Ethical Management Key to Curb Corruption
2000-3-30
About 75 per cent of Hong Kong ' s large and medium-sized companies has implemented ethical management programmes, which they say help reduce corruption, fraud and other malpractices, an ICAC survey has found.
The Commissioner of the Independent Commission Against Corruption, Alan Lai Nin, revealed the survey findings when addressing the “ Turning Challenges into Opportunities - Ethical Leadership Forum 2000 ” today (Thursday).
The two-day conference, jointly organised by the ICAC and the Civil Service Bureau, draws more than 1,000 business leaders and government officials from 11 regions and places to explore ways to uphold high ethical standards amidst the current economic res tructuring.
Mr Lai said there was a growing recognition of the importance of ethical management within the business community since the ICAC last held a business ethics conference six years ago.
He noted that the 1999 ICAC-commissioned survey showed that 98 per cent of the respondents agreed that Hong Kong would gain business advantages from higher ethical standard, up from 81 per cent in a similar poll conducted in 1994.
The latest survey received completed returns from 980 large and medium-sized companies in Hong Kong between September and December 1999.
It found that among those companies which had implemented ethical management programmes, 86 per cent said it would reduce corruption and other malpractices while about 78 per cent said it would enhance the trust of customers, investors, suppliers and cont ractors.
Appealing to those who were yet to introduce ethical management programmes due to a lack of professional knowledge, Mr Lai said the ICAC was always ready to provide free advisory service.
“ The ICAC firmly believes that ethics is at the core of preventing corruption. It is the first line of defence against graft and abuse of office. The law is the minimum. To strengthen our competitive edge in the global village, we must seize the moral hig h ground, ” he said.
Mr Lai said the ICAC ' s role in moulding an ethical corporate culture was confirmed by the survey. The poll found 93 per cent of the respondents agreed the ICAC and the Hong Kong Ethics Development Centre (HKEDC) it set up in 1995 had played an important role in promoting ethi cs in the SAR. More than 40 per cent said they had used the Commission ' s services.
Mr Lai urged conference participants not to lose sight of the importance of maintaining high ethical standards in the face of challenges from the phenomenal growth of the Net, the intense pressure for public and private institutions to downsize and the mo unting calls for the public sector to deliver services more efficiently.
With the budding e-business market into which billions of dollars would be pumped over the next couple of years, Mr Lai said the integrity of people communicating in the cyber world and the discipline of “ Netrepreneurs ” were matters of pressing concerns.
The fear of security risks in the faceless Net was as real as ever while world leaders remained divided on whether the cyber world should be governed by legislation or self-regulation.
“ So what should be done to establish a regime of web trust? Is an industry-wide code of conduct sufficient to give us peace of mind? Or will it be going too far to ask for a charter on cyber ethics? ” asked Mr Lai, adding that he hoped the conference could shed some light on the way forward.
Another challenge faced by business leaders is how to uphold ethical management in the drive for a lean and flat corporate culture which sees more decision-making power being delegated to middle-ranking managers.
Mr Lai noted that business leaders should ask themselves whether their managers were fully equipped when put in an ethical predicament such as the temptation of short-term gains through corner-cutting.
On another note, the ICAC Commissioner pointed out that while privatisation of public services would lead to enhanced efficiency, it would also entail the question of whether private sector employees entrusted to public services be subject to the same str ingent ethical standards governing their civil service counterparts.
In conclusion, Mr Lai said the recent Asian financial crisis, which had swept many companies into bankruptcies, was a valuable lesson to all. He noted that many of these failures could be ascribed in part to poor or a total absence of ethical management.
The conference, officiated by the Chief Executive of HKSAR, the Honourable Tung Chee Hwa, at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, is attended by delegates from Hong Kong, the Mainland, USA, United Kingdom, Singapore, Thailand, Australia, France , Japan, Malaysia and Macau.
Apart from the ICAC Commissioner, other keynote speakers addressing the first day of the conference were Dr Edgar Cheng, Head of Central Policy Unit; Ms Anissa Wong, Acting Secretary for the Civil Service; Dr Victor K Fung, Chairman of Hong Kong Trade Dev elopment Council; Mr Robert H Dunn, President & CEO of Business for Social Responsibility, USA; and Miss Sonia Phippard, Director of Central Secretariat of Cabinet Office, UK.
