HR Professionals Believe Ethical Conduct not Rewarded in Business; Professionals Feel Pressure to Compromise Standards 4/22/2003
From: Frank Scanlan of the Society for Human Resource Management, 703-535-6043; e-mail: fscanlan@shrm.org Nicole Germain of the Ethics Resource Center, 202-872-4768 e-mail: Nicole@ethics.org ALEXANDRIA, Va., April 22 -- Amidst numerous corporate ethics violations over the last year, a new survey indicates that nearly half of HR professionals believe ethical conduct is not rewarded in business today. Troubling figures show that over the last five years, HR professionals feel increasingly more pressure to compromise their organizations' ethics standards, however they also indicate personally observing significantly fewer actions of misconduct in the workplace. The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and the Ethics Resource Center (ERC) jointly conducted the 2003 Business Ethics Survey, with 462 respondents yielding a 22 percent response rate. The survey is a follow up of a similar study conducted in 1997. Much attention has been given to corporate ethics violations over the last year, and the survey, as a whole, shows that there are no definitive answers to ethical questions. HR professionals are less concerned now with retaliation from coworkers or senior management, or being seen as whistleblowers. Yet, needing to follow the boss's directives and wanting to be team players remains high on the list of pressures that may lead to HR professionals compromising the organization's ethics standards. The mixed results show that maintaining organizational ethics must be seen as an ongoing process rather than as a destination or an objective. "As we've seen numerous times over the last year, companies that failed to live up to their code of ethics are now financial shells compared to what they were, and many people's lives have been adversely affected," said SHRM President and Chief Executive Officer Susan R. Meisinger, SPHR. "HR must do more than clean up the mess after the damage has been done. They have a responsibility to step up and ensure that their organizations maintain cultures that demand ethical behavior." "This survey offers timely insights on ethics issues from HR professionals on the front lines," said Stuart C. Gilman, President of the Ethics Resource Center. "As recent events show, business ethics is not only an individual concern but an organization-wide matter with enormous implications for business leaders." The survey results show the following: -- 24 percent of HR professionals feel pressured to compromise ethics standards all the time, fairly often or periodically. In comparison, 13 percent indicated they felt pressured in 1997. -- 49 percent say that ethical conduct is not rewarded in business today. -- The top three causes pressuring HR professionals to compromise an organization's ethical standards are as follows: the need to follow the boss's directives (49 percent); meeting overly aggressive business/financial objectives (48 percent); and helping the organization survive (40 percent). -- HR professionals say 70 percent of senior management and 72 percent of CEOs are committed to acting ethically. -- 69 percent of HR respondents strongly agree or agree that HR is a primary ethics resource in the organization, but 40 percent say that HR is not part of the ethics infrastructure and is only tasked with cleaning up ethics violations. -- 35 percent of HR professionals often or occasionally personally observed ethics misconduct in the last 12 months, down from 53 percent in 1997. -- Types of misconduct most commonly observed were: Misreporting of hours worked; Employees lying to a supervisor; Management lying to employees, customers, vendors or the public. --- The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) is the world's largest association devoted to human resource management. Representing more than 170,000 individual members, the Society's mission is both to serve human resource management professionals and to advance the profession. Founded in 1948, SHRM currently has more than 500 affiliated chapters within the United States and members in more than 120 countries. Visit SHRM Online at http://www.shrm.org. The Ethics Resource Center is one of the oldest nonprofits in the United States addressing the issue of ethics. Established in 1922, ERC works with businesses, nonprofit organizations, schools and governments around the world to create ethical work environments through education, research, training, and global partnerships. Visit our webite at http://www.ethics.org. |