Singapore leads the world in implementing ethics and compliance metrics
Six in 10 organisations in Singapore have terminated or disciplined an executive or high-performing employee due to unethical behaviour in the past year.
This is higher than the 40% average recorded globally and in the Asia-Pacific region, according to the report from LRN Corporation.
The report, released this week, noted that the state is outperforming other organisations in APAC and worldwide in terms of global ethics and compliance (E&C) metrics.
It found that 90% of organisations in Singapore had to make difficult decisions in the past year just to remain consistent with their values. This is 20% higher than the global and APAC averages.
Another 72% also reported that their boards have actively modified or abandoned business initiatives based on compliance factors.
Eric Morehead, Director, Advisory Service Solutions at LRN, said their findings demonstrate the Singaporean organisations are committed to maintaining high E&C standards.
"They have taken action on ethical issues at a higher rate than worldwide peers and lead their global counterparts across several E&C metrics," said Morehead, who is also the lead author of the Singapore report.
Considering ethical behaviour
Singapore organisations also did better in implementing incentives and disincentives for ethical behaviour.
According to the report, employers in Singapore outperformed organisations globally in terms of considering ethical behaviour as a significant factor over the following:
- Measuring management performance (87%)
- Hiring (82%)
- Promotion (79%)
- Bonus awards (73%)
Kevin Michielsen, CEO of LRN, underscored the importance of E&C programmes in anchoring board members and employees to company values and missions, especially in the wake of changing regulations and rapidly developing technology.
"The more adaptable, organised and clearly communicated an E&C programme is, the more prepared a company is to face the everchanging industry and regulatory challenges that lie ahead," Michielsen said in a statement.
