Shyaka Kanuma
Results of the first ever ethics survey conducted in South Africa indicate that there is a basic ethics infrastructure in place in the country’s organisations but it is too basic, and potentially ineffective.
The SA Ethics in Practice 2001 survey carried out by KPMG, the Public Service Commission and Transparency SA shows that codes of conduct exist in a healthy 84% of the organisations surveyed; 74% have good whistle-blower protection, and 54% have confidential reporting mechanisms, good organisational values and principles.
“But,” says the report, “the survey shows that organisations have not been able to integrate ethics management practices into their existing management processes.”
KPMG business ethics consulting manager Daniel Malan said: “Many organisations have not assigned a senior manager to handle the ethics responsibility. Few train new employees in the application of the organisations’ code of conduct, or teach them ethical decision making, and only 12% assist new employees in integrating ethics into their everyday activities.”
The implication, he said, is that some organisations merely pay lip service to ethics.
Issues that organisations are grappling with most are “quite clearly fraud and theft, security of information, financial management procedures, racial discrimination and workplace safety”, according to Public Service Commission director Roderick Davids.
“Following closely are corporate governance, employee and client privacy, competitive practices, discrimination against HIV/Aids sufferers and sexual harassment.”