Product claims, airbrushing photos, ‘pester power’ marketing, stealth marketing, cross cultural issues. These are just some of the topics highlighted as ethical lapses in the media over recent years. Trust is necessary for marketing to succeed. As case studies in the report show, irresponsible marketing destroys it. What should those in marketing consider when thinking about these issues? Do company codes of ethics address them? This new report explains why a discipline of ethics and responsibility is essential for the marketing function of any company.

What do British employees consider to be the standard of ethical conduct in their workplace? This report presents the findings of the second national IBE Ethics at Work survey conducted in 2008. The results describe the attitudes of full-time staff and management in Britain to workplace practices, their perceptions of the behaviour of others in their organisations and their views on the support they are given in ‘doing the right thing’ at work. The report also suggests which employees are likely to have higher ethical standards. By demonstrating that a strong ethical culture has a positive affect on employee attitudes and perceptions of behaviour, the report provides a useful insight into what influences an organisation’s ethical standards.

Based on interviews with intelligence professionals, Competitive Intelligence (CI) identifies good practices for firms involved in providing, contracting, and accessing CI, as well as those seeking to guard against CI breaches in their own businesses identifies. This research suggests: developing clear guidelines and integrate competitive intelligence into the corporate code of conduct, extending guidelines to business partners and back up policies with targeted training to those most at risk, regularly reviewing competitive intelligence practices and guidelines for all departments where competitive intelligence is an issue.

The Institute of Business Ethics has updated its Illusrative Code of Business Ethics to reflect changes in company practice since its original publication in 2003.

The IBE Illustrative Code of Business Ethics provides a checklist of issues to assist businesses and other organisations with the development of a code of ethics or other such document as part of a corporate ethics programme.
Available free with copies of DEVELOPING A CODE OF BUSINESS ETHICS

Surveying Staff draws on the experiences of UK and international companies to look at how organisations can use staff surveys to take their ethical temperature and assess the efficacy of their ethics programmes
This Guide:

• outlines the different methods for surveying staff on ethical matters
• considers how to maximise the effectiveness of surveys
• provides a list of questions that companies can use to ask their staff about ethical matters
• introduces the IBE’s 12 benchmark staff survey questions. 
  

Do companies that actively attempt to embed their ethical values into business practice enjoy stronger financial performance as a result?
This report describes research comparing the financial performance of FTSE 350 companies which have a business ethics training programme with those simply declaring a commitment to ethical values. The findings, for the five years 2001-2005, are consistent with previous IBE research, Does Business Ethics Pay?,suggesting that conducting business with integrity and fairness is not only the right thing to do, it is also good for the bottom line.

BUY A COPY OF DOES BUSINESS ETHICS PAY? - REVISITED AND GET DOES BUSINESS ETHICS PAY FREE!.

Laura Spence examines the complexities of supplier relationships and ethical procurement practice in the UK. The report explores how companies can achieve fair relations with their suppliers and particularly considers issues raised in relationships between large organisations and small and medium sized suppliers. Three case studies, from Camelot, Waitrose and Toyota, help draw out the issues and good practice approaches. Guidance on good practice is offered for suppliers and customers alike.

This report details the first national IBE Ethics at Work Survey. It shows how fulltime staff and management regard their own behavior and that of their colleagues and makes comparisons with Management Today/KPMG Forensic survey of managers in 2000 and a US ERC employee survey in 2003. It presents the views of workers on the support they are given in 'doing the right thing' at work, suggests which employees are likely to be 'the most ethical' and demonstrates to all employers, the benefit of surveying their staff on ethical issues and conduct, and the need for clearer ethical guidance.

This report analyses current corporate approaches to the challenges in this increasingly controversial area and sets out the pressures on companies to seek political influence. It offers guidance to business on good practice and is drawn from interviews with senior business people in the UK, US and Europe.

Business ethics will never be taken seriously unless the ethical tone is set from the top. Leadership is essential to business ethics, as ethical qualities are essential to good leadership. Setting the Tone:
• demonstrates that business leaders should consider ethical competence as a core part of their business acumen
• provides guidance to those wishing to build a culture of trust and accountability and strengthen the ethical aspirations of their organisation
• includes interviews with business leaders offering practical insights into ethical leadership issues

This report reveals the findings of the fourth IBE survey sent to the CEOs of FTSE 250 companies with codes. It shows: the ways in which companies seek to maximise the effectiveness of their codes; trends in the rationale for codes; the ethical issues perceived as most important for business.
The report, including two practical business case studies, provides a guide to managers wishing to understand current practice and mechanisms for implementing and embedding codes of ethics.

Many companies are now grappling with the complexities of ethical supply chain management. How much progress is being made and is life improving for workers?
Taking the temperature assesses the way companies are developing ethical trading practices and explores the issues of ethical supply chain management. It looks at emerging best practice and highlights case study examples from a range of companies and countries. This report updates the 2000 publication Where did that come from? It provides companies with practical guidance on how to tackle the ethical management of their supply chain.

Producing a code of business ethics helps companies to understand and address ethical issues across their organisations.Codes offer invaluable guidance for employees on how to behave and how to make positive decisions in complex circumstances.This publication: provides a practical and comprehensive guide to developing and implementing a code of business ethics; analyses the business case for codes; identifies best corporate practice and explains the steps needed to produce and maintain an effective code of business ethics; encompasses the updated IBE Illustrative Code of Business Ethics and includes examples of different approaches to corporate code

Behaving ethically is what you do because it is the right thing to do. Nevertheless, 'does business ethics pay?' is an important question. The public perception of business behaviour is consistently low, fuelled as it is by high profile examples of unethical and illegal conduct. This report provides evidence to company chairmen and Chief Executive Officers as well as the general public, that conducting business with integrity and fairness are not only morally right, but are also worthwhile. The performance of a sample from FTSE 350 companies with an available code of ethics was compared to a similar sample of those without. Four financial measures were used and the data covered the period 1997-2001. The annual list of Britain's Most Admired Companies and the SERM socio/ethical risk reduction rating were also used in the research.

This publication reviews the plethora of social and ethical reporting standards on offer to companies. It sets out the benefits and costs of the major standards and provides companies with a means of assessing and choosing them. The emphasis is on providing a practical guide of tools, checklists and experience to enable companies to choose the standard that suits them best.

This report includes a survey of 100 small firms in the UK by Laura Spence that investigates their social and ethical concerns and in what way these differ from those of larger companies. The survey shows that owner-managers run their businesses in ways which are consistent with their own values and principles. It shows that employees relationships are key to the success of small firms and includes ten practical rules for SME good business conduct.