Companies Don't Practice The Ethics That They Preach

Despite the existence of ethics programs at many companies, more than 75% of the employees surveyed by accounting and consulting firm KPMG LLP say that in the last 12 months they have observed legal violations or violations of company standards within their organizations. The most common infractions: sexual harassment, employment discrimination, deceptive sales practices, breach of the environment, and unsafe working conditions. In addition, 61% of those surveyed by KPMG said they did not think their company would discipline individuals who were guilty of an ethical infraction. Nearly as many -- 55% -- said their CEO was unapproachable if an employee needed to deliver "bad" news.