Taking The Ethical Temperature Of Entrepreneurs And Managers

Nation's Business, Sept, 1998 by Thomas Love

The factors influencing ethical business conduct are important for the future of the U.S. economic system, says Hirsch. He notes that 74 percent of the entrepreneurs and 71 percent of the managers said a prescribed code of ethics would help them in making decisions.

Here are actions described to the survey participants, with the percentage of entrepreneurs who said such action is unethical, followed by the percentage of business managers who made the same judgment:

* Using company services for personal purposes: 82 percent of the entrepreneurs, 72 percent of the business managers.

* Using company supplies for personal purposes: 93 percent and 86 percent.

* Overstating an expense account by more than 10 percent: 99 percent and 95 percent. Overstating by less than 10 percent: 93 percent and 87 percent.

* Using company time for personal benefit: 81 percent and 70 percent.

* Taking longer than necessary to do a job: 91 percent and 78 percent.

* Committing an illegal act: 53 percent and 39 percent.

Hirsch's report, Ethics of Business Managers vs. Entrepreneurs, is available for $20 from the Research Institute for Small & Emerging Business (RISEbusiness), an independent, nonpartisan policy-research group in Washington, D.C.; call (202) 628-8382.