Institutional pressure produces misconduct, both occasional instances and frequent occurrences. Three of every four organizations surveyed have written standards of ethical business conduct . An organization's size is an important factor in determining whether it has a written code. We also some find some variation by type and location of organizations. Fewer manufacturing and retail organizations have written codes - 70 percent compared to 83 percent of finance, insurance and real estate organizations.
Codes of conduct are formal mechanisms which, typically, are characteristic of larger organizations.
Small organizations tend to rely more on informal means of inducing correct behavior in their members. Regional differences reflect this distinction between formal and informal types of corporate culture. The Pacific region, which we tend to associate with a more informal corporate culture, only two-thirds of the organizations have written codes. In general, finance and insurance organizations are more vulnerable to the misconduct of individuals. Hence, we would expect them to be more diligent in establishing written codes of conduct for their members.