In the past year, we have watched companies go out of business because of ethical lapses. The risk of unethical behavior on the part of managers or other employees can be lessened by understanding how employees view your ethical standards and peoples' adherence to them.

Are the recent ethical lapses on the part of some companies a thing on the past? Apparently not. In a May 2003 online poll, this is how employees rated the ethics of their employers.

In a very short period of time, you can find out what people think about your ethical standards or corporate code of ethics, and how well senior management, employees' supervisors, and employees' co-workers are perceived with regard to living up to these ethics. We also will measure the effectiveness of ethical monitoring and reporting, and the image your customers, vendors, and others outside your organization perceive your organization from an ethical perspective.

Main Measurement Question
How would you rate [COMPANY NAME] on the following ethics scale?
(Six-point scale from extremely unethical to extremely ethical.)

Other Sample Questions

Format:
Disagree Strongly, Disagree Somewhat, Neutral, Agree Somewhat, Agree Strongly

• The senior managers will not tolerate unethical behavior.
• I believe our senior managers would behave in an ethical manner even if we didn't have ethical standards.
• My manager sets a good example of ethical behavior.
• I have never felt "pressure" from my co-workers to violate ethical standards or behave in an unethical manner.
• I have received training in our corporate ethics.
• Ethical behavior at this company is more important than profits.
• If I observed unethical behavior, I know how to report it.
• I believe our customers think of us as a highly ethical company.