Employee Perception of Ethics

ethics

Employees’ Perceptions of Ethics

Promoting an ethical climate in Asia-Pacific organizations By Dr. Mak Yuen Teen, Daphne Teo and Deirdre Lander

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HE FOCUS on corporate governance, driven by scandals across the world, has led many organizations to develop codes of conduct or ethics to promote ethical behaviour amongst their employees. In the US, section 406 of the Sarbanes Oxley Act 2002 requires companies to disclose whether they have adopted a Watson Wyatt Perspective

code of ethics for their senior financial officers, and if not, disclose the reasons for not doing so. In addition, companies have to disclose any changes to, or waiver of any provision of, their code of ethics. The NYSE and NASDAQ listing standards require companies to adopt a code of business conduct and ethics for directors, officers and employees,

and promptly disclose any waivers of the code for directors or executive officers. How do employees working in organizations in Asia-Pacific perceive ethics within their organizations? Do these perceptions of ethics vary according to organizational and employee demographics? In this article, we report on the results of research

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conducted at Watson Wyatt that examines these questions. The data on employee perceptions of ethics was collected as part of a wider survey of employee opinion which covers almost 6,500 employees across 12 Asia-Pacific countries. We also provide suggestions for improving ethics within organizations.

Ethics and Commitment

Apart from pressure from regulators for organizations to behave ethically and the fact that behaving ethically is the ‘right thing to do’, several studies have suggested that improving ethics in organizations improves employee commitment and makes good business sense. A 2007 survey commissioned by LRN in the U.S., a provider of solutions that promote corporate ethics and responsibility in the workplace, reported that the average American’s willingness to work for a...