DRAFT: Executive Summary (Dr. Emerson)

The LAWA/Ontario Airport provided ethics training in the summer of 2007 and in

winter and spring of 2008 the Masters in Public Administration program at Cal Poly

Pomona assessed employee’s response to this effort.

Ethics efforts raise fundamental questions for organizations: what is our ethical

foundation, what approach should we take, does workforce diversity influence our

approach or success, what ethical code might we adopt, how do managers and

supervisors influence our efforts/success, is the public sector’s ethical responsibility

unique, is training appropriate, what consequences may be expected and how might we

assess our efforts?

LAWA/Ontario elected to develop its own code of ethics that emphasized six core

values: honesty, integrity, citizenship, public trust, responsibility and respect/

collaboration. It chose to train managers who in turn trained employees in their areas.

The 38-item survey sought to assess the impact of the training on employees.

Generally speaking demographic factors (age, gender, ethnicity, education) had

little influence on responses. There were exceptions. Gender appears to influence

responses to questions regarding confronting others. For example, males are more

likely to confront coworkers regarding a questionable phone bill than are females.

Ethnicity seems to have an influence on the respondent’s willingness to confront a

manager regarding inconsistency between a manager’s instructions and LAWA policy.

However, the instances where demographic factors were significant and even

moderately influential were few.

A respondent’s area (public safety, community/business, operations) had a

significant and moderate to strong influence on all six ethical values. For example the

respondent’s work area influenced views on:

whether there was a gap between what the organization said and did,

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whether or not ethical behavior was rewarded,

whether or not employees were treated fairly

whether or not the public interest is being served and so forth

A contributory factor was often whether the respondent was a supervisor or not.

These differences suggest that the functional areas inside the airport have substantively

different perceptions and needs with regards to developing an ethical culture and serving

the public.

Employees scored relatively high (personal ethics) on what they would do in

challenging situations. Years in the organization and functional area of responsibility

does appear to affect these responses. However, area of responsibility is the strongest

contributor to the respondent’s assessment of the organization’s ethical environment.

Overall the sum of all scores indicated no significant relationship with any

demographic or organizational attribute of respondents. Significant differences arise

primarily when examining how individual attributes effect specific values of honesty,

integrity, trust, etc.

The training program was well received overall. However it appears to have had

the greatest success in areas with the fewest employee relations and communication

challenges. This suggests that future training and/or program efforts might be

customized to serve the diverse interests of the functional areas at the airport. It

suggests that how the ethics program is delivered to employees may be as important as

what the ethics program is. This report concludes with some recommendations on

future training/program efforts to build on the work begun in summer of 2007.

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Introduction

Ethics programs are designed to improve employee conduct and enhance the

public’s trust. Employee morale and conduct is vital to building trustworthiness in an

organization. Employee conduct has consequences for how the organization is judged

by the public.

“The disapproval or approval of [employee] conduct is concurrently an indirect

judgment of the organization. Dysfunctional conduct of one employee may

damage the trustworthiness of the whole organization. It is necessary for the

organization to take care that personnel properly carry out their responsibilities,”

(Kaptein 1998)1.

  In support of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s Executive Directive, Los Angeles

World Airports(LAWA)/Ontario Airport implemented ethics awareness training for all

employees in order to develop and assure ethical behavior throughout the organization.

In fall of 2007 Dr. Bennett Monye, an administrator at LAWA/Ontario shared the training

program with the MPA 600 class which developed an employee survey to assess the

impact of the training. In winter of 2008 the MPA 504 class compiled the data and

completed the statistical analysis.

Specific information about the development of the questions, the pre-testing of

the survey instrument may be found on-line: The Los Angeles World Airports/Ontario

Ethics Program Survey Questionnaire: Interim Report at

http://www.csupomona.edu/~smemerson/mpa/PRELIM_LAWA_RPT102707.doc

This report addresses the scholarly and practitioner literature on ethics in

organizations, describes the methodology used to develop the instrument and describes

the analysis of the data from 311 returned surveys. Based on the data and analysis

1 Muel Kaptein, Ethics Management 1998.

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provided, this paper provides tentative conclusions and recommendations regarding

employees ethical values/behaviors and opportunities for future growth.

Literature Review: LAWA/Ontario Project

The Masters in Public Administration Program (MPA) is assessing an ethics training

program at LAWA/Ontario Airport that was implemented in the summer of 2007. This

section discusses how ethics is defined, the assumptions about the relationship between

ethics and outcomes, ethical standards in the public sector and the debate between

ethics training and other means for assuring appropriate behavior from public

employees. In addition we explore whether or not there is a difference in ethical

standards between the public and private sectors and what approaches organizations

take in fostering ethical decision making. Finally, how are ethics programs being

evaluated and what is known about these programs and their consequences? This

report has eight contributors who are noted for each topic.

What is ethics? (Pedro Carrillo)

There is no single definition of ethics. There are four generally accepted

frameworks used in discussing ethical standards for organizations and communities:

Ethical Relativism, Teleology, Deontology, and Virtue Theory.

Ethical Relativism is a perspective that assumes cultures, societies, and

individuals have their own set of ethical standards and no one ethical standard exists

that applies to everyone at all times (Geuras & Garofalo, 2005). While this approach

could work when discussing the mores of other cultures, what about people who reside

within the same culture and society? One of the criticisms of Relativism is that it

validates individual ethical standards regardless of the content and offers no mechanism

or criteria for consistency of ethical standards.

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An approach that has a consistent standard is Teleology which suggests that

ethical behavior is acting for the attainment of happiness (Geuras & Garofalo, 2005).

One of the most cited discussions of Teleology is Jeremy Bentham’s Utilitarianism as

later refined by John Stuart Mill. The core concept of Utilitarianism is that when one acts

to provide the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number of persons, he/she

is acting ethically. (Geuras & Garofalo, 2005) The problem with this approach is that

happiness or utility can be a very vague concept to define or measure. Utilitarianism may

place an enormous burden on the individual if the need of the larger community

demands it, which may harm the autonomy of individuals. It is said that there is no

universal greatest good or ultimate ethical standard; rather there is an evolving ethical

standard (Hobbes, 1994). Based on Hobbe’s observation there would need to be a more

consistent ethical standard than Utilitarianism. Deontology provides a possible answer.

Deontology sometimes referred to as “Kantian Ethics”, looks at the principal of

actions and why they are carried out as opposed to what is the outcome of actions. It

considers the consequences of consistently applying a standard over time (Geuras &

Garofalo, 2005). Emmanuel Kant’s theories are not without their flaws, as he himself is

keen to point out. Kant’s ethics are not meant to present a code of ethics or a code of

law as much as they are a useful start in how we evaluate ethical standards.

Finally there is Virtue Theory, which is one of the oldest approaches to ethics

dating back to Aristotle. When speaking of ethical actions, Virtue Theory looks at the

action in regards to how righteous it is (Geuras & Garofalo, 2005). As with the other

approaches noted above, this too has problems and critiques. If there is no universal

ethic then there can be few universal virtues with regards to actions. Without

understanding the context of an action, such as in Kantian Ethics, a seemingly virtuous

action could have egotistical, self-serving undertones.

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All ethical frameworks have flaws. Ultimately, human beings are flawed. That

doesn’t mean people can’t be moral creatures to the best of their abilities, as Kantian

ethics suggests. Where does this leave the organization and its employees? It may be

unrealistic to think that an organization can always act morally much like it may be

unrealistic to think human beings will always act morally. However, organizations should

consider the positive aspects of a given framework of ethical standards and decide what

provides the best fit for the needs of employees and the goals of the organization.

(Kaptein, 1998)

Approaches to Ethics in Organizations (Hector Solis)

Ethical approaches in government institutions may be broken down into two: the

primitive, reactive and negative low road approach or a positive, humanistic high road

approach where ethical behavior is encouraged (Blake, 1998). The low road approach

is where organizations set up a reactive legalistic, blame-punishment approach focused

on discouraging and detecting unethical behavior, whereby institutions using the high

road approach develop a proactive system in which the focus is human-development

and problem solving strategies that encourage ethical behavior (Bowman, 1997). This

discussion looks at a number of options available to public organizations such as codes

of ethics, whistle-blowing policies and ethics committees to support ethical decisions by

employees.

A study by James Bowman found that 24.7% of respondents believed most

organizations have a reactive low road approach, compared to 10.5% who believed

organizations are using a high road approach. This indicates that of the two

approaches, most institutions use a low road approach. Blake, et al, found similar

results in their study, although this study is somewhat different in that they set out to

analyze information from each of the US States using Rohr’s high road-low-road

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dimensions. Blake’s findings showed that government codes of ethics are dramatically

skewed in the low road direction (Blake et al, 1998).

Bowman’s most significant finding is that 57.8% of those polled believed that

most organizations have no consistent approach to ethics (Bowman, 1997). Blake and

Bowman’s findings that organizations preferred low road approach to ethics may provide

a theoretical framework for others to study. In other words, more study is needed to

determine whether this more popular low road approach is the best way to achieve an

ethical organizational culture.

Another approach to ethics is the creation and use of ethic’s committees. These

committees have become essential in some fields, as in the case of the healthcare

industry (Hoffmann, 1993). In this industry, there are prospective ethical situations

where patients, doctors and family are making life and death decisions. Therefore, the

support of an ethics committee can be a powerful tool in helping people determine the

most ethical choices in matters ranging from --how to treat a patient or when to abstain

from medical care--to issues of cost effectiveness. Hoffmann illustrates that these

committees are not without criticism and raise some questions as to their effectiveness,

accountability and potential conflicts of interest. However, they are set up to empower

people with the tools needed to act on ethical choices.

Organizations and agencies have struggled with employees/agents reporting on

wrong-doing by the agency, co-workers or officials: whistle-blowing. This tactic has

provided a venue for dissenting employees to act when they are confronted with or

witness illegal, dangerous, or unethical activity in their organization. The reasons for

employees to blow the ‘whistle’ are varied but nonetheless can result in career suicide

because of the negative repercussions and alienation these agents are exposed to from

co-workers, agency officials and sometimes prospective employers. Under Rohr’s

dimensions, whistle-blowing would fall into the low road approach. This begs the

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question, how effective is the whistle-blowing approach to encouraging ethical behavior?

Johnson and Kraft set out to test to see whether whistle-blowing affected policy making

by analyzing two cases; one dealing with the EPA and toxic waste and the other case

dealing with AIDS discrimination or the perception of AIDS at the Office of Civil Rights in

the late 1980’s. They reviewed the cases by breaking them down into a set of three

variables tested against policy effectiveness. These variables were: 1) the

characteristics of the whistleblower (status, credibility, and political skills) 2) the

characteristics of the issue (saliency, specificity, and feasibility of corrective action), and

3) the political environment (public opinion, group activity, media coverage, and

legislative receptivity to change) (Johnson, 1990). Allowing for confounding variables,

they found that a significant intervening variable was political climate and determined

that these variables were interactive and; therefore important, in understanding the

relationship between whistle-blowing and policy making. Johnson argues that the more

supportive the political environment is the greater the probability of political impact the

whistle blower will have.

Whistle-blowing is not an easy task, O’Leary (2006) citing Waldo (1988) explains

that there are many competing ethical obligations for the public servant, and asks among

other questions, “What if the laws are unclear? What if they conflict? Hence, employees

may find no other alternative but to blow the whistle. The public servant needs to

understand the issues associated with whistle-blowing and the way public organizations

operate (O’Leary, 2006).

Yet another approach to ethics is the development of Codes of Conduct, or

Ethics. These codes vary from organization to organization and are required of many

public agencies by the legislature. In effect, forcing public organizations to develop and

implement a more stringent code can sometimes be unnecessary for ethical

agencies/agents and just more of a procedure step for those which are not ethical.

8

Perhaps a code of ethical behavior is only as good as the directors and officers

responsible for implementing it are. However, a code of ethics may empower

employees who want to do the right thing to do so and may prevent questionable

wrongdoing by others. The larger issue is that top officials need to be held accountable

to set the tone for an ethical work environment.

