A new report from the IABC Research Foundation shows that less than half of companies encourage discussion of moral dilemmas and criticism of censurable conduct at the workplace.

“The Business of Truth: A Guide to Ethical Communication” says most organizations maintain or practice a generally healthy climate for ethical concerns and issues, with 70 percent of respondents agreeing that their organization makes it clear to employees what is ethically acceptable and what is not.

Additionally, IABC says, 67 percent of respondents agreed with the statement that top management will not tolerate unethical behavior.

Also:

[...] The research also explored organizational values about ethical conduct of managers. The majority of the study’s respondents (69 percent) disagreed with the statement that managers in their company often engaged in unethical behavior. When questioned further on corporate values on reprimanding unethical behavior, 68 percent of communicators said their companies would promptly reprimand managers found to be acting unethically for personal gain. However, if the unethical behavior was primarily for corporate gain, only half the respondents (51 percent) believed that the manager would be reprimanded by their company.

A useful study in a business climate where the dark Enron chapter has just closed.

IABC says its report has “sparked a debate on who is responsible for managing and handling ethical concerns at an organization.” I’ve not been able to find this debate online – nothing in IABC’s Memberspeak discussion forum for members nor in the IABC Cafe – but IABC is running a quick poll where you can offer your view.

I added my answer today and it is interesting to see what 97 respondents have said so far:

Who is responsible for managing and handling ethical concerns at an organization?

The leading answer by a big margin is the CEO or other senior executive. That was my answer, too.

What would you say?