1. Communicating Business Ethics Todd Peterson

2. Problem For a company to maintain an ethical integrity, it is necessary to ensure that it communicates to all levels of employees exactly what “ethical” means to that organization.

3. Solution An ethics audit could help to better gauge the level of communication to the employees.

4. What I wanted to know Did the company effectively communicate its ethical principles and expectations? Did employees witness ethical lapses or contradictions in behavior? Was ethical commitment or practice important only in certain groups?

5. Research Question Are the ethical standards and expectations of the company being communicated so as to create a culture of ethically-informed employees?

6. Survey Methodology 25 Questions Distributed to entire staff / all levels Online / hard copy

7. My company’s ethical standards are available where I can find them should I need help in my decision-making.

8. I receive information about my company’s code of conduct/ethics:

9. Senior leaders, in my company, talk about ethics and values. 13% Strongly Agree 29% Agree 29% Unsure 29% Disagree

10. I believe my company promotes ethical behavior. 85% Strongly Agree / Agree 11% Unsure 4% Disagree

11. Sometimes it is necessary to bend the ethics rules if it helps us to get ahead.

12. In my company, ethics are more of an issue for the Accounting Department than for the other employees. 8% Agree 18% Unsure 43% Disagree 31% Strongly Disagree

13. In my company, ethical standards apply more to executives and management than to the other employees.

14. Conclusions Employees feel they work in ethical environment. Position does not exempt employees from ethical standards. Little ethics communication within company. Employees left to define “ethical.”

15. Research Question Are the ethical standards and expectations of the company being communicated so as to create a culture of ethically-informed employees? - NO

16. Recommendations To Communicate Business Ethics: Use Resources (leadership, technology) Highlight Ethics Statement Communicate both up and down chain Reinforce a culture around ethics

17. Questions?