Ethical behavior can be influenced and even legislated as in the case of

instituting the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. This act sets out to increase transparency,

integrity, and accountability in public companies. This act by far is the strongest and

most comprehensive act since the Securities and Exchange Acts of 1933 and 1934

(Harvard, 2003) and it was legislated in direct response to the recent corporate ethical

and legal wrongdoing by Enron, whose ethical code of behavior didn’t prevent unethical

behavior. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires corporations to disclose whether they have

adopted a code of ethics for specified officers, disclose any waivers of a code provision

and to disclose the ethics code to the public. Section 406 details how disclosure

requirements are to be met by public organizations. The disclosure requirements are

meant to deter top executives from carelessly granting waivers (permissions to deviate

from the ethical code) to officials (Harvard, 2003). These requirements also aim to

provide a more transparent ethical environment.

Codes of Ethic in the Public Sector (Katherine Sharifi)

What are scholars and practitioners doing with regard to developing greater

transparency and ethical practices in public agencies? This section examines ethics

codes authorized by the two leading public sector associations: the International

City/County Management Association (ICMA) and the American Society for Public

Administration (ASPA). It describes how these standards differ and how they are similar

(Van Wart, 1996).

9

John Locke made one of the first contributions to ethics codes for the public

sector many years ago when he proclaimed that the government was about working for

the best interests of the people. Today, the International City/County Management

Association (ICMA) and the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) provide

guidelines for acting ethically in the public realm. ICMA and ASPA offer ethics

guidelines as a service to their members.

ICMA established formal ethics codes in 1942. ASPA followed suit in 1984. In

1994, after numerous member complaints, ASPA streamlined their codes in the spirit of

improved member service and user friendliness (Van Wart, 1996). The organization

separated the code into five categories related to types of interests: public interests,

legal interests, professional interests, organizational interests, and personal interests

(Van Wart, 1996). Each of these categories includes a set of guidelines to be followed.

ASPA ethics codes stipulate that members should be good public servants and to act in

good faith at all times. Additionally, the standard included integrity as exhibiting a

positive attitude. The public should be included in decision-making when appropriate

and should be treated kindly. For legal interests, laws should be followed and legitimacy

must be practiced and/or maintained at all times. Personal interests address the

importance of not being selfish and recognizing the good work of subordinates and

associates alike. Professional interests are related to supporting the promotion of

colleagues and mentoring students with interests in the public sector. Organization

interests stipulate that one should do what is best for the organization - act for the group

and not yourself. Moreover, ASPA's code touches upon the basics (Huddleston, 1995).

ICMA's ethics codes are made up of 12 tenets. Some of the tenets include

relevant guidelines with regards to ethics mechanisms. For example, ICMA’s tenet 9

stresses the importance of having transparency in the organization (West, 2006). It

advocates openly sharing the policy processes with the public and knowing when to

10

speak candidly. Transparency within the organization increases the probability of

accountability and legitimacy, which are important factors that can make or break

organizations. ICMA goes as far as to provide the ethics code for submitting policy

proposals stipulating they should be thorough and have copious information.

Favors should never be given or taken for money or gifts, i.e. concert tickets,

summer vacations, a wide screen television, etc. Also, ICMA provides codes concerning

personal relationships, interferences with responsibilities (encroachment), and political

activities. They indicate that individuals should not engage in any political activity that

would cause a negative public reaction, such as running for office or partisan

campaigning (West, 2006). State and local employees may only run for office in

nonpartisan elections. Additionally, one may campaign for candidates in both partisan

and nonpartisan elections but one cannot use one’s public position to influence election

results, nominations, or to solicit campaign contributions (OSC, 2008).

In comparison to ICMA, ASPA fails to include details in their code regarding

specific situations and why specific behavior is necessary. For example, ICMA goes into

detail as to why a member should not accept gifts, whether it is a direct or indirect gift. It

provides a list of various forms of compensation that could be deemed as gifts, including

vacations, loans, and promises. ICMA explains, briefly within its code, how accepting

the gift can be seen (negatively) as influencing the public official’s professional

performance and/or the gift can be seen as a reimbursement for a favor. APSA touches

upon the subject of gifts suggesting members should not accept any gifts. Thus, ICMA

succeeds in providing details on why certain ethical behavior is necessary and what to

do in specific situations. In regards to endorsements, ICMA members are advised to

allow only nonprofit organizations to utilize their name as long as no money is

exchanged (Huddleston, 1995).

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ASPA does not provide specific ethics standards or real world scenarios for

handling endorsements. Their codes are broad. The ASPA codes are silent on complex

issues like office dating and participating in elections. ICMA's codes are more

comprehensive and systematic in their discussion of potential ethical issues

(Huddleston, 1995). Many factors are taken into consideration for each code/tenet.

They include the mechanisms one should utilize to maximize ethical results. This

distinguishes ICMA from ASPA.

Both ICMA and ASPA provide ethical standards for members and non-

members alike. Though it may be more effective to look at one standard or another,

both standards promote acting ethically in the execution of one’s professional

responsibilities.

The LAWA code of ethics incorporates some of both association approaches.

In LAWA’s code book core values and objectives are broadly outlined under Expressions

of Values and Code Provisions. In later sections entitled Ethical Decision Making and

Examples of LAWA Values in Action the code offers specifics with regards to

‘reasonable’ limits and related city ordinances that govern employee decisions. For

example, gifts are not acceptable if an employee or commissioner is in a position to

influence a decision with regard to the gift giver. In addition the code indicates that

benefiting financially (either directly and/or indirectly) from practices and responsibilities

associated with purchasing or contracting for services may be a violation of the city’s

Administrative Manual, section 5.010. Both on-line and source references are provided

in the LAWA Code book to address additional questions and concerns.

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The Ethics Debate In the Public Sector (Maria Emily Perez)

Public administration associations have had formal codes of ethics for well over

25 years. However, the debate over establishing an ethical climate through external

controls versus internal controls has been debated for hundreds of years. Studies have

demonstrated that a combination of both types of controls is essential to promote an

ethical work environment.

The traditional view of an ethical climate, established in the late 19 th century,

originated with the dominance of an educated, privileged upper class that believed their

place was to provide a moral compass for the lower classes. This elitist mindset

overlooked the need of the average worker to derive satisfaction from his/her work. The

belief of the elite class was that the average laborer needed laws and rules to be able to

function ethically (Cooper). These laws, rules, codes or environmental structures were

the external controls that managers/leaders enacted to prevent or discourage unethical

behavior. These writers assumed that without external controls, public employees would

behave unethically. (Loverd, 1989; Cooper 2006).

At the outset of the twentieth century, advocates of internal controls argued for

the general goodness of humankind, a moral drive to comply with deontological

convention and a desire to be productive as the foundation for an ethical work climate.

This side of the debate believes in the genuine goodness of mankind and its innate

desire to do the right thing (Cooper 2006). The second half of the twentieth century

witnessed the rapid development of technology and an increase in professional workers.

The professional worker generally is better educated and belongs to trade organizations

or professional societies, which promote ethical standards. The new, complex

technology places today’s public managers and political leaders in a position of

dependence on a more skilled labor class to provide specialized information for them to

be able to make informed decisions. (Bruce 1995, Cooper 2006, Loverd 1989).

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It is clear that the debate between the need for external controls over the

development of innate internal controls is far from over. However, the common ground

among the various contributors is that a balance of both types of controls is necessary

(Bruce 1994, Cooper 2006, Loverd 1989). Willa Bruce, in her 1994 article titled Ethical

People Are Productive People, studied the impacts of internal and external controls on

public agencies through a survey of municipal clerks. The clerks surveyed were

members of the International Institute of Municipal Clerks. The survey was sent to a

stratified sample. The results of the survey suggest that the most effective ways to

encourage ethical behaviors are to have supervisors and elected leaders that are

themselves ethical, who demonstrate and who encourage ethical behavior on the part of

workers. These first two practices were followed closely by policies and procedures that

result in punitive action, including the termination of employees engaged in unethical

behavior (Bruce 1994).

Another common theme is involvement. The involvement of the community and

its leaders in the formation of external controls leads to support on the part of the

workforce (Bruce 1994). Other contributions to an ethical climate are participation in the

formation and participation in the ethics training of supervisors and workers. This level

of involvement can lead to open discussion among the workers regarding ethical issues.

(Bruce 1995, Loverd 1989)

As the debate continued into the 21st century, there were additional complexities

to be considered. In the United States, more prominently than in other countries, the

heterogeneity of the populace and the workforce adds to the complexity of the debate.

The workforce during the early decades of the twentieth century was homogeneous with

respect to gender, race and ethnicity. Both white collar and blue color positions were

staffed with predominantly white males and remained so until the later part of that

century. The second half of the century saw a dramatic increase of women in the

14

workforce. As the new millennium begins, the demographics of the American workforce

continue to change rapidly. The Hispanic segment of the workforce is expected to near

50% during the first quarter of the century, with the African American and Asian

segments growing as well. The workforce is expected to see a shift from predominantly

white males to a white a minority. These new members of the workforce, who will soon

be in the majority, bring different cultural influences, religious beliefs and emotional

responses to the workplace. How they perceive and deal with ethical or unethical

situations may be different than the current norm (Bruce 1995).

The approach to establishing an ethical work climate must begin to take into

account the diversity of the workforce. Consideration must be given to the potential

differences of how people from other cultures perceive an ethical environment or

situation and assimilated into the office culture. There will be differences in perception

that need to be included in the approach to achieving an ethical work climate. Women

now are a significant part of the work force and studies are needed to determine what

impact gender may have on ethical perceptions. Current ethics standards and controls

were established during the last century. As noted above, the issues must be

readdressed so that the current workforce can participate in making their own ethical

systems, in an environment they can relate to, support and understand.

The authorities in the field appear to agree that educating the workforce on ethics

both at the beginning of service and through an ongoing program helps to sustain and

promote an ethical climate. It has been suggested that once external controls are

established and people are trained, ethics training could turn its focus to the value of the

individual and considerations of personal needs. If the managers and leaders are

trained to motivate and inspire their workers instead of working to control behaviors, this

may lead to more personal satisfaction and greater retention of highly qualified

employees (Bruce 1995).

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It is agreed that political leaders, managers and supervisors are essential in

setting the tone for an ethical work climate. Their education and sensitivity to the

diversity of their employees is vital to the development and success of their agencies.

Although surveyed sources agree on the necessity of external controls, it appears that a

positive focus on encouragement and involvement by both the community and the

workforce may result in a more productive and ethical environment; an environment that

fosters the expression and utilization of internal controls to the benefit of all (Cooper

2006, Loverd 1989, Bruce 1994; Bruce 1995).

The Public Versus The Private Sectors (Kevin Kearney)

In the United States, there are two primary sectors; the private and the public.

Although some authors have found similarities within these sectors, their views on ethics

vary greatly (Voth, 1999). The public sector is responsible for the public’s welfare and

advancing the public interest (Caiden, 1999). Some scholars see the business sector’s

main goal is to produce revenue and therefore ethics training is neglected (Saul, 1981).

Also, it may be difficult to adhere to ethical standards if the ethical decision or action

conflicts with the economic gains (Raiffa, 1979).

Public administrators have an added responsibility that the private sector does

not; the responsibility for the public interest. Public administrators make decisions which

impact the public of which they are members. Thus, job related decisions affect their

quality of life and they have an incentive to provide the best service possible (Caiden,

1999, Josephson, 2002). Besides being informed about the needy and underprivileged,

public decision makers need to be knowledgeable about broader environmental

concerns such as local wildlife, sustainable development, equal opportunities, fair

market conditions and the community at large (Caiden et al, 1999). Ultimately, it should

16

be the goal of the public servant to act solely for the public’s interests and reject all

options, opportunities, and decisions that threaten the greatest good (Bowman, 2004).

