Although three quarters of organizations have written codes of ethics, nearly half of their workers engaged in unethical and or illegal acts in the past year according to a survey by the Ethics Officers Association, Belmont, Massachusetts. The most common behaviors reported involved

• Cutting corners on quality – 16%
• Covering up accidents – 14%
• Abusing or lying about sick days – 11%
• Deceiving customers – 9%
• Taking credit for a colleague’s idea – 4%
• Lying to superiors on a serious matter – 5%

73% of companies have written codes of ethics and 40% train their employees in them. So what can companies do beyond having codes and training to influence employees to do the right things? Some researchers find that the following leadership behaviors do make a difference:

• Involvement: When people are involved in developing the codes of conduct they are more likely to take ownership of them and follow them.

• Alignment: When a company hires people whose own values are aligned with the core values of the organization, they are more likely to see these values played out at all levels of the company.

• Behavior: When values statements say one thing and the people see behavior that does not match it, credibility is lost. People look for what is demonstrated by others especially at higher levels, and they mirror that behavior. So the leadership must walk the talk.

• Accountability: Make sure people are held accountable for living the values of the corporation, and ensure that they are not punished for doing so.

• Clarity: Values statements are often "fuzzy." Make sure they are demonstrable.

• Dialogue: Create opportunities for people to dialogue about values - their own and their organization’s.

Why do they? Good people in companies to unethical things usually unconsciously. They are just not thinking, or not immediately aware that their behavior has crossed a line of acceptability. Even though these reasons offer no defense or excuse, the following information may increase your awareness of what is ethical according to most business standards.

In a recent survey conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management and the Ethics Resource Center, it was found that more than half (54%) of the HR professionals surveyed had observed workplace conduct in violation of the law or of the organization’s standards of ethical business conduct.

The Types of Misconduct Observed were

• Lying to supervisors – 45%
• Abusing drugs or alcohol – 36%
• Lying on reports or falsifying records – 36%
• Conflicts of interest – 34%
• Stealing or theft – 27%
• Receiving gifts/entertainment in violation of organizational policy – 26%
• Misusing organization’s assets – 24%
• Violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act – 23%
• Violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act - 22%
• Violations of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations – 19%
• Altering results of product or service testing – 16%
• Misusing insider information – 14%
• Employees engaging in fraud – 12%
• Employees giving gifts in violation of organizational policy – 10%
• Employees receiving kickbacks – 10%
• Misusing the organization’s proprietary information – 10%
• Violations of the Family and Medical Leave Act – 8%
• Improperly obtaining competitors’ proprietary information – 7%
• Violating environmental laws or regulations – 7%
• Violating antitrust laws – 3%
• Employees taking bribes – 2%
• Other – 11%

• Meeting overly aggressive financial or business objectives – 50%
• Meeting schedule pressures – 38%
• Helping the organization survive – 30%
• Rationalizing that others do it – 22%
• Resisting competitive threats – 18%
• Saving jobs – 18%
• Advancing the career interests of the boss – 16%
• Feeling peer pressure – 12%
• Advancing my own career or financial interests – 4%

79% of the HR professionals reported the misconduct to management or other appropriate parties.

• They feared being accused of not being a team player – 96%
• They didn’t believe corrective action would be taken – 81%
• They feared retribution or retaliation from their supervisor or management – 68%
• They didn’t feel others cared about business ethics, so why should they - 58%
• They didn’t trust the organization to keep the report confidential – 55%
• They feared retribution or retaliation from co-workers – 38%
• They felt it was not their business – 32%
• They didn’t know whom to contact – 25%
• They didn’t want to be known as a whistle blower – 20%

Walking the talk is not always easy. It doesn’t always come by habit. Here are a few thoughts to think about that will help ethics start at our own desk.

1. The responsibility for walking the talk doesn’t rest just with our leaders – or any other single group. We’re all responsible for bringing organizational values to life.
2. Not being involved in their creation doesn’t make them any less relevant. If they’re good and right, we need to support them and practice them.
3. No matter what functions we perform, ethics have everything to do with our jobs.
4. With few exceptions, people don’t intentionally violate ethics. Most out-of-sync behaviors are unconscious.
5. Walking the talk is a continual challenge. It’s just as tough for others as it is for us.
6. To be successful at work and in life, we have to behave our beliefs; we have to walk the talk. Without values and ethics, success is shallow and short-lived.
7. Nobody walks the talk all the time. Everyone can improve.
8. Each of us may be only one person, but we can make a difference. Walking the talk as best we can is a great place to start.

Most brilliant new ideas can be traced back to a long dead predecessor. Of all the founding fathers of the American Republic, Benjamin Franklin had the most notable global reputation as a philosopher, scientist and diplomat. He was proud to be a capitalist and believed in the value of hard work and competition. He understood that a strong sense of ethics was the foundation supporting everything one does. He believed that ethics could be taught, practiced and made part of both personal and organizational culture and incorporated this belief into his founding of the first fire company in America as well as the first lending library. His emphasis on ethics and integrity influenced both the American Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.

He regularly and gradually practiced these virtues in order to acquire habits that would have a practical impact on his daily life.

The Virtues included

1. Temperance – Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation.
2. Silence – Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation.
3. Order – Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time.
4. Resolution – Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve.
5. Frugality – Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; i.e., waste nothing.
6. Industry – Lose no time; be always employ’d in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions.
7. Sincerity – Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and, if you speak, speak accordingly.
8. Justice – Wrong none by doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your duty.
9. Moderation. Avoid extreams; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve.
10. Cleanliness – Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, cloaths, or habitation.
11. Tranquility – Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable.
12. Chastity – Rarely use venery but for health or offspring, never to dullness, weakness or the injury of your own or another’s peace or reputation.
13. Humility – Imitate Jesus and Socrates.