elines and detailed conduct codes; HR can offer superb training and establish an ethics hot line for questions and problems, but it’s the reward system and the organizational behavior that let people know the real story. If a manager turns his/her head and looks the other way when it comes to a top salesman who cheats on an expense account or accepts inappropriate gifts, that sends a powerful message. The desired behavior must start from the top and work its way through the entire organization. This means managers must be honest and expect honesty from their employees by establishing clear-cut policies, guidelines, and rewards. It’s up to HR to make sure employees fully understand the repercussions of ethical misconduct and that such behavior will not be tolerated. Ethics guidelines must be easy to use and even inviting to employees. A good ethics program provides both verbal and written reinforcements and offers a variety of packages for employees to learn about or discuss ethics. Although a usable ethics code and an accessible ethics officer will help get the message out, a successful effort requires active communication, education and training -- a key role of the HR department. More and more HR departments are setting up hot lines, seminars, workshops and similar ethics training programs to try to increase ethical behavior. Recent estimates indicate 33% of companies provide some ethics training (Robbins et al.). The primary debate is whether or not you can actually teach ethics. Critics stress that the effort is pointless since people establish their individual value system when they are very young. However, supporters note that several studies have found that values can be learned even after early childhood. Evidence shows that teaching ethical problem solving can make an actual difference in ethical behaviors (Weber, 1990); that training has increased individuals' level of moral development (Penn, Boyd, & Collier, 1985...