In recent years, there have only been a handful of topics that have received as

much attention within the corporate, public and academic arenas as business ethics

(Owens, 1978). In global business, the reputation of a company is one of its most critical

possessions (De George 1993). Many agree with Justice Warren, who suggests that as

long as it is legal, an action complies with ethical norms (Jaki, 1978). Business schools

across the country seem to sidestep courses dealing with ethical considerations that are

mandated by the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business. Harvard’s

Professor Howard Raiffa is among the critics. He questions what is right or ethical when

it conflicts with what might be strategically or economically beneficial (Saul, 1981, Raiffa,

1979). Many who believe that ethics are not a necessity are quick to cite Milton

Friedman who suggested that private employees have a direct responsibility to the

owners of the business to carry out business according to their wishes and make as

much money as possible while abiding by the laws of society and within ethical norms

(Friedman, 1970).

It is clear to see that ethics in both the private and public sector vary greatly.

Public sector employees are accountable to the public interest and are to act as though

every decision would affect them personally, while continually maintaining the public’s

welfare and rejecting anything that might threaten public good (Caiden et al., 1999,

Bowman et al., 2004). Global business ethics differs. Businesses often lack public

responsibility and they do not question ethical decisions if they financially benefit the

business and fall within what is permitted by law (Jaki et al., 1979, Raiffa et al., 1979).

Often, schools neglect the subject of business ethics because of the blatant “business

first” attitudes that have plagued the ethical culture of the business world (Friedman et

17

al., 1970).

Ethics Training for Adults: Two Views (Carolina Sanchez)

Can we train adults to be ethical? It is essential to examine whether or not adults

are responsive to ethics training. The LAWA study assess ethic’s training sessions

attended by the organization’s working adults. Are they likely to be receptive to this

training?

There are two theories to consider. Kohlberg focuses on learning ethics in early

childhood, as this is the time when a person develops moral reasoning. His research

focused on six stages within three moral levels that are applicable to children. The first

level is the pre-conventional; this level encompasses two stages that incorporate rules

for avoidance of punishment and obedience to receive rewards. The second level is the

conventional level, which includes two stages: conforming actions to avoid punishment

and obeying in order to maintain a specific order in society. Typically this stage teaches

the child to conform to a preset social group. The last level presented by Kohlberg is the

post-conventional level. This level includes two stages that allow the individual to

personalize ethics without connecting ethics to an external factor: reward or punishment

(DeVitis, J. and Rich, J., 1985).

The implications of this theory to the current study are many. Kohlberg argues

that fewer than twenty percent of adults reach level three. Most individuals remain at

stage two where ethics are based on avoiding punishment and disorder. If this theory is

appropriate to the LAWA case, one can argue that adults are not able to personalize

ethics and make sound decisions based on their own judgments --beyond the standards

provided by family or a religious order. Kohlberg suggests that most individuals remain

at stage two, which is a child state of ethics. His approach suggests LAWA employees

have a very limited opportunity to learn ethics as they have missed the window of

opportunity to develop in their youth.

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Locke presents a different interpretation of learning and ethical development. The

main component of his theory is that individuals are “blank slates” at the time of birth.

The blank slate theory indicates that it is only through experience a person can develop

ethically. Locke indicates there is an essential need for education to develop an ethical

individual and advocates continuous learning- or filling the mind --through experience at

any age. He argues one cannot understand a concept until one experiences it directly.

Locke’s theory allows for a broader window of opportunity to learn ethics. He does not

limit learning to a particular age group or developmental stage. For the participants at

LAWA’s session, the formal ethics training may have been their first experience. Based

on Locke’s theory, these adults will be able to experience and discuss ethical situations

which will nurture a deeper understanding of ethics as adults. Locke provides an

encouraging viewpoint in contrast to Kohlberg (Cohen, E. 1984).

Kohlberg’s theory challenges LAWA’s approach. Based on Kohlberg, one would

expect the adults would not fully grasp the concepts presented because they have

settled into stage two in which the individual’s actions are influenced by the avoidance of

punishment and disorder. Therefore, the time and effort associated with ethics training

would be ineffective.

If Locke’s theory is correct, the participants in the ethics training will be able to

fully grasp and apply the concepts which will enable them to become more ethical in

their daily lives and occupations.

The relationship between ethics and consequences (Reuben Chavez)

There are various assumptions regarding the effects ethics have on behavior.

The relationship between ethics and consequences is complicated and at times hard to

identify. Authors differ as to whether ethics has a direct relationship to behavior and the

19

degree to which an effect can be identified (Camenisch, P. 1986; Schminke, M. 1997;

Ambrose, M. 1997; Noel, T. 1997).

One perspective is that ethical frameworks are important to understand individual

perceptions of justice and the individual’s reactions to an organization’s actions

(Schminke, M. 1997; Ambrose, M. 1997; Noel, T. 1997). These authors argue there is a

positive relationship between ethics and behavioral outcomes (Schminke, M. 1997;

Ambrose, M. 1997; Noel, T. 1997). Although it is difficult to determine how ethics and

outcomes are correlated, it is evident that ethics does influence the way people act

under certain circumstances.

An opposing position suggests that ethics ought to be a mechanism for self

reflection when studying the connection between ethics and outcomes (Camenisch, P.

1986). The notion of applying ethics within an organization is seen as developing rules

and making evident that some decisions are right and others are wrong. Other scholars

suggest that not relating ethics to outcomes undermines individual’s taking responsibility

for his/her behavior which is vital in deciding what is right and wrong (Camenisch, P.

1986; Bennet, W. 1986). Developing the concept that doing right from wrong is

dependent upon one’s ethics is critical in the assuring success for an organization. This

approach suggests a member’s decisions can lead to the accomplishments or failures

(in terms of service) of the organization.

The connection between ethics and actions is often transparent through a

person’s actions, choices, and feelings. The introduction of ethics in any organization is

essential for two main reasons. First, an ethics program indicates that the organization is

putting forth efforts to developing their employee’s moral reasoning and sensibility;

second, an ethic’s program makes it clear to the public that efforts are being made to

enhance the productivity of the organization (Camenisch, P. 1986). Ethics and

consequences are perceived as closely related.

20

Ethics is imperative to the identity and legitimacy of an organization (Berman, E.

2006; West, J. 2006). The assumption that ethics are correlated with organizational

outcomes is one motivation for developing ethic’s training programs. One theory is that

normative applied ethics shapes morality, which affects future choices (Camenisch, P.

1986). When ethics influences moral choices, it is fundamental that ethical training take

place within an organization to promote self-responsibility and moral obligation. The

implementation of ethical efforts can stimulate moral imagination, help in recognizing

ethical issues, construct analytical skills, aid in the development of one’ moral

framework, and help tolerate/resist disagreement and ambiguity (Camenisch, P. 1986;

Callahan & Bok, 1986). As the relationship between ethical beliefs, behavior and

outcomes become more definitive, it is possible that the teaching of ethics will aid in

resolving personal and professional dilemmas.

The ethical framework of a person is often the way in which he or she reacts to

an ethical dilemma. In addition, the development of ethical frameworks can affect the

way in which a person attends to, encodes, and evaluates information (Schminke, M.

1997; Ambrose, M. 1997; Noel, T. 1997). People make choices on the basis of personal

attributes and inner feelings. This association of ethics and outcomes is believed to be

linked with procedural and distributive justice (Schminke, M. 1997; Ambrose, M. 1997;

Noel, T. 1997). The development of a person’s characteristics has an influence on the

way an organization is deemed fair or unfair. Having a voice in the decision making

process increases individual (employee) perceptions that the process is fair (Schminke,

M. 1997; Ambrose, M. 1997; Noel, T. 1997; Thibaut & Walker, 1975). Developing an

awareness of ethics in an organization may be linked to the way employees react to

ethical challenges (Berman, E. 2006; West, J. 2006). The relationship between ethics

and consequences is a complex issue; however, it is evident that some correlation exists

between these two factors.

21

Evaluating Ethic’s Training (Tahira Singh)

A final focus of this review is on finding salient information to further guide the analysis of

ethics training programs. Though it is evident that the use of ethics training programs

continues to grow with each passing year; there is little proof that indicates that such

programs indeed lead to valuable gains for the organizations that choose to utilize them

(De Bere, 2003; Lee & Paddock, 1992; Wolfe, 1966) This literature review was

particularly concerned with finding relevant research and studies done on how ethical

training programs are evaluated. Unfortunately, one finds that there is a dearth of

knowledge in this area as it specifically pertains to ethics training programs implemented

by the public sector. Available to us however, is literature that demonstrates the need for

evaluations of ethics training programs to be conducted.

When trying to design or implement an ethics training program, the presiding

administrator must realize that it is essential to keep the desired outcome of the program

in mind. It seems as though there is great emphasis placed on the material to be taught

and the teaching techniques rather than participants utilizing or applying ethical values.

What is often overlooked is an assessment of outcomes; specifically the changes in

behavior of trainees that we would like to be able to observe after the training has taken

place (De Bere, 2003; Lee & Paddock, 1992; Wolfe, 1966). In order to achieve the

desired results, administrators need to clearly identify and set objectives for the training

programs, evaluate whether such programs have been effective in bringing about

desired changes in the past, and whether the changes produced by the implementation

of these programs will provide solutions to the problems they are experiencing (Wolfe,

1966).

When evaluating programs, it should be kept in mind that research shows that

in order to be effective, training programs should advance knowledge that the trainees

possess about the subject (ethics), should teach trainees how to apply what they have

22

learned, and should be able to judge whether the trainee understands important

concepts (Lee & Paddock, 1992; Wolfe 1966). Although there may be some individuals

that are against evaluating programs already in place (due to personal interest or other

factors), administrators must realize that such evaluations may indicate changes that

need to be made; implementing the needed changes could potentially contribute to

significant improvements (Nafziger & Worthen, 1979; De Bere, 2003).

Although the results achieved by giving more importance to the desired

outcome may be favorable, critics suggest that individuals trained via the use of such

programs are not always able or willing to apply what they have learned when faced with

real situations where they must make ethical decisions (Boohar, 2003; De Bere, 2003;

Wolfe, 1966). If one were to assume that this is in fact true, there may be a problem with

ethics training programs that certify their graduates in professional ethics. There appears

to be some tension when one examines whether graduation from such programs

misleads others (public) to believe that those who have been trained will conduct

themselves in an ethical manner. It is therefore the duty of the agencies licensing

professionals as ethical to be able to actually gauge whether their training programs

have enhanced an individual’s ability to act in an ethical fashion (Levine, 1983; Ozar &

Waithe, 1990). Some training programs have taken steps to ensure that candidates for

graduation do have a firm grasp on what it means to be ethical; a variety of tests, which

may be oral, written, or a combination of both, are used to test a candidate’s knowledge

and application skills (Levine, 1983). This may to be a step in the right direction as it

eliminates those that are unable to demonstrate the knowledge and skills required in

order to act ethically in the real world.

The problem discussed in the preceding paragraph may be avoided if one of

the goals of ethics training is familiarizing individuals with their own values and moral

codes rather than solely educating trainees about the views that classical philosophers

23

held on ethics. Being aware of one’s own moral compass will be more effective than if

one is only familiar and reliant on vague rules and theories pertaining to ethical conduct

(Boohar, 2003). When discussing the outcomes or objectives of a particular training

program, administrators should strive to create a program that leads to a maintainable

change in the trainee’s conduct (Wolfe, 1966). Longevity of positive results gained by

training individuals in ethics may also be of concern to an administrator. Studies indicate

that the effects of training start to diminish about ten months after an individual was first

trained, thus indicating a need for training on a continuous basis and much more

frequently than is currently the norm (Wolfe, 1966).

The review of the evaluation literature indicates that in order for an ethics

training program to be successful, administrators need to place more emphasis on what

they want the program to achieve and also set standards for measuring whether the

program is meeting these goals. Unless program performance is evaluated, one cannot

know which components of the program to keep and which components to eliminate.

