Global Business Ethics Survey  presentation
                     Global Busines Ethics 
Survey (GBES) 
2020
By,
     Prathibha Shetty
1. Introduction 
• First ethics survey by ECI- 1994.
• Second- National Business Ethics Survey(NBES), 2000. 
• ECI has conducted a standalone survey exclusively in the U.S- 2000 to 2013. 
• The first iteration of the GBES was in 2015
• In 2015 ECI collected 1,000 responses from each of 12 countries.
• In 2017 ECI added 6 countries (1,000 responses each) to make the 18 countries 
that were surveyed in 2017 and 2019.
2. Definition- GEBS & ECI
Global Business Ethics Survey(GBES) 
“It is a rigorous, multi-country inquiry into worker conduct and workplace integrity, 
providing insight into workplace ethics in both public and private sector 
organizations. GBES is a flagship research project of the Ethics & Compliance 
Initiative (ECI)”
Ethics & Compliance Initiative (ECI)
“It is a best practice community of organizations that are committed to creating and 
sustaining high-quality ethics & compliance programs.”
3. Objective
The survey was conducted to expand upon the view of workplace integrity in 
organizations located in 18 countries.
• Africa & Middle East: South Africa, United Arab Emirates
• Asia Pacific: China, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea
• Europe: France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom
• North America: United States, Mexico
• South America: Argentina, Brazil
4. Purpose
1. Gather baseline HQP(Health Quality Partners) data.
2. Assess the role of organizational values in the workplace.
3. Focus on measuring leadership styles.
4. Assess- reporting misconduct or raising concerns. 
5. Ask questions- three most common types of misconduct.
6. ECI build upon its research into misconduct.
2020- Report
5. Pressure in the Workplace: Possible Risk 
Factors and Those at Risk
5.1 Impact of the COVID-19.
• Incidences of significant change in organization.
• Rise in the misconduct of employees.
• Results show- employees working in organizations with four to seven significant 
changes in 12 months were two times as likely to say they observed misconduct.
• Effect of the COVID-19- undergo many organizational changes such as
• Moving employees to remote work.
• Increasing flexible work schedules.
• Implementing cost-cutting measures.
• Executing travel bans.
• Impact of the pandemic on employee pressure to compromise their organization’s 
ethics standards.
Observed Misconduct Rises with an Increase in Organizational Change
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
75%
30% 60%
20%
33%
10%
0%
No organizationalchanges Few Organization Changes
Many organizational Changes
5.2 Pressure to Compromise Organizational Ethics Standards
• Workplace- Many sources of potential stress.
• Stressors:
• Looming deadlines 
• Meeting business goals/targets to contending with office politics. 
• Safety concerns. 
• Technology issues.
• Cause for pressure to bend the rules:
• Meeting performance goals.
• Attempting to save one’s own and others’ jobs.
• Supervisory pressure.
• Advancing one’s career or financial interests.
• Demands from people who support or invest in the 
organization.
• Based on the 2019 GBES, 22% of employees globally have felt pressure to bend 
the rules.
Globally, More Than 1 in Every 5 Employees Feel Pressure to Compromise Their 
Organization’s Ethics Standards, Policies or the Law
37%
31%
23% 23% 22%
16%
Afr ica  &  Middle  E a st Asia  Pec ifi c Eur ope Nort h Amer ica  Sout h Amer ica Globa l  Media n
5.3 Pressure to Bend the Rules and Observed Misconduct
• GBES has been tracking employee pressure 
to bend the rules for almost two decades.
• Since the 2000 National Business Ethics 
Survey (NBES) conducted with U.S. 
employees.
• Six specific types of misconduct:
• Abusive behaviour.
• Conflicts of interest.
• Corruption. 
• Discrimination.
• Sexual harassment. 
• Violations of health and/or safety 
regulations.
• Prevalence rates- 13% to 27%.
• Employees perceptions about pressure to bend the rules were examined alongside 
the six types of misconduct.
• The prevalence rate for each type of misconduct was about two times higher 
among employees who indicated they felt pressure to bend the rules.

5.4 Possible Factors that Influence Pressure to Bend the Rules
1. Leader Commitment To Organizational Values And Ethical Leadership
• ECI found- employees who perceived “a lack of organizational 
values and a lack of ethical leadership” indicate they felt 
pressure to bend the rules.
