Sponsor an Upcoming Supplemental Report

“The NBES findings and the Ethics Resource Center’s supplemental reports are excellent resources organizations can use to strengthen their cultures of ethics and compliance.”

 -Marty Barrington, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Altria Group, Inc.

 

As you may know, ERC is the nation's oldest nonprofit organization dedicated to independent research and the advancement of high ethical standards and practices.  Since 1994, ERC has been fielding its landmark study of the state of ethics in American workplaces, the National Business Ethics Survey.  Published every two years, NBES is the nationally-recognized barometer of workplace ethics.

 

Following the 2009 edition of the research, ERC expanded on NBES by releasing a series of supplemental reports focusing on critical, timely issues of particular interest to ethics and compliance professionals. 

 

Starting this spring, the ERC will again release supplemental reports to the 2011 NBES.  The supplementals will focus on key issues, including the reasons employees choose to (and not to) report misconduct; retaliation against whistleblowers; the experiences of actual social networkers; software piracy; the impact of generational differences; and workplace ethics in Fortune 500 companies.  You can see more detailed information below.

 

A contribution will help make one of the supplemental reports possible.  Supporting this research also makes a statement about your commitment to business ethics. Please contact the ERC about supporting our research and find out how you can be a sponsor of the next NBES supplemental.

Inside the Mind of the Whistleblower

What can you do to ensure that observations of misconduct are reported and can be addressed? Learn what goes through employees' minds when deciding whether or not to report misconduct that they observe. This in-depth investigation of the reporting process will also explore:

• Reporting rates for different kinds of observed misconduct,
• Secondary sources that receive reports,
• Circumstances under which employees would report to the government.

Social Networkers in the Workplace

One of the key findings of NBES 2011 was the unique–and often troubling–experiences of active social networkers. Active social networkers observe misconduct at a higher rate and are more likely to experience retaliation if they choose to report. This report will investigate key questions related to this important movement in the workplace:

• Who are active social networkers, and how do their beliefs about their companies compare to non-networkers?
• What kinds of misconduct do active social networkers observe and how does it differ from the rest of the employee population?
• How do their reporting behaviors compare to the employee population as a whole? Are their experiences with retaliation unique in form as well as frequency?
• Finally, this report will look at ways to support active social networkers and the challenges they face and leveraging opportunities to make social networking a positive force for creating stronger ethical cultures.

Ethics in Fortune 500 Companies

Since 1994, ERC's NBES has served as a benchmark of the state of ethics in American companies of all sizes. In 2011, ERC gathered additional data on the largest and most profitable companies in the nation. This report will address the unique experiences of Fortune 500 companies:

• Do more employees in Fortune 500 observe misconduct? Which kinds are most commonplace?
• Is reporting more likely, and do reporting rates vary from the national average? Is retaliation against reporters more widespread?
• What is the state of ethics and compliance programs and ethical cultures among Fortune 500 companies?

Employee Retaliation

NBES 2011 has identified the rise in retaliation as a critical warning sign of a possible ethical decline in American business. This update on research conducted in 2009 will use additional data collected in 2011 to answer several key questions:

• Which employees are more or less likely to experience retaliation?
• Are retaliation rates rising at a faster rate among particular groups of employees?
• Are certain forms more prevalent among particular groups of employees?
• How does retaliation impact employees' perceptions of management and victims' commitment to companies and work?

Generational Differences

Are one's perceptions of ethics in the workplace a matter of one's generation or one's state in life? Do the youngest members of today's workforce differ considerably from their predecessors? In this update to the popular 2009 report, ERC will investigate how age, generational cohort, and time in the workforce impact ethics experiences at work. Key questions include:

• Do different generations observe different kinds of misconduct? Are different generations equally likely to report misconduct when observed?
• What factors drive reporting decisions in each age group, and what sorts of targeted efforts can management take to maximize reporting?
• How do the different generations feel about and use (and misuse) technology in the workplace? What opportunities exist to make technology a positive force for ethics among different age groups?

To become a supporter of ethics, contact Adam Benson at:

Adam@ethics.org
703-647-2185