Summary

There is no single definitive ethical framework. Ethical relativism, teleology,

deontology and virtue theory are most frequently discussed with regard to organizational

ethics. Each framework has strengths and weaknesses but deontology, with its

emphasis on assessing ethical options within an appropriate context, may be the most

useful for developing moral decisions in public organizations. There are many means for

developing an ethical organization: establishing ethics committees, whistle blowing

protections, and/or codes of ethics. Some approaches emphasize proactive human

development strategies while others emphasize assigning blame and defining

punishments. Organizational leadership and empowering employees with a standard for

behavior are being emphasized anew in the wake of corporate and public agency

24

scandals in 2000-01 which prompted a call for greater transparency and accountability

by all organizations.

Associations such as ICMA and ASPA have aided public sector professionals

in addressing issues of accountability and transparency by establishing codes of ethics

for their members. ASPA has sought to develop a broad set of general principles while

ICMA elected to define more specific rules and guidelines. Broad principles and specific

rules, regulations and city ordinances are provided in LAWA’s Ethics handbook.

Even well-conceived and long standing ethical codes have not resolved the

debate over the relative merits of external controls versus nurturing a basic human

desire to do what is right and be a productive member of society. Since the mid-

twentieth century there have been significant shifts in the workforce. Today’s workforce

is better educated, more technically competent and professional. It is also more diverse

with regards to the participation of women, ethnic and racial groups. This suggests that

participation in the design of organizational ethics needs to be reinvigorated, more

dynamic and more inclusive than in the past.

Do ethical standards share the same relative importance in the public and private

sectors? The public sector has a heightened sensitivity to ethical concerns largely due to

its responsibility to protect and serve the public interest. In contrast, the private sector

seeks to balance the role of ethical or legal standards of behavior with corporate

responsibilities to maximize owner equity and/or corporate revenue. Regardless of

whether one operates in the public or private sector, can organizations/agencies train

adults to be ethical individuals?

Early research by Lawrence Kohlberg suggests that moral reasoning develops in

early childhood and that most adults retain a conventional, unexamined and externally

driven standard of ethical behavior. John Locke argued that the window of opportunity

for developing ethically was fostered by education and life experiences, suggesting that

25

internalization of ethics and independence of thought were more likely to develop in

adults.

However, while adults with experience may be able to develop their own internal

and independent moral principles; is there a connection between ethical standards and

organizational performance? Ethical standards stimulates the moral imagination,

enhances the ability to recognize moral issues, hones analytical skills and an

employee’s ability to assess if the organization’s choices/ actions are fair or not. The

relationship between ethical reasoning and organizational consequences is related and

complex.

Evaluations of ethics training have sought to assess results in three ways: has

the training increased a person’s knowledge, has it influenced priorities and are the

concepts applied to improve behavior. Studies indicate that well designed efforts do

meet these three objectives. However, applications of new behaviors may diminish over

time and continuous training/efforts are important if organizations are to sustain benefits.

Finally, evaluations are critical to understand what outcomes or benefits arise from

training and/or related program efforts to develop the ethical organization.

Methodology (Elke Azpeitia)

The Masters in Public Administration (MPA) program at California State

Polytechnic University, Pomona, in cooperation with the LAWA/Ontario International

Airport (ONT) teamed up in the fall of 2007 to produce an instrument that would measure

and evaluate the effectiveness of LAWA/Ontario Airport’s ethics awareness program

(MPA 600, 2007).

In compliance with Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s Executive Directive,

Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) authorized ethics awareness preparation for all of

its employees. This was done to promote and encourage ethical behavior throughout

26

the organization (MPA 600, 2007). The objectives for the ethical awareness program

were to:

1. assist employees in meeting their responsibilities effectively and efficiently,

2. assure that employees understand LAWA’s mission, vision, and goals, and

3. teach employees on how to apply ethical standards in the decision making process

and in actions (MPA 600, 2007).

The ethics awareness program encompasses six core values which are: honesty,

integrity, responsibility, public trust, citizenship, respect and collaboration.

The task of developing an instrument that would assess the effectiveness of the

ethics awareness program fell to Cal Poly Pomona’s MPA 600 class. In order to

measure the effectiveness of the ethics awareness program, the MPA class underwent

the same training as employees at ONT. On Saturday October 6, 2007, Dr. Monyé

instructed the students in a four hour training session in which they were informed of

LAWA’s vision, mission and objectives (MPA 600, 2007). They received a brief overview

and history of the organization.

Everyone who participated in the ethics awareness program received a packet of

materials that consisted of an ethics map and cards that outlined cases in ethics.

The training session started with a film that was provided by LAWA that informed

employees that they were expected to understand ethics not only as an operational

principle, but also as a cultural norm at the Airport. It also gave employees a visual

demonstration on how employees could implement ethical standards in carrying out their

job responsibilities. Participants were then divided into groups to discuss diversity,

conflicts of interest, internet policy, environmental concerns, health and safety,

harassment, and record retention. In each of these scenarios participants used both the

ethics map and cards that described ethical problems as tools for thinking critically. The

ethical map and cards would allow them to apply ethical standards to scenarios on

27

responsibility, public trust, citizenship, etc. In all, seven scenarios were discussed.

Each scenario consisted of one of the six core values defined by LAWA’s code of ethics.

The last scenario given to the students was termed as the challenge case. This

challenge case was used to demonstrate how core values interrelate with others. In

other words when dealing with an ethical dilemma there is rarely a simple answer and a

single best way to approach a situation. Instead the training sought to sharpen the

critical thinking skills of employees in making appropriate decisions about operational

practices when confronted with ethically challenging circumstances.

After the ethics training course by the ONT administrator, Cal Poly Pomona

students proceeded to develop a survey questionnaire. Each of the topic areas (six core

values) would be addressed by creating appropriate questions for each area. The

students decided to ask questions on problems that the organization would more than

likely confront and would also tailor questions around the needs of managers and staff to

address ethical norms (MPA 600, 2007).

The MPA 600 class was then divided up into three groups. Each of which would

have two core values that they would have to address by developing relevant questions.

All the questions were compiled into a single Employee Survey. After the topical

sections there were questions about the training experience and demographic

information about respondents (MPA 600, 2007). Their next task was to make sure that

this draft instrument was internally valid and unbiased. Friends and associates of the

MPA 600 class pre-tested the survey instrument. None of these respondents were

employees of LAWA/ONT but were individuals who volunteered to take the survey.

After reviewing the results of the analysis from the pre-test 19 of the 22 original

draft questions were applicable as drafted for the final instrument (MPA 600, 2007). The

other three questions were revised for clarity and validity. No modifications were made

to the training experience questions, but some changes were made in the demographic

28

questions that focused on the respondent’s ethnicity and education. The changes that

were made for ethnicity and education questions provided greater clarity and

specification (MPA 600, 2007). Based on the analysis of pre-test survey, changes were

made and the final instrument was sent to LAWA/ONT for approval.

The Employee Survey questionnaire was forwarded to ONT in mid November. It

took approximately two weeks for the instrument to be approved by LAWA/ONT

administrators. Once the survey was approved, the Masters of Public Administration

program of Cal Poly Pomona prepared 439 questionnaires to be distributed to all current

employees of the airport. Current employees are defined by ONT as employees

receiving pay checks.

From December 19, 2007 through the first week of January 2008, the surveys

were distributed, completed and collected. Once all the instruments were compiled it

was the responsibility of MPA 504 class to input and analyze the data to measure the

effectiveness of the ethics awareness program.

The Masters of Public Administration program received a total of 311 completed

questionnaires from ONT employees. These surveys were divided up and each student

in the MPA 504 class entered the data on a pre-defined spreadsheet. After data entry

was completed, a team was selected to work on the analysis of the data consisting of

the six core values of: honesty, integrity, citizenship, public trust, responsibility and

respect and collaboration. Dr. Emerson, MPA Director, added 3 more categories to the

study: the ONT organization environment, individual ethical responses, and sum of all

responses to the 22 ethical questions.

29

Sample Size

The return rate was 71%. A sufficient number of returns would have been 210

from a population of 469. A 100% return rate was received from the areas of

accounting, administration, and the airport manager’s office. The lowest return

rate was received from police (56%).

Return Rate By Area Of ResponsibilityArea of Responsibility % of Return RateAdministration 100%Maintenance/ Operations 69%-84%Public Safety 56%Community/Business 77%-89%Totals 71%

This high rate of return indicates the Masters of Public Administration program

survey process was appropriate. The questionnaire primarily asked closed-ended

questions but had one open ended question which asked for the employee’s opinion of

the ethics awareness training program. The questionnaire was short, concise and

uncomplicated. What was also relevant in securing a high rate of return was the

questionnaire explained who the researchers were and why they were conducting the

survey. It informed the respondents that their participation in the study would be kept

anonymous and their responses would be kept confidential. (Appendix I) Another major

factor was the cooperation from the Ontario airport administration and its employees

14 surveys out of the 311 were completed using the Spanish translation. This

accounted for 5% of the total return rate. The expectation was that the non-English

speaking population was higher and the 5% rated raised concerns as to whether some

of non responses were due to questionnaires in English or Spanish only. Since the non

response rate was scattered throughout the organization, there is no definitive means for

determining why persons did not participate. Also the survey was distributed during the

30

last two weeks of December and non respondents may have been employees on

vacation. Despite this sampling question, the overall process resulted is statistically

significant sample size that is more than adequate to represent employees at

LA/Ontario.

Analysis

Description of Survey Respondents (Pedro Carrillo)

Three hundred and eleven employee surveys were returned from a population of

439 at LAWA /Ontario. The survey collected data regarding eight characteristics: the age

of the respondent, the gender of the respondent, the ethnicity, educational attainment,

the number of years respondents have worked for LAWA, whether the respondent

supervises others and the respondent’s functional area of responsibility (administration,

operations, etc.). The language (English or Spanish) that the respondent used to

complete the survey was also noted.

The typical respondent for this study was a forty to forty-nine (49+) year old,

male, Hispanic/Latino with some college and/or technical education. The typical

respondent has worked for LAWA/Ontario ten years or more, came from the operations

(see distribution of respondents by area), did not supervise others and completed the

survey in English. A graph of the distribution of respondents is noted below:

area of responsibilitytechnological supportcommunity/businessoperations

Perc

ent

50.0%

40.0%

30.0%

20.0%

10.0%

0.0%3.8%2.4%

8.2%7.9%

32.6%

45.0%

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Honesty (Pedro Carrillo)

In the LAWA study, there were three questions on the survey that measured

honesty. Those questions asked whether there was a gap between what they said and

they did, whether they would report concerns regarding a department phone bill, and

how they would respond to witnessing an argument between employees.

For the question regarding the gap in what is being said and what is being done,

the average answer was “Agree” that there is no gap between what they say and what

they do. In regards to the phone bill, the average response was that the respondent

would “approach and express concern” to a supervisor or manager. The average

response to a respondent witnessing a dispute between two coworkers was that they

would report that conduct to a supervisor or manager.

Phone Bill

There was modest influence between a respondent’s gender and how they

answered the question regarding the phone bill. According to the findings, male

respondents were more likely to report a concern with regard to the phone bill than

female respondents as noted in the graph below.

When analyzing the sum of all honesty responses against the eight

demographical and organizational characteristics in the study, it seems that the gender

32

of the respondent is significant to the sum of all honesty responses. Males had a higher

overall combined score for the questions in the survey that dealt with honesty.

Gap Between What Is Said and Done

The organizational attributes were: years with organization, area of responsibility

and whether the respondent was a supervisor or not. There were three relationships

that were significant. There was a modest influence between the respondent’s area of

responsibility and how they answered whether there is a gap in what they say and what

they do. The area of public safety seemed to disagree more that there wasn’t a gap

between what they do and what they say.

33

Observing A Dispute Between Co-Workers

A third finding for the area of honesty was that the language had a weak

influence on whether the respondent would report a verbal dispute amongst two

coworkers. Those who filled out the survey in English were more likely to report the

dispute than those who filled it out in Spanish. It should be noted however that only

fourteen respondents filled out the survey in Spanish as opposed to two hundred and

ninety seven respondents who filled out the survey in English.

Conclusions

Respondents were also asked to comment on their ethics training experience.

