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Leadership theories have underpinned significant leadership studies and practices which span decades. Despite the plethora of research on different leadership theories and styles, there is minimal research exploring the relationship between previous leadership theories and the ethical leadership style. Previous research has shown that the ethical leadership effect goes above and beyond other leadership styles and theories as the latter lack an exclusive ethical focus. Therefore, this paper aims to address the identified gap from a preliminary perspective of previous leadership theories as compared to the ethical leadership style. In addition, ethical leadership is the ‘only’ leadership style that is part of the King IV code and report on Corporate Governance in South Africa. The study is built on previous research conducted on leadership theories in relation to ethical leadership and corporate governance as per the King IV report. The method employed involved conducting a historical narrative review of research from more than 60 relevant sources obtained from different databases and search engines on this topic. The paper found that a relationship exists between historical and contemporary leadership theories, contemporary theories and ethical leadership style, and ethical leadership and corporate governance. Stemming from these results, a conceptual model of the relationship between leadership theories, ethical leadership style, and Ubuntu ethics is shown. It is hoped that different types of organizations in South Africa will benefit from this review paper since most need to comply with the King IV report and code. The focus should be on ethical leadership as it promotes better employee performance and positive organizational outcomes.

Cheating occasionally occurs in organizations; sometimes, it is not easy to detect. Some organizations, such as schools and companies, may include an assessment of individuals' moral character as part of their assessments. Some people believe that when a person is evaluated as moral, he or she will continue to behave ethically. Conversely, when a person is rated below his or her level, he or she will strive to perform better. This article aims to investigate a person's private response to being assessed by their peers for their moral character. We conducted two experimental studies. Study 1 consisted of two groups. Participants in the high-score group received higher ratings from their peers than themselves, while participants in the low-score group received worse ratings than their own. In the following dice-under-cup game, participants in the high-score group were more likely to cheat than those in the low-score group. Study 2 showed that both groups reported varying satisfaction, happiness, and disappointment. In addition, those in the high-score group were more likely to increase their honesty ratings, while those in the low group did not. Our results suggest that assessments of an individual's moral character may not have desirable outcomes as some people believe.

Misconduct, in any form, whether corruption, theft, mismanagement of funds, maladministration, non-compliance of rules, etc. may create unethical environment in an organisation. This situation, if not get corrected timely, may have a negative impact on organisational performance as employees may be more inclined to focus on personal gains than working towards realising orgaisational vision. Authors of this article have utilised various official reports to substantiate this statement, and hence avoid a biased approach. The study focuses on the Local Government Sector Education Training Authority (LGSETA), to assess whether there is misconduct that limits the organization’s ability to establish an ethical culture. The study is based on qualitative desktop analysis utilising literature and document reviews to gather information. The findings explore varied ethical challenges and thus discuss measures to combat misconduct in LGSETA. The study recommends the adoption of the Governance Operating Model, suggested by Deloitte (2013) that can assist LGSETA to minimise misconduct by implementing measures to institute and promote an ethical culture.