Contained in this category are any reports or documents that were created by the Ethics & Compliance Initiative
This report examines data from the Ethics & Compliance Initiative's Global Business Ethics Survey® (GBES®). Data from over 5,000 employees in the U.S. are analyzed by the size of the enterprise in which they work (i.e., organizational staff size). For the purposes of this report, small, medium and large-staff-sized organizations were defined by the following categories:
The results are discussed by the ethical culture strength and four major ethics outcomes that are connected to ethics & compliance (E&C) program implementation: pressure, observed misconduct, reporting and retaliation (for more information see the "Background" section of this report).
Additional comparisons are made to show the impact of a strong versus a weak ethical culture on ethics outcomes. The GBES U.S. data discussed in this report were collected in 2020 and are based on responses from individuals employed in the for-profit, nonprofit and governmental sectors. For a more detailed explanation of the methodology, please see the "Methodology" section of this report.
While a multitude of factors influence ethical behavior, the interplay of five major ethics metrics are tied to the daily micro decisions employees make with respect to how they behave in the workplace. These are: » Ethical culture strength; » Pressure to compromise ethical standards; » Observations of misconduct; » Reporting misconduct; and » Retaliation perceived by employees after they report misconduct.
In this report, ECI summarizes data collected from employees in the State of Indiana (Indiana) in late 2020. The Indiana results are analyzed according to the framework described above and are compared against employees in the 2020 GBES-U.S. (U.S.) findings. Additional comparisons are also made to show the impact of a strong versus a weak culture on selected, key ethics outcomes. All comparisons made and presented in this report have been tested at the 95% confidence level to ascertain if the differences are statistically significant. Only statistically significant differences are presented. When reading the report, significance test results are presented in different ways, including: --No significant difference: The report might refer to the difference as “as likely,” “comparable,” “the same as,” or the report might be silent on any comparison. --Significant difference: The report might refer to the difference as “more likely” or “less likely,” “more” or “more than” or “less” or “less than,” “fewer.”
Since 1994, the Ethics & Compliance Initiative (ECI) has conducted a longitudinal, cross-sectional study of workplace conduct from the employee’s perspective. Now in its sixteenth iteration, ECI’s Global Business Ethics Survey® (GBES®) data provide the global benchmark on the state of ethics & compliance (E&C) in business. Since its inception, ECI’s research has provided leaders with reliable data on trends in workplace ethics focusing on the key drivers that improve ethical cultures in the workplace and how changes in culture impact ethics outcomes. The strength of an organization’s ethics culture is measured through multiple indicators of employee behaviors at various levels within an organization, including leaders, supervisors and coworkers. These behaviors demonstrate and promote a commitment to ethics on a daily basis. A thriving ethics culture involves commitment, modeling and the right conduct by all employees in an organization. Our research shows that the quality of an organization’s E&C program and the strength of the organization’s ethics culture is key to achieving desired ethics outcomes. In addition, while a multitude of factors influence ethical behavior, the interplay of four major ethics outcomes are tied to the daily micro decisions employees make with respect to how they behave in the workplace. These are: pressure in the workplace to compromise ethical standards; observations of misconduct; reporting misconduct; and ultimately, the retaliation perceived by employees after they reported misconduct.
Organizations cannot effectively function if the rules and policies that serve as the guidepost for employees’ actions and behaviors are not followed. Over the years, Ethics & Compliance Initiative™ (ECI™) research has found that the pressure employees may experience to compromise their organization’s ethics standards, policies or the law is linked with an increased likelihood to observe misconduct. In brief—pressure goes hand in hand with higher prevalence rates of misconduct. What contributes to employee pressure? What factors help reduce pressure? Are certain types of employees at higher risk of experiencing pressure? To answer these questions, ECI examined the 2019 Global Business Ethics Survey™ (GBES™) data to assess misconduct rates across the globe, the areas within an organization that contribute to employee pressure to compromise their organization’s ethics standards and to identify who within the organization is more likely to experience pressure.
Each year ECI conducts the Global Business Ethics Survey (GBES) to better understand the state of ethics in the workplace from the perspective of employees. With the 2019 GBES, ECI built upon its existing research by further exploring the presence of shared organizational values and ethical leadership in organizations around the world. This report examines the link between organizational commitment (to organizational values and ethical leadership) and the following two key ethics outcomes: 1) Observed Misconduct Rates 2) Reporting of Observed Misconduct The 2019 GBES findings discussed in this report are based on employee responses from 18 countries. The results are discussed by five global regions, composed of the following countries: Africa & Middle East: South Africa, United Arab Emirates Asia Pacific: China, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea Europe: France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom North America: Mexico, United States South America: Argentina, Brazil