Business Ethics – Does your company make the grade?
32 percent of employees give their company a "C" or worse.
When employees were asked to grade their organization's efforts to encourage ethical conduct, 18 percent gave their company a "C", while 14 percent gave their company a "D" or "F".
The national survey conducted last summer by the nonprofit Ethics Resource Center (ERC), surveyed employees at U.S. public and private companies of all sizes. The survey also found that a significant share believe their organizations reward employees for getting good results, even if they use ethically questionable practices.
While business owners and managers are challenged by employees to raise the ethical leadership practices of their organization, employees themselves must also look in the mirror. The survey reveals that more than a third of employees know co-workers who have called in sick when they weren't actually ill, and 26 percent know of someone who has improperly taken credit for another person's work.
The Center for Ethical Leadership defines "ethical leadership" as knowing your core values and having the courage to live them in all parts of your life in service of the common good.
Armstrong International, a 108-year old family owned company with more than 1,000 employees, offers a stellar example of this definition. According to CEO David M. Armstrong, it all begins with trust.
"Either you trust your employees or you don't. If you trust them, you don't need locked cash registers, time clocks and scores of supervisors. If you don't trust them, get rid of them".
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