One respondent from the public safety area noted, “[supervisor/manager] have no

concept of ethics.” This sentiment was noted in other comments from this functional area

where several respondents commented on the need for supervisors and managers to

“lead by example”. This was an important observation to note. In a study discussed

above in the literature review, it was noted that the most efficient way to encourage

ethical behavior from employees was for supervisors to lead by example, providing an

ethical foundation for their subordinates to follow (Bruce, 1994). Perhaps respondents

who refused to report the phone bill problem or a dispute do not feel inclined to report

this activity because either their supervisors do not report such activity themselves, or

the supervisors are the ones involved in unethical behavior.

Two of the honesty questions, asked whether respondents would report either a

suspicious phone bill or a co-worker dispute. Honesty is an important virtue and if

respondents feel that their supervisors or management team is not ethical, these

employees might be reluctant to come forward and “blow the whistle” for fear of

repercussions (Johnson, 1990). As stated in the literature review, “whistle blowing” is not

easy to do, because there are political aspects that can keep someone from reporting

34

concerns (Waldo, 1988). If what the Waldo study found is true, then LAWA respondents

might feel that reporting any concern could be viewed adversely as “whistle blowing”.

Integrity (Elke Azpeitia)

LAWA defined integrity as: … personal conviction to the truth and [to] fulfilling our

obligations.

In the area of integrity respondents were ask to: evaluate the organization’s

attempts to promote and reward ethical behavior, their perception of others in the

organization behaving ethically or not, and their reaction to a situation in which a

supervisor failed to resolve a dilemma concerning a co-worker.

Respondent Viewpoints Influenced by Individual Attributes

Ethnicity had a modest and significant relationship with how respondents viewed

the organization’s attempts to promote ethical behavior. The chart below indicates that

the most positive respondents were Asian and least positive were White/Anglo.

The respondent’s area of responsibility had a significant and moderate influence

on how he/she viewed the organization’s attempts to promote and reward ethical

behavior. In the graphic display below it is noted that public safety had higher

percentage of responses reflecting a negative view of organizational attempts to

promote and reward ethical behavior.

35

Although the relationship between an individual’s time served in an organization

and rewarding ethical behavior is significant; it is weak. This demonstrates that as the

number of years served in the organization increases the percentage of people believing

that the organization promotes ethical behavior decreases.

Whether a respondent was a supervisor also influenced how the respondent

viewed his/her organization’s attempt to promote and reward ethical behavior. The

relationship was significant, but weak. This generally reflects that respondents who are

not in a supervisory position are more inclined to view the organization’s attempts to

reward and promote ethical behavior in a positive way.

36

There was a strong interactive relationship between one’s area of responsibility

and whether the respondent is a supervisor on whether ethical behavior is rewarded by

the organization. If the respondent was not a supervisor their area had a significant

influence on their views about “reward.” Employees were more inclined to see the

organization from a positive perspective than were supervisors.

Individual attributes influencing how respondents act

Gender had an influence on whether the respondent would approach his/her co-

worker about a problem, when a supervisor failed to act. The relationship was

significant but weak. Women were less inclined to approach a co-worker with whom

they had a problem when the supervisor failed to take action. Males on the other hand

were more willing to take action on their own when the supervisor did nothing to resolve

the problem.

37

The respondent’s area of responsibility and their response to a supervisor not

taking action is significant but weak. The graph below reflects that the

community/business area was more likely to approach co-workers rather than resolve

problems through a chain of command. Public safety respondents prefer to resolve

matters through the chain of command.

Summary of Integrity

The results of the data analysis on integrity reflect that a number of respondent’s

perceive the organization and supervisors as practicing a low road approach to ethics as

presented above in Approaches to Ethics in Organizations by Hector Solis. Supervisors

were less likely to see the organization from a positive perspective. What may address

this concern would be to educate supervisors on the effects that their behavior has on

themselves, their employees, and the organization.

Ethnicity is another concern that needs to be addressed. This analysis ties in

with the literature review on Codes of Ethics in the Public Sector by Katherine Sharifi.

Transparency is a factor that contributes to an institution’s legitimacy and sense of

accountability on behalf of the employees. Our analysis suggests that respondents to

the survey did not consider LAWA/Ontario’s attempt to promote and reward ethical

behavior as open and positive.

Another relevant section of the literature review concerns the Ethics Debate in

the Public Sector discussed by Maria Emily Perez. This literature suggests that

ethnicity/race can be an influence on how respondents react to the organization’s

38

attempt to promote and reward ethical behavior. An increase in diversity in the

workforce may mean different perspectives on the issue of ethical values and behavior.

Organizational discussions and training can establish a shared set of values that are

practiced in the work environment and transcend parochial perspectives in favor of an

organizational outlook. What also needs to be considered is that ethics training

programs need to be administered constantly in order for them to have a lasting effect.

Finally the area of responsibility indicates a need for concern. The high rate of

disagreement about the organization’s attempts to promote and reward ethical behavior

reflects that there is a need for leaders who are examples of ethical behavior, are

recognized for their efforts and are encouraged by the organization. Having an

organization that recognizes and encourages ethical behavior prompts others to behave

ethically in the work environment by making it known that this type of behavior is

accepted by the organization and is applauded.

Responsibility (Tahira Singh)

The analysis performed using the data gathered from employees shed light on to

issues which may have otherwise gone unnoticed. The responsibility section of the data

analysis sought to gauge employee attitudes towards important subjects such as

inconsistency between supervisor feedback and policy, perceived tolerance of

misconduct that exists within the organization, problems with deadlines and the value of

differing opinions.

Inconsistency in Feedback and Policy

When evaluating inconsistency in feedback, a modest and significant relationship

is found between an employee’s ethnicity and the way they react to this particular type of

inconsistency. Although a majority of employees belonging to different ethnicity groups

39

indicated that they would choose to talk to their supervisor, the number of Asian

respondents that chose to exercise this option is quite low.

Another factor that had a significant effect on the way an employee dealt with

inconsistency in feedback was the number of years an employee has been with the

organization. Although the relationship was weak, one notices that employees that have

been with the organization for less than three years, or more than ten years, are more

willing to talk to supervisors that those who have been a part of the organization for four

to nine years .

A significant relationship was also found between whether one supervises and the

way one handles inconsistency between feedback from their supervisor and policy.

Although the impact of holding a supervisory position is weak, it is clear that those who

are supervisors themselves are more willing to ask their superiors for clarification when

faced with this type of problem than those who do not supervise.

40

When responses to inconsistency in feedback were analyzed by ethnicity, and by

whether one supervises others, it was revealed that:

For those employees that do supervise others there is no significant relationship

between ethnicity and one’s reaction to inconsistent feedback.

Asian supervisors are less likely to talk with superiors regarding inconsistencies.

There is a high degree of consensus among others that they would talk to their

supervisor regarding a perceived inconsistency between a policy and manager’s

feedback,

for employees that do not supervise others, there is a modest and significant

relationship between ethnicity and the way they respond to inconsistency in

feedback.

Asian and Hispanic employees are less likely than Black and White employees to

seek clarification from their supervisor.

41

Misconduct

When responses related to the perceived tolerance of misconduct were

analyzed, a modest and significant relationship emerged between an employee’s level of

education and employee perception of tolerance of misconduct. Those who identified

themselves as having a high school degree or less and those who have a college or

advanced degree were more likely to agree that there is little tolerance for misconduct in

the organization. Employees that attended some college are less likely to than the other

to two groups to hold this opinion.

Deadlines

There also exists a weak but significant relationship between whether one

supervises others and how employees respond to problems with deadlines. Those that

are in charge of others are themselves more willing to talk to their supervisors about

deadline problems.

42

Opinions Valued

Although a modest and significant relationship is found between language and

how much an employee feels their opinions are valued when they disagree with others,

one cannot rely on these findings to be sound because of the small number of

respondents who identified themselves as Spanish speaking. It would be interesting to

explore if those who speak Spanish feel that their opinions are less valued in

disagreements than those who speak English, when utilizing a more extensive data set.

Sum of Responsibility

There appears to be a significant difference when it comes to sum responsibility

between those who supervise others and those who do not. Those employees that

supervise others tend to score higher.

43

The area of the organization to which the employee belongs also has a

significant effect on where they scored on the sum of responsibility index. While

employees in the area of Community/Business scored notably higher than those that

belonged to Public Safety, those from Operations did not differ extensively from these

two groups.

Respondent Comments and Summary of Responsibility

Some employees that responded to the survey included comments that indicated

inconsistencies in the way that LAWA policies are applied by management. A general

trend that emerged from comments by employees was that they tend not to trust their

supervisors to make the right decision when faced with problems. This could explain why

some are hesitant to approach supervisors when faced with a dilemma. One finds that

some employees believe management itself to be very unethical. “Self-responsibility”,

which was discussed above in the literature review, is important if one is going to move

44

in the direction of acting ethically. (See, the Relationship between Ethics and

Consequences, Chavez). The opinion that management cannot be trusted to act

ethically only further allows individuals to deflect responsibility for their actions off of

themselves and on to their supervisors. Differing opinions were offered from

respondents as to whether ethical training should or should not take place in a mixed

setting (supervisors and subordinates); one thing that respondents generally agree on is

that their supervisors are in need of ethics training. Steps need to be taken to heighten

employee trust in management.

The findings in this study indicate that many employees believe that their

supervisors engage in the low road approach to ethics, (See Approaches to Ethics in

Organization, Solis). Management needs to take a cue from employees’ attitudes

towards them and implement training meant to produce an environment more conducive

to making ethical choices.

Finally, as noted in the literature review the responses in this study came from

employees belonging to various demographical backgrounds. Their values may differ

from one another due to cultural, religious, or other influences (The Ethics Debate in the

Private Sector, Perez). Diversity in the workplace suggests a greater need for ethics

training

Public trust (Kevin Kearney)

Public Trust in this study is defined as: belief that the organization promotes the

public interest, public’s concerns are resolved, support for the public’s right to know and

working with an unhappy patron.

Reporting Concerns

In analyzing Public Trust for the Los Angeles World Airports, It was found that as

the age of the respondent increased, the willingness to report concerns of patrons

increased. Although the relation is significant, the influence age has on the willingness

to report concerns of patrons is weak.

45

age into 3 parts50+40-4918-39

%A

gree

that

eff

ort i

s m

ade

to r

esol

ve c

once

rns

100.00

80.00

60.00

40.00

20.00

0.00

97.17%

85.22%80.88%

The most salient factor, with regards to trust, was the respondent’s area. The

area is an indicator of respondent’s views regarding the organization’s handling of

public’s concerns. The relationship between these two factors was proved to be

significant with a modest influence. Public safety is the least likely to agree that effort is

made within the organization to resolve the public’s concerns.

area of responsibilityadministrationcommunity/businessoperationspublic safety

%A

gree

that

effo

rt is

mad

e to

res

olve

pub

lics

conc

ern

100.00

80.00

60.00

40.00

20.00

0.00

95.83%95.65%

74.47%

94.53%

Public Interest

Also, there is a significant relationship between promoting the public interest and

area of operation. This relationship is a modest influence. Public safety is most likely to

disagree that the organization acts to promote the interest of the public.

46

area of responsibilityadministrationcommunity/businessoperationspublic safety

%A

gree

that

org

. act

s to

pro

mot

e th

e pu

blic

inte

rest 100.00

80.00

60.00

40.00

20.00

0.00

100.00%95.65%

75.00%

90.48%

Overall Trust

Lastly, there is a significant relationship between the overall view of “trust” in the

organization and the area of operation. In comparisons between public safety,

operations and community business, public safety scores the lowest in their overall view

of “trust” in the organization followed by operations then community/business.

area of responsibilitycommunity/businessoperationspublic safety

sum

oftr

ust

15.00

12.50

10.00

7.50

5.00

284

75

Although it is difficult to determine what is causing public safety to score lower in

public trust, the summary of comments shared by respondents in public safety will help

explain this effect. Comments such as, “Managers should lead by example,”

“[__manger/supervisors] have no concept of ethical behavior,” “provide additional

training to supervisors so that they could lead by example,” or “trainers should be ethical

or display ethical standards at all times with employees” is clearly pointing to the

leadership within the departments. It is essential for leaders, managers and supervisors

47

to set the tone for an ethical work climate within the organization. Also, the difference

among the various areas shows how people from different work cultures perceive their

environment and the practice of ethics. Issues within departments, specifically public

safety, must readdress their ethical standards so that public trust may be strengthened.

