Measuring corporate integrity: a survey‐based approach

Corporate Governance (Bingley) - Tập 5 Số 1 - Trang 45-54 - 2005
MuelKaptein1, ScottAvelino2
1Professor of Business Ethics and Integrity Management, Department of Business‐Society Management, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, and Senior Manager, KPMG Integrity & Investigation Services. E‐mail: [email protected]
2Director, KPMG Forensic Services, Washington, DC, USA. E‐mail: [email protected]

Tóm tắt

PurposeAims to illustrate how management can examine corporate integrity.Design/methodology/approachThe results of a survey of the US workforce are used to illustrate how integrity can be measured. Questionnaires were sent to 3,075 pre‐qualified working adults with a response rate of 78 percent.FindingsOf the respondents, 76 percent reported being aware of a violation of the law or of company standards by a colleague or manager in the past 12 months. Many organizations are also sending employees the wrong message when it comes to conducting themselves in an ethical manner.Research limitations/implicationsThe research could be extended to other countries. Additionally, it would be a big step forward if research could lead to plausible findings about the relationship between organizational climate and unethical behavior.Practical implicationsManagement should consider the option of monitoring integrity periodically by means of a questionnaire, attending not only to the frequency of unethical conduct but also to the corresponding organizational context and corresponding consequences. In most cases it is advisable to measure integrity not only on a corporate level, but also on departmental levels so that it can form a part of the regular planning and control cycle.Originality/valueThis is the first study of the US workforce regarding ethics in the workplace.

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Corporate Governance (Bingley)

Tập 5 Số 1

45-54

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