A new report by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) shows that there is a correlation between the ethical behaviour of an organisation and associated increases in performance.
(image courtesy of CMI website)
The report, entitled “The Moral DNA of Performance”, also reveals that many managers rate their own organisations as mediocre or worse when it comes to standards of ethical behaviour, which is highly surprising when “Integrity” is very often quoted as a key organisational Value.
The Local Government Association (LGA) has also commented on the report and observed that opinions differ on ethical behaviour depending on which level/grade you work at. Generally senior managers feel more strongly that their organisation adheres to ethical standards of behaviour, whereas more junior managers are less convinced.
In our experience of analysing organisational culture and how it affects behaviour within an organisation, the critical issue is always Communication. In terms of Integrity and Ethics, it may not necessarily be enough to just “do the right thing”, it is increasingly important to “tell staff what you are doing and why” to ensure that they understand, engage and support the mission.
This becomes increasingly important in times of change or transformation, when you really need the entire team to understand the objectives of the change programme (and deliver it), whilst still maintaining high standards of ethical behaviour despite tough operational pressures.
To find out how we help organisations to measure organisational culture in order to understand and improve staff performance, please click here
To get more information about the CMI report and download a copy, please use the following link http://www.managers.org.uk/campaigns/moraldna/moraldna
