1
,Table of Contents
Chapter 1: The Leader's Light or Shadow (25 MCQs)
Chapter 2: Stepping In and Out of the Shadows (25 MCQs)
Chapter 3: The Leader's Character (25 MCQs)
Chapter 4: Combating Evil (25 MCQs)
Chapter 5: Ethical Perspectives (25 MCQs)
Chapter 6: Ethical Decision Making and Behavior (25 MCQs)
Chapter 7: Exercising Ethical Influence (25 MCQs)
Chapter 8: Normative Leadership Theories (25 MCQs)
Chapter 9: Building an Ethical Small Group (25 MCQs)
Chapter 10: Creating an Ethical, Inclusive Organizational Climate (25 MCQs)
Chapter 11: Meeting the Ethical Challenges of Leadership in a Global Society (25 MCQs)
Chapter 12: Ethical Crisis Leadership (25 MCQs)
2
,Chapter 1: The Leader's Light or Shadow
1. What does casting light primarily represent in Craig Johnson's ethical leadership framework?
A. Exercising ethical influence to benefit followers and organizations
B. Maximizing commercial profitability through aggressive corporate strategies
C. Consolidating central authority to eliminate workplace disagreements
D. Enforcing rigid compliance through formal bureaucratic mechanisms
Answer: A
Rationale: Casting light embodies the constructive and ethical exercise of leader influence that uplifts followers and organizations.
In Johnson's metaphor, leaders cast light when they act with integrity, altruism, and concern for the common good. This
constructive orientation serves as the ethical benchmark against which destructive leadership behaviors are evaluated.
Keywords: casting light, ethical leadership, moral influence
2. A corporate governance board debates whether character assessments belong in executive appraisals. How does the shadow
metaphor justify treating ethics as foundational rather than peripheral to executive leadership?
A. Ethical oversight lowers operational expenditures across corporate departments
B. Moral character eliminates technical miscalculations in strategic planning
C. Regulatory mandates require formal ethical modules in executive reviews
D. Leader influence inevitably produces systemic positive or negative human outcomes
Answer: D
Rationale: Ethics is foundational to leadership because power and influence inherently affect the well-being, rights, and morale of
followers. The central premise of the light-or-shadow metaphor is that leaders cannot exercise power without generating
significant ethical consequences. Because leadership actions shape organizational character and human outcomes, moral
considerations cannot be separated from everyday leadership practice.
3
, Keywords: leadership ethics, ethical foundations, executive character, organizational impact
3. Which ethical shadow is most clearly demonstrated when a senior regional director routinely bypasses departmental review
panels to enforce personal directives without administrative oversight?
A. The shadow of broken loyalty
B. The shadow of severe inconsistency
C. The shadow of unchecked power
D. The shadow of operational privilege
Answer: C
Rationale: The regional director's unilateral enforcement of directives without administrative oversight illustrates the shadow of
power. Leaders cast this shadow when they exploit authority, suppress checks and balances, and enforce arbitrary control over
subordinates. Healthy leadership structures require accountability mechanisms to restrain the corrupting tendencies inherent in
authority.
Keywords: shadow of power, authority, accountability, unchecked influence
4. What distinguishes the dark side of leadership from ordinary operational leadership failure?
A. The presence of ethical corruption and deliberate destructive harm
B. The occurrence of unexpected technological deficits in daily operations
C. The inability to satisfy short-term financial performance milestones
D. The existence of widespread administrative inefficiencies across teams
Answer: A
Rationale: The dark side of leadership is defined by moral failing, malice, or ethical violations that inflict systemic harm on
followers and institutions. Ordinary leadership failure, in contrast, typically stems from technical errors, bad timing, or benign
incompetence without ethical corruption. Recognizing this boundary ensures that destructive conduct is treated as a moral crisis
rather than a simple operational deficit.