Citizenship (Reuben Chavez)

Questions were asked of employees regarding the values of “Citizenship.” The

first question was: “does the Ontario Airport, as an organization, commit its resources to

the ecological health and sustainability of its region?” The norm of responses to Commit

to Health (EcoHealth) was 2 (agree). There was a significant relationship between

Commit to Health (EcoHealth) and Area of Responsibility. The influence Area of

Responsibility had on Commit to Health (EcoHealth) was significant and modestly

strong.

area of responsibilitycommunity/businessoperationspublic safety

%in

Com

mit

to H

ealth

; eco

heal

th in

to 2

gro

ups

100.00

80.00

60.00

40.00

20.00

0.00

90.91

67.03

82.54

Area of Responsibility

Those who work in the area of Community/Business are more committed to

health and sustainability in the region than those who work in other areas of the

organization. One comment directly from an employee suggested that, “The public is

always looking at what we do.” (LAWA Response). This can be linked to why those who

48

work in the area of Community/Business find it more likely that their organization

commits more to the health of the region. The key to success is to maintain transparency

between an organization and the public. Those who are not often in contact with the

community may be less likely to find a close connection to sustaining the ecological

health of the region.

Citizenship; Talk about Recycle (Recycle) and Language of Respondent

The second ‘Citizenship’ question addressed recycling; “You witness an

employee throwing away non-recyclable items in the bin labeled for recycling. What do

you do?” (Recycle). This question measured if people would do anything about the

misconduct. The norm of respondents to this question was 2 (talk about recycling). The

respondent’s language and “talk about recycling” had a significant, but weak

relationship.

Employees who use English language as their primary language are more likely

to talk when misconduct occurs. As one respondent noted, “It’s good to know how some

employees will respond in some situations” (LAWA response). If a person is put in a

situation where they must tell another employee that they are doing wrong, one’s

personal ethical values may be critical. The multicultural identities in the organization

might be a burden to acting ethically for some respondents. One employee stated, “Glad

program (ethics program) is offered; [leads to] good communication” (LAWA Response).

MySpace and Gender of Respondent

The next question assessed dealing with informing supervisors of misconduct by

co-workers. “You are told by an employee about a MySpace website entry. You find it is

posted by an employee in your organization to complain about working conditions and

management. What do you do?” (MySpace). The norm was 3 (inform supervisor). After

testing Citizenship; MySpace with various attributes it was observed that it was

49

influenced by gender. It appears that gender had a significant impact on MySpace

responses and the relationship was modest.

gender of respondentfemalemale

%in

Info

rm S

uper

viso

r; C

itize

n: M

ySpa

ce fo

r com

plai

nts

abou

t org

aniz

atio

n

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

50.54

36.99

Gender of Respondent

Females were seen more likely than men to respond to the unethical action by

telling a supervisor. Respondents were willing to inform supervisors of the unethical

posting of complaints on MySpace.

Citizenship; Volunteer and Area of Responsibility

The finally question explained that as an organization they annually sent

volunteers to a local beach to help clean-up. In the scenario fellow co-workers were

seen smoking and throwing cigarette butts into the sand. As an employee of the same

organization, what do you do (Volunteer)? It appears that the norm of the respondents

was 2 (respond on site) to the situation. It appeared that area of responsibility had a

50

significant and modest influence on responses to the question about Volunteers.

area of responsibilitypublic safetyoperationscommunity/business

%in

Res

pond

on

Site

vol

unte

er in

to 2

gro

ups

60.00

40.00

20.00

0.00

39.13

69.15

49.61

Area of Responsibility

It was clear that those who work in the ‘Public Safety’ area were more likely to

respond on site to the unethical issues of tossing cigarette butts onto the sand. One

Ontario Airport employee reported that the ethics training was good because it “[gave] a

good understanding of what to do to report issues” (LAWA Response). This can be

linked to the notion that reporting issues may lead to unethical issues being resolved.

Actions by people are critical to the success of any organization, it is imperative that a

“code of ethics” be established and supported so everyone shares common expectations

(Bowman, 1997). Having and supporting a code of ethics may help eliminate small

infractions such as tossing cigarette butts onto the sand and help in the development of

employees’ moral characteristics.

Respect and Collaboration (Maria Emily Perez)

LAWA’s Ethics Code defines respect and collaboration as: promoting human

worth and dignity of all and fostering partnerships of inclusion and cooperation.

51

The survey instrument examined respect and collaboration based on responses

to statements regarding: organization treatment is fair, lines of communication are open,

sharing a difference of opinions with others and apologizing for an inconsiderate remark.

In addition an aggregate “respect and collaboration” score was developed that

totaled the responses to each question. On average the responses to the 4 questions

were positive. Employees agreed that they were treated fairly, that there were open

lines of communication in the organization, that they shared opinions even when their

views disagreed with others and that they would apologize for an inconsiderate remark.

The highest overall score was 16 and the norm for LAWA/Ontario employee was 12.

There was a significant but not a strong relationship between a respondent’s age

and their willingness to apologize for an inconsiderate remark. However there were no

other factors associated with this question and there appears to be high agreement on

the need to be considerate of others in the workplace.

There were significant and relatively strong relationships between organization

attributes and other respect and collaboration questions.

Treated Fairly in Organization

A respondent’s area and years with the organization were related to their views

on being treated fairly. However, a respondent’s area (operations, safety, etc.) was

both a significant and influential factor. Public safety respondents were most likely to

disagree with “fair treatment” while community and business were most like to agree

treatment was fair. See graph below.

52

Disagree Treatment is Fair with Area of Responsibility

area of responsibilitycommunity/businessoperationspublic safety

% D

isag

ree

they

are

trea

ted

fairl

y in

org

aniz

atio

n

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

18.2

54.8

34.1

When adding the role of supervisor to the analysis one can see there are noticeable

differences by role. The lighter bars to the left represent responses by non supervisors.

These responses decline significantly by area. Treated fairly is highest

area of responsibilitypublic safetyoperationscommunity/business

% A

gree

trea

ted

fairl

y in

org

aniz

atio

n 100

80

60

40

20

0

62.557.9

65.1

92.3

42

65

yesno

does respondent supervise others

among community/business employees and lowest among public safety. However,

there is relative high agreement among supervisors in all areas that the organization

treats employees fairly. This suggests that there is an interactive effect between the

respondent’s area and whether he/she is a supervisor or not. The most significant and

strongest relationship exists for non-supervisors in some areas of the organization. (See

graph above).

53

Open Lines of Communications

A corollary to this finding is the relationship between area of responsibility and

opinions about open lines of communication. Two factors seem to influence

respondent’s views on lines of communication: the respondent’s area of responsibility

and the number of years he/she has been with the organization. However, area of the

organization is both significant and strongly associated with views on lines of

communications.

area of responsibilitypublic safetycommunity/businessoperations

% A

GR

EE o

pen

lines

2 g

roup

s

100.00

80.00

60.00

40.00

20.00

0.00

82.26 78.26

53.19

Employees in public safety are less likely to agree there are open lines of

communications than responses from other functional areas. Further analysis indicates

there is a strong and significant relationship regarding open lines of communications

when accounting for both the respondent’s area and whether or not they are a

supervisor. Supervisors tend to agree that there are open lines of communications more

than non supervisors with the notable exception of public safety. The greatest

54

consistency between supervisors and non-supervisors is in Operations and the greatest

disparity is in Community/Business.

area of responsibilitycommunity/businesspublic safetyoperations

% A

GR

EE th

ere

are

open

lin

es 2

gro

ups

100.00

80.00

60.00

40.00

20.00

0.00

92.86

51.43

83.95

50.0057.89

80.00

noyes

does respondent supervise others

Keep Opinions to Myself

Areas and supervisory role were significantly related to whether or not the

respondent kept his/her opinions from others but in neither case was the relationship

even moderately strong.

Consideration of Co-worker

Age was significantly associated with responses to being considerate of a co-

worker but the relationship was weak. No other factor was related to being considerate

of a coworker.

Sum of Respect and Collaboration

A sum of all respect and collaboration questions were generated and analyzed

for each attribute of the respondent. Significant relationships were identified for a

respondent’s area and for the number of years of service in the organization. The chart

below shows the norms and disparity of views by area.

55

area of responsibilitycommunity/businesspublic safetyoperations

sum

of r

espe

ct (5

-7,2

3)

16.00

14.00

12.00

10.00

8.00

6.00

53

110

75

284

All areas seem to share similar norms (12) but the disparity within areas differs

significantly. For example Community/Business scores high with only one outliner while

Operations is relatively balanced with 3 outliners. However, Public Safety has the great

disparity overall. When examining this disparity by whether the respondent is a

supervisor or not in the area, the following diagram emerges:

area of responsibilitycommunity/businesspublic safetyoperations

sum

of r

espe

ct (5

-7,2

3)

16.00

14.00

12.00

10.00

8.00

6.00

53

75

212

213

110 139 284

noyes

does respondent supervise others

From the diagram above one notices that supervisors for each group are on the left and

are relatively consistent across areas. Non supervisor on the right for each group vary

considerably from one another. There is high agreement and little differences among

non supervisors in the Community/Business areas but a lower norm and wide disparity

among non supervisors in the public safety area.

56

Conclusions

Supervisory staff is critical to the success of any organization. They are

responsible for the implementation of the agency’s goals and standards. Through

proactive communication they promote collaboration between their employees and

between departments. Ideally they strive to promote an ethical organizational culture, in

line with agency expectations. Supervisors and managers must lead by example.

In reviewing respondent comments there seems to be some discord between

supervisory and non supervisory employees. This is especially the case in the public

safety area and to a lesser extent in community/business and operations areas as well.

The most recognized areas of need appear to be communications and consistent

application of policies. Employees in most areas seem to share ideas or viewpoints.

However, public safety respondents indicated they perceived they are not treated fairly.

This negative perception may be impacting the dynamics between the employees within

the public safety area and may eventually affect the morale of the entire agency, if left

unchecked. Consideration should be given to the heterogeneity of the agency.

In consideration of John Locke’s blank slate theory (noted in the Literature

Review above), thought might be given to additional training for staff focusing on

communication, mutual respect, and collaboration. The introduction of an ongoing

training program would tend to stimulate healthier communication. Such a program

might focus on the supervisory role in implementing and motivating their employees. As

indicated by Bruce, discussed earlier, if leaders are trained to motivate and inspire

workers, instead of working to control their behaviors, the result may be greater personal

satisfaction on the job and retention of more qualified employees.

LAWA/Ontario’s Organization’s Ethics (Katherine Sharifi)

57

This segment of the analysis is to see if demographic and ethical viewpoints will

influence views regarding the organization’s ethics.

The organization’s ethics was determined by respondents’ answers to the Employee

Survey questions related to:

the respondent’s perception of co-workers striving to do what is right,

the value of coworkers’ opinions even when they are different from the

respondents,

the respondent’s views on the organization’s treatment of employees,

the respondent’s feelings on the organization’s open line of communication,

whether or not the respondent keeps their views to themselves when other

opinions in the workplace differ,

the respondents views on how public concerns are addressed,

the respondents support of the public’s right to know how LAWA conducts their

business,

the respondents view on the organization’s commitment to the ecological health

and sustainability of the work regions,

the respondent’s perception of the organization’s tolerance for potential or

observed misconduct, and

what action, if any, the respondent would take if misconduct by a co-worker is not

addressed by a supervisor.

The organization’s ethics was studied against a series of factors that included: age,

area of responsibility, education, ethnicity, gender, language, supervisory status

(whether or not they supervise subordinates), and years in organization

Through analysis of the organization’s ethics against these factors, no effect was

found for age, ethnicity, gender, education, language, or supervisory status on the

perception of organization’s ethics.

