InformationWeek

February 19, 2001

Behind The Numbers:
Managers, Staff Differ (Slightly) On Ethics

hen was the last time you perused your company's policy on workplace ethics? Probably on your first day on the job when you received your employee handbook--and not since then. But pending privacy legislation and company initiatives in employee monitoring may make more workers take a closer look at what's considered acceptable workplace behavior.

Ethical behavior is hard to measure. Most companies have a set of principles designed to govern individual or group conduct. And criminal behavior is just that--criminal. Still, do personal beliefs or professional standards ever conflict with corporate policies or obligations?

In a new InformationWeek Research study on business ethics of 250 IT and business professionals, half the IT and business staff members and 57% of IT and business execs surveyed say they have a personal code by which to measure the moral implications of business decisions. And managers more often than staffers say they've had a work-related ethics conflict: 16% of executives and 12% of staff members say there have been occasions when they've had their own ethical standards challenged or threatened while on the job.

But overall, employees say their employers are on the right track when it comes to ethical business standards. The vast majority of staff and managers polled say they agree with all aspects of their company's ethical standards. And 80% of staffers and 78% of managers say their company's ethical guidelines are rigorous enough that no additional amendments to the policy are necessary.

How's your company's policy on workplace ethics being received? Let us know how at the address below.

Own the data behind InformationWeek's Research. See our available reports at http://informationweek.com/reports

Tischelle George
Associate Editor
tgeorge@cmp.com

Staffers Are More Opposed
Who can companies look to for the most constructive criticism on their choice of ethics policy? Staff members have more issues with their employers' code of ethics than managers, according to participants in InformationWeek Research's Business Ethics Study. Thus, focus groups with staffers might generate the most interesting feedback for businesses interested in evaluating the effectiveness and appropriateness of their policy.

Eleven percent of staff members report not agreeing entirely with their company's regulations. Only 4% of managers say that they have issues with their company's policies on workplace ethics.

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Moral Codes In Agreement
Employees generally aren't finding themselves experiening ethical dilemmas concerning their employers' standards of behavior. Among those who have, managers report more of that kind of dilemma.

Overall, however, this kind of ethical dilemma isn't a great concern for either staff or managers: 88% of staff members and 84% of managers surveyed by InformationWeek Research for the Business Ethics Study say they have yet to face such situations.

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Expectations For Guidelines Met
Companies appear to be fulfilling the expectations of employees in setting appropriate guidelines for corporate ethics. Only one in five staff members polled by InformationWeek Research report that their company's code of ethics needs improving, with 14% saying current regulations aren't rigorous enough and 6% reporting standards to be too strict. Almost one quarter of managers feel their company's code of ethics could stand a review; 15% say current regulations aren't exacting enough, while another 7% feel that current guidelines could be relaxed.

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Businesses Toe The Line
Few companies voluntarily put their business reputation at risk. Trying to win back public, client, employee, and partner confidence after a mishap is too uncertain. Although companies such as Doubleclick, Amazon.com, and other dot-coms have tested the boundaries of client-data practices, employers generally adhere to the guidelines set forth in their official code of ethics policy.

When asked if their company is an abider or an abuser, managers and staff members in InformationWeek Research's study overwhelmingly confirm that their companies abide by the regulations they back. Only 4% of executives and 3% of staffers report differently.

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