Abstract
The Rutgers Institute for Ethical Leadership undertook an extensive review of a number of currently available research surveys on ethics in business, education and among the public. The results emerged from a wide variety of groups including employees in the private, government, and health-care sectors, graduate and undergraduate students, high school students and a group referred to as the educated, media-aware public living in over 22 countries. Rutgers Institute for Ethical Leadership studied the findings from these surveys and came to the easy conclusion that there is a dearth of ethical behavior and ethical leadership. It seems unlikely the situation will improve in the short term.
-
1
The level of observed misconduct remains high.
-
2
The situation worsens as companies take measures to combat the economic crisis.
-
3
Reporting of misconduct may be hampered by fear of retaliation.
-
4
Trust in leaders is low, trust in CEOs is lower.
-
5
The ethics of the developing workforce does not show signs of improvement.
-
6
It's a global problem. Some hopeful signs are revealed in these data as well.
-
7
Ethics programs make a difference.
-
8
Those around you matter.
CONCLUSION The data illustrate the seriousness of the problem of poor ethical behavior and the lack of ethical leadership. Committed and sustained efforts must be made to build ethical organizations in every sector to address the level of misconduct in our society.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Deshpande, S.P. (2009) A study of ethical decision making by physicians and nurses in hospitals. Journal of Business Ethics 90: 387–397.
Edelman. (2010) 2010 Edelman Trust Barometer: An Annual Global Opinion Leaders Study. New York: Edelman.
Ernst & Young. (2009) European Fraud Survey 2009 – Is Integrity a Casualty of the Downturn? London: Ernst & Young Global.
Ethics Resource Center. (2009) 2009 National Business Ethics Survey: Ethics in the Recession. Arlington, VA: Ethics Resource Center.
Ethics Resource Center. (2010) 2009 National Business Ethics Survey: Saving the Company Comes at a Cost: The Relationship between Belt-Tightening Tactics and Increased Employee Misconduct. Arlington, VA: Ethics Resource Center.
Josephson Institute of Ethics. (2009) A Study of Values and Behavior Concerning Integrity: The Impact of Age, Cynicism and High School Character. California: Josephson Institute of Ethics.
Junior Achievement (JA) Worldwide and Deloitte. (2008) 2007 JA Worldwide/Deloitte Teen Ethics Survey. Arlington, VA: Deloitte Development LLC.
KPMG Forensic. (2008) Integrity Survey 2008–2009. Delaware: KPMG LLP.
McCabe, D.L., Treviño, L.K. and Butterfield, K.D. (2006) Academic Dishonesty in Graduate Business Programs: Prevalence, Causes, and Proposed Action. New York: Academy of Management Learning and Executive.
Pew Research Center. (2010) Millenials: Confident. Connected. Open to Change. Washington DC: Pew Research Center.
The Aspen Institute. (2008) Where Will They Lead? Washington DC: The Aspen Institute.
The Aspen Institute. (2009) New Leaders, New Perspectives. Washington DC: The Aspen Institute.
World Economic Forum. (2010) Faith and the Global Agenda: Values for the Post-Crisis Society. Geneva, Switzerland: World Economic Forum.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Plinio, A., Young, J. & Lavery, L. The state of ethics in our society: A clear call for action. Int J Discl Gov 7, 172–197 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1057/jdg.2010.11
Received:
Revised:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/jdg.2010.11