The IBE carries out research into business ethics issues
and the ways that business and their employees can effectively
embed ethical values into their practice and decision making.
Their aim is to provide practical and useful publications
and advice for our subscribers and other organisations wishing
to advance the effectiveness of their ethics policies and
programmes.
If you would like information about an existing project or
would consider sponsoring one, or would like to suggest a
topic for future research, please get in touch with us on
+44 (0)20 7798 6040 or email us at: info@ibe.org.uk
Latest
Project News
In 2007, we published three IBE Briefings, one Good
Practice Guide and two reports. The IBE
Briefings are available free of charge and can be
downloaded. The reports and Good Practice Guides may
be purchased here>>.
IBE Briefings:
8 Concerns & Ethical Lapses in 2007; 7. Survey Findings
2007; 6. Business Ethics for SMEs; 5.Business Ethics
Committees
To make their ethics programme effective, organisations
need to monitor their ethics policy and assure themselves
that they are living up to their (stated) values. One
recognised way of obtaining assurance is surveying staff.
This project is reviewing the different methods companies
use to seek their employees views and to understand
their employees experiences as part of taking their
organisation's ethical temperature. Based on feedback
from more than twenty companies, it will explore what
needs to be considered to make this effective and suggest
a set of questions for use in questionnaire surveys.
The Good Practice guide will also examine how survey
results might best be turned in to an action plan to
strengthen their ethical culture.
>>Authors: Katherine Bradshaw, Nicole Dando and
Andrea Werner
>>Publication date: Spring 2008
>>Sponsorship is sought.
The
Ethics of Competition: Competitive Information Gathering
Irresponsible intelligence gathering practices can provoke
accusations of industrial espionage, erode trust in specific
sectors, and can harm the image of business more generally.
In practice, there are significant grey areas around what
is legal and what is ethical in the types of practices that
are used, the nature of the data that are collected, and the
uses that are made of the data. This research project aims
to investigate the ethical challenges of CI gathering. Informed
by interviews with companies, it will seek to explore its
relevance, scope the issues and the ways that companies provide
guidance to staff through their codes of ethics.
>>Authors: Prof Andy Crane and Dr Laura Spence
>>Publication date: December 2008
>>Sponsorship is sought
Ethical
issues in the provision and use of IT for Business
The aim of this project is to prompt business managers to
consider whether their ICT provision and use are in line with
their organisation's ethical values, and to raise awareness
of the ethical issues and implications of ICT provision and
use. IBE is working with the British Computer Society to investigate
key issues and case studies.
>>Authors: Penny Duquenoy
>>Publication date: end 2008
>>Sponsorship is sought
Regular Projects
Annual Business Ethics Survey: Public Perceptions Of Business
Conduct
The
survey is conducted annually for the IBE by MORI since 2003
as part of their Omnibus survey of a cross section of the UK
public. It has tracked which business ethics issues are of most
concern and whether the public believe ethical conduct is improving.
For a summary of the latest survey results, please
see here>>.
For more information on current and forthcoming projects
or for details of how to sponsor a publication please contact
Dr Nicole Dando, Head of Projects on 0207 798 6040.
For details of past projects and an IBE publications list
please visit here.