Keywords: dark side of leadership, operational failure, ethical corruption
4
,Table of Contents
Chapter 1: The Leader's Light or Shadow (25 MCQs)
Chapter 2: Stepping In and Out of the Shadows (25 MCQs)
Chapter 3: The Leader's Character (25 MCQs)
Chapter 4: Combating Evil (25 MCQs)
Chapter 5: Ethical Perspectives (25 MCQs)
Chapter 6: Ethical Decision Making and Behavior (25 MCQs)
Chapter 7: Exercising Ethical Influence (25 MCQs)
Chapter 8: Normative Leadership Theories (25 MCQs)
Chapter 9: Building an Ethical Small Group (25 MCQs)
Chapter 10: Creating an Ethical, Inclusive Organizational Climate (25 MCQs)
Chapter 11: Meeting the Ethical Challenges of Leadership in a Global Society (25 MCQs)
Chapter 12: Ethical Crisis Leadership (25 MCQs)
2
,Chapter 1: The Leader's Light or Shadow
1. What does casting light primarily represent in Craig Johnson's ethical leadership framework?
A. Exercising ethical influence to benefit followers and organizations
B. Maximizing commercial profitability through aggressive corporate strategies
C. Consolidating central authority to eliminate workplace disagreements
D. Enforcing rigid compliance through formal bureaucratic mechanisms
Answer: A
Rationale: Casting light embodies the constructive and ethical exercise of leader influence that uplifts followers and organizations.
In Johnson's metaphor, leaders cast light when they act with integrity, altruism, and concern for the common good. This
constructive orientation serves as the ethical benchmark against which destructive leadership behaviors are evaluated.
Keywords: casting light, ethical leadership, moral influence
2. A corporate governance board debates whether character assessments belong in executive appraisals. How does the shadow
metaphor justify treating ethics as foundational rather than peripheral to executive leadership?
A. Ethical oversight lowers operational expenditures across corporate departments
B. Moral character eliminates technical miscalculations in strategic planning
C. Regulatory mandates require formal ethical modules in executive reviews
D. Leader influence inevitably produces systemic positive or negative human outcomes
Answer: D
Rationale: Ethics is foundational to leadership because power and influence inherently affect the well-being, rights, and morale of
followers. The central premise of the light-or-shadow metaphor is that leaders cannot exercise power without generating
significant ethical consequences. Because leadership actions shape organizational character and human outcomes, moral
considerations cannot be separated from everyday leadership practice.
3
, Keywords: leadership ethics, ethical foundations, executive character, organizational impact
3. Which ethical shadow is most clearly demonstrated when a senior regional director routinely bypasses departmental review
panels to enforce personal directives without administrative oversight?
A. The shadow of broken loyalty
B. The shadow of severe inconsistency
C. The shadow of unchecked power
D. The shadow of operational privilege
Answer: C
Rationale: The regional director's unilateral enforcement of directives without administrative oversight illustrates the shadow of
power. Leaders cast this shadow when they exploit authority, suppress checks and balances, and enforce arbitrary control over
subordinates. Healthy leadership structures require accountability mechanisms to restrain the corrupting tendencies inherent in
authority.
Keywords: shadow of power, authority, accountability, unchecked influence
4. What distinguishes the dark side of leadership from ordinary operational leadership failure?
A. The presence of ethical corruption and deliberate destructive harm
B. The occurrence of unexpected technological deficits in daily operations
C. The inability to satisfy short-term financial performance milestones
D. The existence of widespread administrative inefficiencies across teams
Answer: A
Rationale: The dark side of leadership is defined by moral failing, malice, or ethical violations that inflict systemic harm on
followers and institutions. Ordinary leadership failure, in contrast, typically stems from technical errors, bad timing, or benign
incompetence without ethical corruption. Recognizing this boundary ensures that destructive conduct is treated as a moral crisis
rather than a simple operational deficit.
Keywords: dark side of leadership, operational failure, ethical corruption
4