• It’s a signal to employees that they are not expected to adhere 
to the values of the organization.
• Employees’ perceptions of leader commitment were categorized 
as “weak,” “moderate” or “strong.”
• Weak Leader Commitment- 49%
• Moderate Leader Commitment- 25%
• Strong Leader Commitment- 13%
The Incidence of Pressure Was 3X as High for Employees with Weak Leader 
Commitment to Organizational Values and Ethical Leadership Compared with 
Strong Leader Commitment
49%
25%
13%
Wea k Lea der Moder a t e Lea der St rong  Lea der
5.5 Possible Factors that Influence Pressure to Bend the Rules 
(cont.)
2. Direct Supervisor Leadership
• Supervisors play a critical role
• Supervisors are the only people in leadership positions that employees interact with on 
a regular basis.
• Direct supervisor leadership was categorized as weak, moderate or strong leadership.
• The weaker the leadership of direct supervisors, the more likely employees are to feel 
pressure to bend the rules.
• Weak Direct Supervisor Leadership- 48%
• Moderate Direct Supervisor Leadership- 29%
• Strong Direct Supervisor Leadership- 18%
The Incidence of Pressure Was 2X as High for Employees with Weak Direct 
Supervisor Leadership Compared with Strong Direct Supervisor Leadership
60%
50%
40%
30%
48%
20%
29%
10% 18%
0%
Wea k Supervisor Modera t e  Super visor St r ong  Supervisor
5.6 Who Is at Risk for Feeling Pressure to Bend the Rules at 
the Workplace?
• Identifying employees who may be at a higher risk- organizations can be 
proactive in addressing any possible issues before there is a problem.
• Employees self identified as being part of top management experienced pressure 
to bend the rules almost two times as high compared with employees who self-
identified as an individual contributor.
• One-fourth self-identified employees middle management, and more than one-
fifth of employees first-line direct supervisors- felt pressure.
• Higher up the “totem pole” an employee is, the more likely they are to feel 
pressure to bend the rules.
The Incidence of Pressure Was Almost 2X as High Among Top Management 
Compared with Individual Contributors
 
30%
25%
22%
17%
Top ma na g ement y Middle  ma na g ement First - l ine  supervisor I ndividua l  cont r ibut or
5.7 Approaches for Reduce in Pressure in the Workplace
Improving Your Organization’s Ethics Health
1. Identify What Makes An Ethically Healthy Organization
Previous ECI research indicates that an ethically healthy organization is one where:
• Few employees feel pressure to compromise organizational ethics standards.
• Misconduct is rare.
• Observations of misconduct are reported.
• Reports of misconduct are appropriately addressed.
• Employees who report misconduct do not experience retaliation.
2. How To Achieve Ethics Health In An Organization
The prescription for ethics health in an organization is straightforward:
• Commit to ethical leadership, shared values and building an ethics-focused 
business culture.
• Invest in building a strong E&C program.
3. Tools To Analyse And Maximize Your Organization’s Ethics Health
ECI’s HQP Measurement Framework- 100 leading practices and provides an end-
to-end solution for building and sustaining E&C programs that are proven to:
• Increase return-on-investment for E&C efforts.
• Prioritize areas of improvement.
• Encourage positive ethics outcomes throughout the organization.
• Measure the following five principles that were established by ECI’s Blue Ribbon 
Panel:
• Strategy
• Risk management
• Culture
• Speaking up
• Accountability
6. Funders
1. Boeing
2. Google
3. Lilly
4. Altria
5. British Petroleum
6. General Electric
7. KPMG( Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler)
8. Loreal
9. Leidos
10. Price Waterhouse Coopers
11. University of ARKANSAS
7. Conclusion
• Workplace pressure affects employees- decline in a company’s overall ethics 
culture.
• Strong E&C program is necessary.
• Decrease pressure to bend the rules to avoid misconduct.
• Easy way to reduce pressure- build a strong ethical foundation and ensure that all 
employees are committed to adhering to it.
• GBES to identify organizational sources and those most at risk for feeling 
pressure.
• Leaders should have a strong commitment to organizational values 
and ethical leadership.
• Organizations should have strong direct supervisor leadership.
• Responsibility of organizations- train direct leadership to 
understanding of the importance of their role.
• Providing the means and skills to convey support for organizational 
ethics and values to their subordinates