CURRENT RESEARCH PROJECTS OF THE
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS ETHICS INSTITUTE
As part of its ongoing effort to educate and inform,
the International Business Ethics Institute regularly undertakes research
projects in the fields of business ethics and corporate responsibility.
Institute research projects are designed to provide relevant
and practical information to help corporations and the
general public evaluate past and current business practices and to help
guide business behavior as we move into the future.
If you would be interested
in supporting the Institute’s current programming through a donation,
please visit the Support IBEI page or contact
the Institute at info@840856.sites.myregisteredsite.com
or +1 202 296 6938. Comments and suggestions about Institute research projects
should be directed to info@840856.sites.myregisteredsite.com.
The Institute is currently working
on the following research project:
CREATING
A NON-RETALIATORY WORKPLACE
One of the major challenges in
business ethics today is creating a safe environment where employees can
raise concerns about possible misconduct and wrongdoing. Despite the proliferation
of helplines and ethics offices, effectively combating employee “fear
of retaliation” is still one of the least well developed elements of most
business ethics programs.
The International Business Ethics
Institute feels that it is time for this to change. The Institute is launching
a major study, called “Creating a Non-Retaliatory Workplace,” aimed at
analyzing how companies can foster open environments where employees are
comfortable coming forward to report misconduct. This study will also
examine how firms can prevent retaliation against individuals that identify
wrongdoing.
The Institute will analyze the
most important issues organizations face in convincing employees to come
forward with misconduct concerns and evaluate cutting edge strategies
that organizations have employed to prevent informal and formal retaliation.
Our research will include interviews, surveys, case studies, and in-depth
consultations with managers in different organizations. The Institute
will develop recommendations to help organizations establish a culture
that encourages employees to raise concerns and equips managers to both
identify and prevent informal and formal retaliation. The Institute’s
findings will be published in a formal report geared towards ethics officers
and practitioners, tentatively scheduled for release in the second quarter
of 2006.
The Institute formed an Advisory
Panel consisting of business leaders, academics, and whistleblowing experts
to provide advice on this project. The panel is chaired by Dr. Barbara
Ley Toffler, author of the bestseller, Final Accounting: Ambition,
Greed and the Fall of Arthur Andersen. Other panel members include:
• Dr. C. Fred Alford,
University of Maryland
• Dr. Anita Baker,
University of Maryland
• Megan Barry, Premier
Inc.
• Jacqueline Brevard,
Merck
• Karen Clapsaddle,
Lockheed Martin
• Guy Dehn, Public
Concern at Work
• Tom Devine, Government
Accountability Project
• Dr. Howard Gadlin,
National Institutes of Health
• Arnold Haiman, USAID
• Dr. Marcia Miceli
, Georgetown University
• Marvin Neal, Coca-Cola
Enterprises, Inc.
• Dr. Donald Soeken,
Integrity International
Generous contributions by a
number of organizations and individuals, including Mr. Robert Echols,
the Georgia Power Foundation, Irwin Financial Corp., Lockheed Martin,
Lubrizol, Rogers Group, United Parcel Service, Wal-Mart Stores Inc., and
Xerox made the launch of this project possible.
Survey Results:
Raising Concerns and Addressing Retaliation
The Institute has just released
some initial research on the “Creating a Non-Retaliatory Workplace” project.
As part of the research for the “Creating a Non-Retaliatory Workplace”
project, the Institute partnered with the Ethics Officer Association (EOA)
to survey EOA members on current practices in reporting misconduct and
retaliation. The Institute has just released the results of this survey,
which will be used to inform the broader findings of the “Creating a Non-Retaliatory
Workplace,” slated for release in the second quarter of 2006. For the
complete summary, please click here.
The Institute is grateful to
the EOA for their partnership in conducting this survey and IBEI wishes
to thank the EOA members that took the time to complete the survey.
The Institute recently completed
the following research project:
GUIDE
ON DEVELOPING AND UPDATING GLOBAL BUSINESS CONDUCT PROGRAMS
The Institute's new publication,
Reflecting an International Workforce: The Comprehensive Guide to
Developing an Effective Global Business Conduct Program, is available
for purchase.
Reflecting an International
Workforce is a "how-to" book that contains comprehensive
recommendations to assist corporations in drafting, revising, and implementing
an effective code and training program. The report also contains detailed
discussion on how to write specific code standards on issues such as conflicts
of interest, gifts and entertainment, and workplace environment.
While other guides on codes of conduct have been published
in recent years, this report is unique in that it focuses on assisting
multinational companies that have a diverse workforce. For information
on purchasing this publication, please click here.
|