58

On the other hand, area of responsibility and years in organization did have an

observed influence on the organization’s ethics.

Area of Responsibility and Organization’s Ethics

When the area of responsibility was tested as a factor for organization’s ethics,

the analysis proved that area of responsibility (public safety, operations, and

community/business) does indeed influence the perception of organization’s ethics. The

areas of operations and community/business ranked organization’s ethics significantly

higher than public safety.

Area of ResponsibilityCommunity/BusinessOperationsPublic Safety

Org

aniz

atio

n's

Ethi

cs

40.00

35.00

30.00

25.00

20.00

15.00

10.00284

6

6175

53

213223

Area of Responsibility

Years in Organization and Organization’s Ethics

When the number of years the employee spent with the organization was

examined against the organization’s ethics, the analysis proved that employees who

59

have worked for the organization fewer years actually had similar perceptions of

organization’s ethics with those of seasoned employees (with 10 or more years of

service). Their perceptions were greater than those who have been with the

organization for 4 to 9 years. The significance of the relationship reflects that the

difference between years in organization and organization’s ethics is indeed related.

There is a significant difference between those with 4 to 9 years of employment, and all

others in the organization.

Years in Organization in 3 GroupsUp to 3 years10 or More4-9

Org

aniz

atio

n's

Ethi

cs

40.00

35.00

30.00

25.00

20.00

15.00

10.00284

6

129

61

48

293

135

Years in Organization in 3 Groups

Conclusions

Overall, one’s area of responsibility and the number of years in the organization

has the strongest influence on the perception of the organization’s ethics. Moreover,

LAWA can utilize this information to improve the ethical environment in all areas of

60

responsibility. As our literature review suggest, a more consistent approach to ethics will

provide for a more ethical work environment – an approach that starts at the beginning

of employment and continues through an ongoing program will aid in “sustaining and

promoting an ethical environment.”

Some of the comments from the survey reflect that supervisors need to be

held accountable to set the tone for an ethical work environment. The literature review

addresses this by suggesting that the most effective way to encourage ethical behavior

among workers is to have supervisors that act ethically. Supervisors should be trained

regularly in ethics so that they may lead by example and encourage ethical behavior on

the part of subordinates. Thus, the quality of the work environment increases and a

greater retention of quality employees is maintained.

Individual Actions (Carolina Sanchez)

A total score of individual ethics was calculated to include responses to questions

7, 10, and 14-23. These questions ask how the individual would personally respond to

ethical scenarios. The numerical scores received were converted to letter grades in the

following format: A grade were scores between 44 and 49, B grade were between 39-43,

C grade were scores between 34-38, D grades were between 29-33, and scores below

29 were classified as not passing. The following chart reflects the results for the LAWA

61

respondents.

The chart indicates that 7.4% of respondents received A’s. Most of the

respondents, 33.8%, received a letter grade of B. Respondents who earned D’s and

who did not pass cumulatively account for 32.8%.

While conducting research as to what factors could affect the respondents total

individual ethics score, one particular factor proved to be influential- whether the

respondent supervised others or not. This factor was clearly significant in influencing the

individual’s total ethical score. The following chart illustrates the influence that

Sum of Individual Ethics by Gradesnot passingDCBA

Perc

ent

40.0%

30.0%

20.0%

10.0%

0.0%

33.8%

7.4%

21.2%

11.6%

26.0%

62

supervision has on one’s individual ethics score.

Sum of Individual Ethics by Grades

not passing

DCBA

Perc

ent

40.0%

30.0%

20.0%

10.0%

0.0%

20.7%

14.3%

25.6%

33.5%

5.9%

17.6%

6.6%

27.5%

36.3%

12.1%

noyes

does respondent supervise others

Our chart reflects that 48.4% of supervisors received A’s and B’s for their

individual ethical score. It also demonstrates that 24.2% of supervisors received D’s or

not passing grades for their individual ethical score. These results imply that the factor

of supervision is having a significant effect on the respondents’ total individual ethical

score.

Some comments noted on surveys include: “Managers should set an

example ...be ethical in their behavior,” “Please retrain our upper management,” “Provide

additional training to supervisors so that they could lead by example,” “Upper

management is very unethical and only cares about themselves.” These comments

parallel our findings that in some instances there is a lack of ethics among those who are

in supervisory role.

By analyzing the data, we can conclude that most of the LAWA respondents

have a total individual ethical score that is “C” or better. We conclude that when you

factor in whether the respondent supervises others the total scores are affected.

The values promoted by the leader have a significant impact on the values

exhibited by the organization (Carlson & Perrewe, 1995; Schminke, Ambrose, & Noel,

63

1997; Trevino, 1986). The impact of weak ethics among supervisors in an organization

is extensive according to the literature. A similar relationship may be indicated by the

analysis of the survey data for LAWA/Ontario employees.

The Sum of All Ethical Questions (Hector Solis)

This section analyzes “Sum of Ethics” against the different characteristics of the

respondents including; Age, Gender, Ethnicity, Education, Years in the Organization,

Supervisor of employees, Area of responsibility and Language. Sum of Ethics is a

composite index made up of all the individual ethic questions (22) in the 6 areas

(honesty, integrity, trust, responsibility, respect/collaboration and citizenship)

Sum of Ethics

The distribution of the sum of all ethical questions was as follows:

sum of questions 1-2290.0080.0070.0060.0050.0040.0030.00

Freq

uenc

y

50

40

30

20

10

0

Mean =66.62Std. Dev. =7.332

N =229

The typical score for Sum of All Ethics was 66.62 or 79% out of 100. The data is

negatively skewed meaning that a few very low scores are pulling down the overall

norm. No significant or influential relationship was found with regard to any

demographic or organizational attribute.

This variable was recoded into a new variable identified as “Sum of Ethics into 3

groups based on their scores; low, medium or high scores. An analysis of this new

variable yields a median=2, a mode=2, and the range=2.

The brake-down of how respondents’ over all scores fell into this new category is

herein provided;

64

Bars show MeansBar

less than a year 1-3 years 4-9 year 10 years and more

years in organization

0.50

1.00

1.50

2.00

2.50

sum

of e

thic

s in

to 3

gro

ups

2.75

1.82

sum of ethics into 3 groupshighmoderatelow

Perc

ent

50.0%

40.0%

30.0%

20.0%

10.0%

0.0%

47.9%

28.0%24.1%

Significant Relationship: Sum of Ethics and Years in Organization, The only significant relationship in this section is that of “sum of ethics” when

compared to respondents’ “Years in the Organization”. When accounting for years in the

organization; respondents were broken down into four groups: those who had been with

the organization less than a year (group 1), those having been with the organization

between 1 and 3 years (group 2), between four and nine years (group 3) and those

having been in the organization ten years or more (group 4).

65

When analyzing sum of ethics against years in the organization, employees that

have been with the organization for less than a year (group 1) have a significant different

response to those which have been in the organization between four and nine years

(group 3). However, there is no other significant relationship, i.e., between; group 1 and

2, group 1 and 4, or between group 2 and 3, or group 2 and 4. The graph provides a

visual representation of the mean difference between these groups.

We conclude that the overall scores of LAWA/Ontario employees are high at about

79% and that no demographic or organizational factor is adversely effecting these

scores. The only anomaly noted was that ethics scores are significantly lower for

persons who have been with the organization from 4-9 years than for any other

category. We have no definitive explanation as to why this would be the case.

Two possible hypotheses are:

1. the 4-9 year group are comprised of persons who are going through a

normal reevaluation of their attachment to an organization and are more

critical at this stage of their careers, and/or

2. the 4-9 group joined the LAWA/Ontario airport organization between 1999

and 2004 when the organization’s mission, management or circumstances

did not clearly articulate its values and priorities. The socialization of this

cadre of employees into the organization may have been adversely

affected by these circumstances.

The Training Experience (Hector Solis)

The literature indicates that administrators believe ethics are essential to

the development of a healthy, strong, organizational structure; however, the

nature and manner in which organizations choose to implement an ethics

program varies. We discussed the issue of the high road versus the low road

66

approaches to establishing an ethical organizational environment and found that

most agencies do not agree on a standard or procedure for assisting employees.

As a result sometimes the ethics ideals may differ from department to

department or between supervisors and employees. What we found in the

literature review seems to correlate with the analysis of the survey data. One

finding is that an inconsistent, passive, low road approach is not likely to support,

nurture or translate into benefits for those seeking to resolve ethical dilemmas.

When we analyzed the data about respondent’s feelings towards the

organizational ethics culture, we find that there are several key characteristics:

The most significant relationship was that employees “overall rating” of

training was influenced by whether they viewed the airport as an ethical

organization. As employees become more aware of their own ethics their

view of the organization’s ethics decreased.

sum of organization ethics into 3 groupshighmiddlelow

% F

air t

o G

ood

0ver

all

Rat

ing

of E

thic

s Tr

aini

ng

50.00

40.00

30.00

20.00

10.00

0.00

16.90%

35.29%43.37%

Employees’ views of the overall organizational ethics at the airport were

influenced by their views of the instructors’ knowledge. Respondents

were less favorable toward the organization’s message when they were

67

less confident about the ethics of the trainer.

knowledge in 3 groups

very knowledgablefairly knowledgable

not knowledgable

%FA

IR T

O P

OO

R ra

ting

over

all i

n 2

grou

ps60.00

40.00

20.00

0.00

Finally, opinions of the organization’s ethics are related to how beneficial

the training was to them, this relationship was stronger when accounting

for gender. Females felt stronger about relationship between the benefits

of training and the organization’s ethics than did males.

sum of environ in 3 groupshighmiddlelow

% H

igh

Trai

ning

influ

ence

50

40

30

20

10

0

47.83%

23.81%

14.71%

41.67%

29.51%

6.98%

femalemale

gender of respondent

68

It appears that the training provides a mechanism for LAWA/Ontario to move

closer to achieving the goals of its Ethics Program and those of the City. There

is significant work to be done. The literature review explains that many of the

public agencies use a low road approach to instituting an ethical culture, LAWA

could benefit from both the results of this analysis and other studies to

maintaining its high road approach. It should be noted there is a need to provide

professional training on ethics to all employees and to provide additional specific

training and support for managers so that they may lead by example.

Future Training Needs (Hector Solis)

The survey asked respondents to indicate areas where further training would be

beneficial. The topic areas included ethics regarding gifts, contracts, public trust,

employee relations, employee communications, confidential information, records,

public health, environmental issues, sharing information and/or use of technology.

Generally respondents did not elect additional ethics training in specific areas.

About 14% of respondent thought additional training was needed and 86% did not.

There were two notable exceptions: employee relations and communications.

training on employee relationsyesnot needed

Perc

ent

60.0%

50.0%

40.0%

30.0%

20.0%

10.0%

0.0%

49.839%50.161%

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training on communicationitem circled, yesnot circled

Perc

ent

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

48.87%51.13%

training on communication

In both of these cases the need for additional ethics training was supported by nearly

50% of respondents.

Further examination of the data indicated that persons who have been with the

organization longer tend to be supportive of more training.

years in org in 3 groups10 or more4-9up to 3 years

%in

(2,2

) em

ploy

ee n

eed

trai

n 2

grou

ps

60.00

40.00

20.00

0.00

68.35%68.42%

40.00%

There was no significant or strong influence between the perceived need for training

and the respondent’s age, gender, ethnicity, or years of education. Interestingly there

was no significant relationship with regard to area or supervision either. Instead, the

respondent’s years of experience was the most important and strongest influence with

regard to whether respondents thought additional training was needed. This suggests

that experience with the organization raises awareness and interest in ethical values and

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behaviors. This finding is consistent with John Locke’s assumptions that ethics is

experientially based and training may be beneficial and effective at any age. Therefore,

it appears that there is a window of opportunity among LAWA/Ontario employees to

influence performance through additional training. Our analysis does not support

Kohlberg’s assumptions that most adults operate at a “conventional level” of moral

development that seeks to conform and maintain order. Instead the findings suggest that

post conventional development is not only possible but feasible.

