Executive summary: what we found -- Signs point to ethics downturn -- Trends influenced by the recession and social networkers -- Companies can reduce their ethics risks -- Additional findings -- Conclusions y recommendations -- The NBES team -- The NBES advisory group -- List of charts and tables

In the pages that follow we report some very good news, but also some very troubling news. On the one hand, misconduct has reached an historic low and observers of wrongdoing are more willing to report than ever. But with this good news we also see some very ominous signs – ethics cultures are eroding and employees’ perceptions of their leaders’ ethics are slipping. Additionally, pressure from employers to compromise standards is at an all-time high and retaliation has reached an alarming rate. Interestingly, two pervasive external factors seem to have played a role in the extreme nature of the findings this year. The economy and technology (specifically social networking) are not only changing the way we behave outside the workplace, they seem to be influencing the way we conduct ourselves at work.