Can codes of ethics really produce consistent behaviours?

Abstract

The paper investigates the effectiveness of codes of ethics to influence the behaviour of employees. Vignettes are not part of the methodology as the core data come from the direct observations of behaviours reported by 25 top managers and 545 employees from eight large Australian enterprises. One aim of the research is to measure the consistency of the observed behavioural patterns among employees and to investigate the possible association of high consistency with particular ethics strategies. The research models are based on medians and tallies of percentage frequencies of behavioural patterns. Two matters of importance are concluded from the investigation. First, there is no discernible association between the consistency ratings of the enterprises and their particular strategies in ethics. Second, the analysis suggests that the strongest ethical culture affecting behaviour in the respondents comes from an external, shared source.

Effective Corporate Codes of Ethics: Perceptions of Code Users

“…The research was qualitative in nature, and was based on self-reported data. Research on direct behavioral evidence related to the code should also be Prior distribution Not important Prior distribution of minimal concern but couldn't hurt; employees will most likely not object to code content Senior management support Important Sufficient support from management must be observed or code will not be taken seriously Sign-off Potentially Important Sign-off can generate increased awareness but potential indication of lack of trust Training Important Training must be sufficient or potential lack of awareness of code's usefulness will result Reinforcement Important Reinforcement must be sufficient or code will be considered just another flavor of month Farrell, et al, 2002), along with specific case studies involving code compliance and noncompliance. Whether an employees' perception of the importance of a code aspect actually leads to the employee abiding by the code can also be questioned.…”

“…Murphy et al, 1992;Weeks and Nantel, 1992), while numerous other studies (10/22) have found that there is no significant relationship between the two variables (e.g. Ford et al, 1982;Hunt et al, 1984;Chonko and Hunt, 1985;Akaah and Riordan, 1989;Callan, 1992;Allen and Davis 1993;Badaracco and Webb, 1995;Brief et al, 1996;Clark and Leonard, 1998;Farrell et al, 2002).…”

The Effectiveness of Business Codes: A Critical Examination of Existing Studies and the Development of an Integrated Research Model

“…The message of this paper is that including too few factors in the research scheme will leave too much room for intervening factors, which will affect the validity of the findings. The study of Farrell et al (2002) is one of the most promising research designs. Eight companies participated in their study.…”

“…Weak positive relationship Badaracco and Webb (1995), Beets and Killough (1990), Bruce (1994), Dubinsky et al (1992), Mathews (1987), Murphy et al (1992), Peppas (2003), Schwartz (2001), Stevens et al (2005), Stohs and Brannick (1999), Valentine and Barnett (2002), Weaver (1995), Weeks and Nantel (1992). No significant relationship Akaah and Riordan (1989), Allen and Davis (1993), Ashkanasy et al (2000), Brief et al (1996), Cabral-Cardoso (2004), Callan (1992), Chonko and Hunt (1985), Clark and Leonard (1998), Cowton and Thompson (2000), Diller (1999), Farrell et al (2002), Ford et al (1982), Harker and Harker (2000), Healy and Iles (2002), Hume et al (1999), Hunt et al (1984), Kohut and Corriher (1994), Marnburg (2000), Mathews (1987), McKendall et al (2002), Montoya and Richard (1994), Ryan (1994), Sims and Brinkmann (2003), Snell and Herndon (2000), Stevens (2004), Treviño et al (1999). Mixed results Adam and Rachman-Moore (2004), Brenner and Molander (1977), Higgs-Kleyn and Kapelianis (1999), …”

Student perceptions of codes of ethics: a three-country comparison

“…Examining eight large Australian firms, Farrell et al (2002) studied the influence of codes of ethics on the behaviour of employees. They measured consistency of behavioural patterns of over 500 managers and employees to see if particular corporate ethics strategies were associated with higher levels of behavioural consistency among employees, but found no association.…”