Ethics violations often occur when unrealistic
performance objectives are set. The ensuing pressures
to meet goals at almost any cost tend to get
pushed down through the organizational structure.
A disturbing research finding by Brief, Dukerich,
Brown, and Brett (1996) indicated that managers
always knew right from wrong, but did not feel
obliged to act on those beliefs when faced with
ethical decisions. Too often, there is a disconnect,
as those responsible for setting organizational goals
are not the ones thinking about ethics issues.
Measuring what really matters is critical. It is
no accident that great companies develop unique
standards of performance, and that these standards
often involve people. For example, Hewlett-
Packard evaluates its managers based on their
subordinates’ assessment of their managerial behavior
and adherence to company values. Motorola
has a company goal of providing each employee
with at least 40 hours of training per year, and
measures managers by the proportion of their
people who get the requisite amount of training.
For its part, Singapore Airlines spends 15% of its
payroll costs on training, which clearly contributes
to the company’s routinely high customer service
ratings