Measuring corporate integrity: a survey-based approach

Purpose - Aims to illustrate how management can examine corporate integrity. Design/methodology/approach - The results of a survey of the US workforce are used to illustrate how integrity can be measured. Questionnaires were sent to 3,075 pre-qualified working adults with a response rate of 78 percent. Findings - Of the respondents, 76 percent reported being aware of a violation of the law or of company standards by a colleague or manager in the past 12 months. Many organizations are also sending employees the wrong message when it comes to conducting themselves in an ethical manner. Research limitations/implications - The research could be extended to other countries. Additionally, it would be a big step forward if research could lead to plausible findings about the relationship between organizational climate and unethical behavior. Practical implications - Management should consider the option of monitoring integrity periodically by means of a questionnaire, attending not only to the frequency of unethical conduct but also to the corresponding organizational context and corresponding consequences. In most cases it is advisable to measure integrity not only on a corporate level, but also on departmental levels so that it can form a part of the regular planning and control cycle. Originality/value - This is the first study of the US workforce regarding ethics in the workplace.