Chapter 12 Homework Assignment:Character building may well be one of the new buzz words that will be heard across the airways and Internet in the next few years as a prescription for what is wrong with our current state of top management. Organizational leadership has failed its character test in the last few years and has some ground to make up in the future. Character is not just a manager's psychological profile carried to an extreme. It is, to use an old phrase, doing the right things, not just doing things right. To learn about character, young managers should go through self-awareness training, study, and, most importantly, experiential training with respect to character issues.

First year cadets at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, "new" managers of men and women are taught eleven principles of leadership from the Army's manual, Principles of Leadership. The principles (summated) are as follows: (1) Know yourself and seek self-improvement; (2) Be technically and tactically proficient; (3) Seek responsibility and take responsibility for your actions; (4) Make sound and timely decisions; (5) Set the example; (6) Know your subordinates and look out for their well-being; (7) Keep your subordinates informed; (8) Develop a sense of responsibility in your subordinates; (9) Ensure that the task is understood, supervised, and accomplished; (10) Train your personnel as a team; and (11) Employ your wit in accordance with its capabilities. Following these principles can certainly improve one's character.

1.Using our text and the points above, discuss your views toward the importance of character in effective leadership.

2.Using the eleven principles of leadership in the exercise, list which principles would be most instrumental in developing character in a leader.

3.Select a business leader currently working in Ethiopia. Do research on the leader's past managerial and leadershipaccomplishments. Once this is completed, match the chosen leader's profile to the eleven principles listed in the exercise. Discuss your findings.