Processes and Programs

The findings of this study suggest that the next topics of ethics training need to

address employee relations and open lines of communications. Based on comments and

the analysis regarding responsibility and respect/collaboration, noted above, the

organization needs to take steps to customize its ethics program to the specific needs of

functional areas. In addition, special attention needs to be given to training, mentoring,

and guiding supervisors and area managers.

Who provides future training will have a lasting impact on the organization. The

initial approach was to have managers/supervisors provide the training using materials

developed and designed by the Ethics Office. This approach met with mixed results. In

some cases respondents had a positive experience but in areas with employee relations

issues and communication challenges the approach might meet with rejection or

cynicism. Consequently we encourage the organization to consider other options before

engaging in a new training-the trainers approach, such as: building training capacity in

the Ethic Office, using scholars and/or consultants to develop and implement training

efforts, adapt existing training packages to organizational needs.

Our analysis indicates that the “setting” of the training was not a factor. There

was no criticism of the casework/discussion approach to addressing complex material.

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However, the skill, knowledge and impartiality of the trainer are critical factors to

consider when developing programs in the future.

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Conclusions (Hector Solis)

We can conclude that there are some significant relationships from the data

collected.

For ease of understanding we will summarize this information into two categories;

1) Organizational factors that influence ethical scores and,

2) Individual /demographic factors that influence ethics scores.

These are no single characteristic that influences ethical responses but rather a variety

of factors that are influential.

Organization factors such as area of responsibility, supervise others, and years

in the organization had significant and often modest to strong influences on all core

values of ethical behavior and judgment. For example, area of responsibility influenced

all six core values and was a significant factor with regard to the sum of all

organizational ethics’ score. Whether a respondent supervised others was an influential

factor in explaining three core values (responsibility, respect and collaboration and

integrity) as well as having a significant influence on the sum of individual ethics’ score.

The number of years a respondent has been with the organization was significant with

the core values of responsibility and integrity as well as with the sum of organization and

sum of all ethics scores.

Individual and demographic factors influence 4 areas: citizenship, responsibility,

honesty and integrity. Specifically the factors that were most influential were gender and

ethnicity. Only one case, responsibility, was influenced by years of education.

A significant relationship was found in the group of individuals who have been

with the organization between four and nine years. However, the data indicates that

those individuals who are new or recently hired employees exhibit higher ethical scores

than those who have been with the organization between four and nine years. Those

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employees who have been with the organization more than ten years have similarly

higher scores.

This study is a cross sectional study – a snapshot of ethical viewpoints at LAWA

in 2008.

The literature review yielded insights which LAWA can take advantage of as they move

forward:

1) Understanding the changing demographics in the U.S. work environment brings

new challenges for organizations,

2) Promoting a high road approach to organizational ethics and providing the tools

necessary for employees to achieve high ethical standards may improve

effectiveness and public regard.

Based on the ethics awareness training feedback the following considerations

should addressed in the near future:

a) The major training needs are in the areas of employee relations and

communications,

b) The delivery of ethics training might be more effective using outside

resources such as professionals or scholars,

c) Customize training for specialized areas of the organization, and

d) Address issues of gender and ethnicity in the workplace.

The good news is that the sum of all ethics scores was unrelated to gender,

ethnicity, language spoken, education level, area or whether the respondent supervised

others. Also, 67% of all respondents received a grade of fair or better (passing score).

The organization has a strong foundation on which to build.

Finally, we appreciated the opportunity to work with the LAWA/Ontario

International Airport. This was a rewarding experience for the Masters in Public

Administration students at Cal Poly Pomona.

74

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Appendix I: Survey Instrument

Employee Survey

Introduction

This survey was developed by the Masters in Public Administration program at California State University in Pomona (CSUP) in cooperation with LAWA administrators. The purpose of this survey is to assess your organization’s ethics training program. The ethic’s program initiated in 2007 sought to assist employees in making decisions that support the organization’s core values.

Your assistance in this assessment is important. Your participation will be kept anonymous and responses will be kept confidential. Please place and seal your survey in the envelope provided and sign your name or place your initials on the back of the seal. Do not put your name or any identifying information on the survey itself. Drop off your survey with the manager in your area.

These surveys will be forwarded to the MPA program at CSUP where the students will enter the data onto a spreadsheet for analysis. Completed surveys will not be reviewed or available to Airport employees. Administrators will get summarized information and analysis.

Your cooperation in this process is needed and appreciated. On behalf of the LA/Ontario Airport and the MPA program at CSU Pomona, we thank you for your time and thoughtfulness,

Dr, Sandra M. Emerson, MPA DirectorMPA 600 and MPA 504 classes

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Opinions: For each sentence below place an “X” in the box which best reflects your view.

Opinions Options1) Efforts to promote ethical behavior

and excellence in the workplace are rewarded in my organization.

Strongly Agree

Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree

2) Employees in my organization strive to do what is right

Strongly Agree

Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree

3) My co-workers opinions are valuable, even when I disagree with them

Strongly Agree

Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree

4) Employees are treated fairly in this organization

Strongly Agree

Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree

5) My organization maintains open lines of communication

Strongly Agree

Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree

6) When my opinion differs from others in my work area, I keep my views to myself.

Strongly Agree

Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree

7) My organization acts responsibly to promote the public interest.

Strongly Agree

Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree

8) When public concerns are reported, little is done to resolve concerns.

Strongly Agree

Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree

9) I support the public's right to know how LAWA's conducts its business.

Strongly Agree

Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree

10) In our communications there is a gap between what we say and what we do.

Strongly Agree

Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree

11) My organization commits its resources to the ecological health and sustainability of our region

Strongly Agree

Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree

12) There is a little tolerance in this organization for potential or observed misconduct.

Strongly Agree

Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree

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Issues: For each of the questions noted below circle () a letter to one response that best expresses your approach.

13) If misconduct by a co-worker is not addressed by my supervisor, I would:a) Appeal to a higher level of managementb) Discuss the misconduct with the co-worker on my ownc) Contact the Office of Ethics and Business Conduct.d) Not pursue the matter any further.

14) You are assigned a task and are having trouble meeting the deadline. Your first response to this concern is to:a) Talk to the supervisor regarding the dilemma.b) Seek assistance from co-workersc) Put other duties aside until the task is completed.d) Do the best you can.

15) After receiving feedback from my supervisor/manager which appears inconsistent with the organization’s policy, I a) Appeal to a higher level of management b) Seek input from coworkers, c) Continue to work as before. d) Make adjustments as directed,e) Ask the supervisor to review and clarify his/her earlier statements

16) You are responsible for monitoring the department’s telephone bill. Over the past few months you noticed that a supervisor has made numerous calls to the same long distance number. What do you do?a) Say nothing. The calls may be work related.b) Tell the manager that supervises this person about the phone calls.c) Approach the supervisor with the information and express your concern.

17) During work you witness a heated verbal disagreement between two co-workers. One of the individuals is a good friend. Would youa) Talk to your friend and encourage him/her not to do that againb) Report the incident to the supervisor?c) Explain what you observed, if asked d) Act as if nothing happened and not mention it to anyone.

18) You witness an employee throwing away non-recyclable items in the bin labeled for recycling. What do you do?a) Do nothing. It does not concern you.b) Report the employee to a supervisor or manager.c) Ask management to develop a training program on recycling.d) After the person leaves, go over and take the items out and throw them away

properly.e) Talk to the employee and explain the recycling program.

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19) You are told by an employee about a MySpace website entry. You find it is posted by an employee in your organization to complain about working conditions and management. What do you do?a) Contact the employee and recommend he/she remove it.b) Tell your supervisor about the website.c) Report the website to Human Resources.d) Tell other employees about it and see what they think should be done.

20) Your organization sends volunteers annually to help with cleaning up a nearby beach. You notice several employees from your organization smoking and throwing cigarette butts into the sand while taking a break. What do you do?a) Go over and ask these volunteers not to throw the cigarette butts in the sand.b) Talk to the LAWA Volunteer Coordinator about the incident.c) Don’t do anything to draw attention to it.

21) A patron is unhappy with a coworker’s response to a question and wants the coworker’s name so that the patron can report the incident. You know the handled the situation politely, correctly interpreted LAWA policies and procedures and the situation could not have been handled much better considering the circumstances. Your response is:

a) Indicate politely to the patron that you understand their situation and ask if you could help them understand their options in the situation.b) Politely indicate you are sorry the patron is dissatisfied and work to educate the patron on LAWA policy. If the patron remains upset, refer them to the employee’s supervisor.c) Politely explain why the employee behaved as he/she did. If they do not understand the explanation, refer them to Customer Service so they may place a complaint.d) Politely indicate that you cannot help them because their request goes against LAWA policy. Refer them to Customer Service so they may place a complaint.

22) You’re having a bad day and a coworker asks for a report you provided on two prior occasions. You snap back – “Damn, you lost it again?!” Later, when things are more manageable you,

a) Apologize for your commentb) Joke about what a terrible day it has beenc) Ask a colleague to explain the pressure you are underd) Say nothing, worst things have happened at work.

The Ethics Training Experience: Select one response except for questions 7 and 8.

1) Have you received ethics training in the past year from the organization where you work?

Yes___ No____ Don’t Know_____

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If you received ethics training on the job, please respond to the questions below. If not, please proceed to question 8 below:

2) How would you rate the overall ethics program at your place of employment?

__Very Good __ Good __Fair __Poor __Very Poor

3) How knowledgeable was the training facilitator in presenting the ethics program?____Very Knowledgeable ______Fairly Knowledgeable ____Somewhat Unknowledgeable ______ Not Knowledgeable

4) Did the setting (place where the training occurred) hinder your learning experience?

___Yes ___ No ___ Don’t know or no opinion

5) Should ethics training sessions include managers, supervisors and employees together?

___Yes ___ No ___ Don’t know or no opinion

6) What influence did the program have on raising your awareness of ethical issues in the workplace? It had

____no influence ___some influence, or ___significant influence on my awareness

7) Please share suggestions or comments about the ethics training program.

8) Circle a letter for the area/s that you would like to see additional ethics training:a) Accepting gifts and gift giving with those doing business with the organizationb) Contracting for goods and servicesc) Developing public trustd) Employee relationse) Improving communicationsf) Managing confidential informationg) Managing records and documentsh) Protecting public health and safetyi) Protecting the environmentj) Sharing information k) Use of the organization’s technology l) Other: (please specify______________)

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Respondent information: Please place an X on the space provided.

1) Your age group is from:

___ 18 to 29 ___30 to 39 ___40-49 __50-59 __60 and older

2) Your gender is: ___ Male ___Female

3) Your ethnic/racial group is:

__Asian _Black/African American __Hispanic/Latino

__Pacific Islander __White (Non Hispanic) __Other: specify_________

4) The highest level of education completed was:

__ less than high school __ a high school diploma

__some college (e.g., AA degree) or technical training past high school

__ college degree (e.g., BS or BA) __ a graduate college degree

__other (specify)_________________

5) How long have you worked for your current organization? ____less than a year ___1 to 3 years ____4-9 years

___10 years or more

6) Do you supervise others at work? ___Yes __No

7) Your primary area of responsibility in the organization is:

__Operations: maintenance, facilities, service to patrons, etc.__ Public safety: police, fire, risk management, etc.__ Community/business relations: property, concessions, etc.__ Administration: finance, personnel, training, employee support, etc.__Technological support: phone, computers, information technology, etc.__ Other (Specify:______________________________)__None of the above

Place the survey in the envelope provided and seal it. Sign your name or initials on the back of the sealed envelope and return the envelope to the area manager’s office.

Thank you for completing our survey.

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Appendix II: Pending

Data Analysis for:

Honesty,

Integrity,

Responsibility,

Public Trust

Citizenship,

Respect and Collaboration,

Organization Ethics

Individual Ethics

Sum of All Ethics

Training Experience and Future Training

84