Addressing the luncheon is Mr Li Jiange, Vice Minister of the State Council Office for Restructuring the Economic System, China.
The Commissioner of the Independent Commission Against Corruption, Alan Lai Nin, revealed the survey findings when addressing the “ Turning Challenges into Opportunities - Ethical Leadership Forum 2000 ” today (Thursday).
The two-day conference, jointly organised by the ICAC and the Civil Service Bureau, draws more than 1,000 business leaders and government officials from 11 regions and places to explore ways to uphold high ethical standards amidst the current economic res tructuring.
Mr Lai said there was a growing recognition of the importance of ethical management within the business community since the ICAC last held a business ethics conference six years ago.
He noted that the 1999 ICAC-commissioned survey showed that 98 per cent of the respondents agreed that Hong Kong would gain business advantages from higher ethical standard, up from 81 per cent in a similar poll conducted in 1994.
The latest survey received completed returns from 980 large and medium-sized companies in Hong Kong between September and December 1999.
It found that among those companies which had implemented ethical management programmes, 86 per cent said it would reduce corruption and other malpractices while about 78 per cent said it would enhance the trust of customers, investors, suppliers and cont ractors.
Appealing to those who were yet to introduce ethical management programmes due to a lack of professional knowledge, Mr Lai said the ICAC was always ready to provide free advisory service.
“ The ICAC firmly believes that ethics is at the core of preventing corruption. It is the first line of defence against graft and abuse of office. The law is the minimum. To strengthen our competitive edge in the global village, we must seize the moral hig h ground, ” he said.
Mr Lai said the ICAC ' s role in moulding an ethical corporate culture was confirmed by the survey. The poll found 93 per cent of the respondents agreed the ICAC and the Hong Kong Ethics Development Centre (HKEDC) it set up in 1995 had played an important role in promoting ethi cs in the SAR. More than 40 per cent said they had used the Commission ' s services.
Mr Lai urged conference participants not to lose sight of the importance of maintaining high ethical standards in the face of challenges from the phenomenal growth of the Net, the intense pressure for public and private institutions to downsize and the mo unting calls for the public sector to deliver services more efficiently.
With the budding e-business market into which billions of dollars would be pumped over the next couple of years, Mr Lai said the integrity of people communicating in the cyber world and the discipline of “ Netrepreneurs ” were matters of pressing concerns.
The fear of security risks in the faceless Net was as real as ever while world leaders remained divided on whether the cyber world should be governed by legislation or self-regulation.
“ So what should be done to establish a regime of web trust? Is an industry-wide code of conduct sufficient to give us peace of mind? Or will it be going too far to ask for a charter on cyber ethics? ” asked Mr Lai, adding that he hoped the conference could shed some light on the way forward.
Another challenge faced by business leaders is how to uphold ethical management in the drive for a lean and flat corporate culture which sees more decision-making power being delegated to middle-ranking managers.
Mr Lai noted that business leaders should ask themselves whether their managers were fully equipped when put in an ethical predicament such as the temptation of short-term gains through corner-cutting.
On another note, the ICAC Commissioner pointed out that while privatisation of public services would lead to enhanced efficiency, it would also entail the question of whether private sector employees entrusted to public services be subject to the same str ingent ethical standards governing their civil service counterparts.
In conclusion, Mr Lai said the recent Asian financial crisis, which had swept many companies into bankruptcies, was a valuable lesson to all. He noted that many of these failures could be ascribed in part to poor or a total absence of ethical management.
The conference, officiated by the Chief Executive of HKSAR, the Honourable Tung Chee Hwa, at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, is attended by delegates from Hong Kong, the Mainland, USA, United Kingdom, Singapore, Thailand, Australia, France , Japan, Malaysia and Macau.
Apart from the ICAC Commissioner, other keynote speakers addressing the first day of the conference were Dr Edgar Cheng, Head of Central Policy Unit; Ms Anissa Wong, Acting Secretary for the Civil Service; Dr Victor K Fung, Chairman of Hong Kong Trade Dev elopment Council; Mr Robert H Dunn, President & CEO of Business for Social Responsibility, USA; and Miss Sonia Phippard, Director of Central Secretariat of Cabinet Office, UK.
Addressing the luncheon is Mr Li Jiange, Vice Minister of the State Council Office for Restructuring the Economic System, China.