IBE : Business Ethics in the News 2020

While this briefing does not give detailed information about the severity of ethical lapses in the business community, it does provide an indication about the sectors which were most cited, and the nature and frequency of the ethical issues concerned. Figures 1 and 2 summarise the main findings. The vast majority of the news stories recorded focus on negative corporate behaviour, and these stories form the basis of this briefing. However, as some good news stories about businesses’ handling of ethical issues do occur, a short section at the end of the briefing offers more information about the positive stories we recorded. 64 positive stories were recorded this year. Lapses by Sector In 2020, the highest number of ethical lapses was recorded in the technology sector (56 stories), followed by the banking and finance sector (53 stories), and the general retailers and consumer goods sector (43 stories). Collectively, these three sectors account for 43.3% of the total number of lapses recorded. Issues of Concern Irrespective of sector, the biggest issues of concern in 2020 were those relating to behaviour and culture (55 stories), treatment of employees (50 stories) and diversity and discrimination (35 stories). These three categories also made up the top 3 last year, but 2nd and 3rd place have switched. Collectively, well over a third (39.9%) of the total number of lapses recorded were related to these issues. See Figure 2 for more data on the number of lapses categorised by issue area. p/o Virginie Gastine Menou RISQUES ET VOUS Proposer une offre de job : Consulter les offres qui vous correspondent :