Results Oriented Work
Environment (ROWE) at IBM. Employees can work from anywhere in this world in virtual
teams (Paroutis, Bennett & Heracleous, 2014).
All the power is there in the hand of senior management. In this way, Ginni Rometty
is not consistent with the DeVoe Model as it terribly affects employees’ morale (Business
Insider, 2018).
Examining virtuous organizations
According to the DeVoe Model of Virtuous Organizations, virtuous organizations are
better in strategic planning compared to others (Vriens, Achterbergh & Gulpers, 2018). IBM
as a company does many a thing to ensure that it could become one of the most desired
companies to work with. The introduction of Results Oriented Work Environment (ROWE)
is a characteristic of virtuous organizations. To support the initiative, IBM used the
‘collaborative software’ to promote and generate a network of effective communication.
Additionally, IBM also uses chat tools and virtual meeting software to further communication
and connectivity (Paroutis, Bennett & Heracleous, 2014).
IBM’s Employees have no participation in decision-making. Indeed, involving
employees in decision making is necessary to boost employee engagement (Mishra, Boynton
& Mishra, 2014). It also boosts motivation and morale in employees. Hence, IBM is not
consistent with the DeVoe Model in this regard.

4VIRTUOUS LEADERS AND ORGANIZATIONS
References
Business Insider. (2018). Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. Retrieved from
https://www.businessinsider.in/How-Elon-Musk-Jeff-Bezos-and-19-other-famous-
CEOs-are-doing-according-to-their-employees/Tesla-and-SpaceX-CEO-Elon-Musk/
slideshow/61378065.cms
Mishra, K., Boynton, L., & Mishra, A. (2014). Driving employee engagement: The expanded
role of internal communications. International Journal of Business
Communication, 51(2), 183-202.
Palanski, M. E., Cullen, K. L., Gentry, W. A., & Nichols, C. M. (2015). Virtuous leadership:
Exploring the effects of leader courage and behavioral integrity on leader
performance and image. Journal of Business Ethics, 132(2), 297-310.
Paroutis, S., Bennett, M., & Heracleous, L. (2014). A strategic view on smart city
technology: The case of IBM Smarter Cities during a recession. Technological
Forecasting and Social Change, 89, 262-272.
Vriens, D., Achterbergh, J., & Gulpers, L. (2018). Virtuous structures. Journal of Business
Ethics, 150(3), 671-690.