Purpose Although much has been written about leadership, the concept of leadership vision is not widely understood, is far more complex than is commonly perceived, and is profoundly ethical in its normative and instrumental nature. The purpose of this paper is to examine the importance of leadership vision, identify seven complex elements, which are key elements of leadership, and identify the importance of leadership vision as a moral duty. Eight testable propositions about leadership vision are presented that address the nature of leadership vision. Design/methodology/approach This paper begins with an examination of the complex nature of leadership vision. After defining leadership vision, this paper identifies seven key elements and nine propositions that practitioners and scholars can test to assess the nature of that vision. Following the presentation of three significant contributions, this paper concludes with a challenge to practitioners and scholars to closely examine the importance of leadership vision. Findings This paper invites leaders in today’s complex organizations to refine their leadership vision by honoring the duties they owe to others. The leadership vision strengthens leaders’ capacity to guide and serve their organizations and the people working within them. Practical implications This paper assists leaders in their duty to serve their organizations, its stakeholders, and a society that badly needs great leaders with vision, commitment to excellence, and a clear moral compass. Originality/value This paper provides three significant implications about leadership vision. It defines leadership vision as a complex and multi-faceted moral duty; it presents eight testable propositions about leadership vision, which have value for both practitioners and scholars; it raises the bar for would-be leaders with regard to the obligations that they have in serving others and in guiding organizations.

Purpose -Social responsibility (SR) in accepting the obligation to resolve the many troubling problems facing tomorrow's generations is essential if those problems are to be effectively addressed. The purpose of this paper is to identify the nature of SR for business, academic institutions, government, religious institutions, and individuals. Design/methodology/approach -This paper is a conceptual paper which relies heavily on the current literature about social obligations for five major organizations: business, academic institutions, government, religious institutions, and individuals. Findings -The paper provides the standard of the virtuous continuum and the Hosmer decision-making model to explain why leaders, organizations, and individuals must be more responsible to be perceived as virtuous leaders, complete with 50 examples of action to be taken. Research limitations/implications -As this paper is not an empirical study, it does not present research information. Practical implications -This paper suggests that organizations can be more effective if they come to understand the responsibilities and stewardship of social responsibilities entrusted to them. Originality/value -The paper expands on Hosmer's research and incorporates a virtuous continuum in examining the responsibilities of leaders, organizations, and individuals. More importantly, this paper is among the first to identify the specific steps organizations and individuals can take in addressing the challenges and problems facing the world of in key aspects of society.Although Nobel laureate Economist, Milton Friedman famously declared that "(t)he social responsibility of business is to increase its profits," both the context of his comment and the need for organizations to rethink their role in society have changed markedly since Friedman opined in his 1970 New York Times article. A growing list of experts has recognized that social responsibility (SR) demands that stakeholders become "owners and partners" in resolving the social, economic, and political chaos that exists in a world that continues to be reeling from a seemingly unending stream of gut-wrenching world problems (Steuver, 2016). Moral obligations have been examined, but the analysis of different organizational types is unique. In this paper we acknowledge that business has a corporate citizenship obligation, and suggest that this SR obligation also extends to institutions of all types and to individuals as well.

Purpose The purposes of this paper are to present a clear model for understanding trust by integrating the diverse viewpoints in the trust literature and to explain how that model enables individuals and organizations to optimize their ability to create value and sustain competitive advantage. Design/methodology/approach This is a conceptual paper that integrates the perspectives of many widely regarded scholars and links trust with value creation in organizations. Findings The paper builds on previously established conditions essential to creating trust but suggests that trustworthiness requires an integrative quality which we call “capacity” that enables those who seek to lead to translate trust into action. That integrative quality is the key to effective execution for individuals and organizations. Originality/value Trust is widely acknowledged to be both a critical condition for successful organizations but a missing commodity in many leader-follower relationships. The paper offers insights for scholars and practitioners about the importance of leaders earning trust by being worthy of their followers’ commitment and cooperation.

Purpose This paper aims to explore the problematic of public policies and leadership challenges for socio-economic transformation in South Africa. The paper illustrates that policies and laws of socio-economic reform have been introduced in democratic South Africa. However, socio-economic transformation remains a challenge. Lack of trust in the leadership relationships amongst political and economic agents is pointed as a contributing factor. Hence, LE emerges as a leadership strategy to help mitigate the problem. Design/methodology/approach The paper starts by presenting the current economic situation of South Africa touching on some important economic indicators to illustrate the consequences of poor leadership in public policy implementation process. The paper then analyses the leadership challenges to drive socio-economic reforms that have been introduced in South Africa since the end of apartheid with focus on the current National Development Plan. Lack of trust in leadership is identified as a problematic factor and leadership ethos (LE) emerges as a leadership strategy to enable the building of trust in leadership for the purpose of a successful implementation of public policies. Findings Lack of trust in leadership is identified as a problematic factor contributing in the absence of cooperation and collaboration in the leadership relationship amongst public servants (from up to bottom) and citizens for the purpose of successful implementation of public policies. Hence, there is need for a new leadership paradigm that would enable the building of trust in these leadership relationships. LE emerges as such a leadership strategy. Practical implications The paper calls for an exploration into the understanding and practice of LE and its inherent critical success factors (CSFs) considered as a leadership strategy that can help drive particularly public policies implementation process. LE intends to promote moral leadership that helps public servants to build good character and thus the will to do the right thing, and mutually trusting relationship is a CSF of LE. Therefore LE enables build the much needed trust in leadership relationships for a successful organisational leadership and management. Originality/value This paper provides significant implications by identifying lack of trust as a problematic factor in the leadership relationships amongst political and economic agents in South Africa, contributing thus in the poor implementation of public policies. LE emerges as a leadership strategy that would help mitigate the problem by enabling the building, the maintenance and restoration of trust in organisational and or institutional management for a successful public policy implementation process.

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The purpose of this study is to define process management as a requirement of organizational excellence in the twenty-first century business environment. The business environment in the twenty-first century has reached a new height as far as challenges are concerned. The Covid-19 pandemic and its consequences have shaped a new business environment that requires organizations and businesses to raise the bar for themselves in honoring their obligation to achieve excellence. This means that competitive advantage, quality service, and product are achieved through organizational excellence. How can process management help organizations and businesses achieve organizational excellence in such a hostile and turbulent business environment? Applying a conceptual approach, the study attempts to answer the question through a comprehensive literature review. Testable propositions have been formulated, action steps defined, and implications of the study established. By identifying workflow design (WFD), control and correction of workflow processes (CCWFP), monitoring of workflow processes (MWFP), and workflow promotion of process-related learning in organizations (WPPRLO) against the background of conceptualization, operationalization, and context, the study findings suggest that process management is indeed a requirement for organizational excellence in the twenty-first century business environment. Scholars and practitioners have the opportunity to confirm or disconfirm the validity of the assumptions and ideas presented in the study.

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