Poor Business Ethics? Not At My Firm

Compiled ByJill Jusko If the results of a recent survey can be believed, then it is just a few bad apples that are giving corporate America a black eye with regard to corporate governance and business ethics. Most senior executives (92%) who responded to a PricewaterhouseCoopers Management Barometer survey say their company's business ethics are good to excellent, with 84% grading their performance on corporate governance equally highly. Asked to rate their company's performance in five additional areas, the following percentages gave excellent to good ratings: hiring policies, work conditions and benefits (84%); economic impact (75%); community involvement (63%); environmental impact (52%); and social impact (51%). "Nearly all executives give their company a high rating on business ethics," acknowledges Sunil Misser, global and U.S. leader of PricewaterhouseCoopers' sustainability practice. "But there is still lots of room for improvement in other areas." PricewaterhouseCoopers' Management Barometer survey is conducted quarterly. These findings are based on interviews with 150 chief financial officers and managing directors of U.S.-based multinational corporations.