Ethics Resource Center: What We Do
ERC works with organizations of all types, to help leaders implement ethics and compliance program activities.
Additionally, we undertake research and projects to develop new resources, in order to advance knowledge and practice in the field.
Our work includes:
Assessment
- Measurement of ethical risk: Beyond requirements to do so, it is an important effort for organizational leaders to identify:
- Extent to which employees encounter situations that potentially violate the law or company standards;
- Employee preparedness; and
- Areas for further company training and education.
Assessment of risk before implementation of a training or other ethics-related program allows organizational leaders to address the appropriate needs, and also to gather baseline data for measurement of effectiveness.
- Measurement of ethics/compliance program effectiveness - The best gauge of a company's ethics is feedback from employees, implemented through a systematic effort to measure ethics/compliance program effectiveness. ERC's Ethics Index™ leverages our ten-year-old dataset collected through our National Business Ethics Survey to allow companies to:
- Collect information from their employees to gauge the effectiveness of their ethics/compliance efforts;
- Benchmark to peer organizations;
- Benchmark to national trends.
Additionally, ERC collects qualitative data and other supplemental information to conduct a rigorous evaluation.
Development or improvement of organizational ethics programs
ERC works with organizations to create ethics programs, or to improve existing programs. Our work often involves:
- Creation of a Code of Conduct
- Code reviews
- Development of training content
- Delivery of live training (or training-of-trainers)
ERC Fellows Program
A select group of professionals in corporations, universities, and nonprofits gather twice a year to delve deeply into issues confronting leaders in business ethics. The Fellows devote themselves to conducting research projects to find solutions to emerging issues.
International Programs
ERC works with the private sector to address corruption internationally. Additionally, ERC has created and partners with four nonprofit centers in:
Character Development
Schools play an important role in the development of future employees. ERC develops resources to equip students with the values and skills in ethical decisionmaking they will need in their future workplaces, through:
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Student-run ethics offices (SEOs) patterned after corporate ethics offices
-
MAXIMize the Moment™ resources provided to teachers each week
Research
ERC regularly engages in research projects to learn more about our field, and to provide new insights to the public. Our most prominent research project is the National Business Ethics Survey, examining workplace ethics from the employee's perspective.
