Among employees surveyed, the concern for ethics on the part of the organization is an important reason to remain with an organization. In general people report being uncomfortable with the dualism they see in what they view as ethical behavior in their day to day lives and the ethics of organizations which may employ them. They often feel helpless to resist behaving in such a way that they would never do outside of their business role. It is interesting to note however that the public may be willing to forgive an organization for unethical behavior but not individuals. Organizations have demonstrated over and over again that image can be repaired, often by sacrificing an employee or two.
Companies appear to increasingly value ethics on the part of employees.
Half of these have actual training programs to teach employees in a Code of Ethics and how to integrate ethics into day to day business practices. Initially they feel the pursuit of profit and ethics are mutually exclusive. This being said it is important to note that most students do not have a clear moral reasoning as the basis for their ethics but instead rely on a sense of right and wrong that they have difficulty articulating. In discussions it is not uncommon for the student to hold business organizations to a standard they would not apply to themselves. Students often describe business as a zero sum, winner take all game and do not express an understanding of the cooperation and mutualism that is more indicative of most business relationships.