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When
Shell International wished to review its Statement of General
Business Principles, they called integrityworks.
The principal task was to assess the effectiveness of the
existing Statement and to suggest areas for revision or
amendment. Working closely with an executive team, integrityworks
put in place a programme consisting of interviews with top
managers and a patented questionnaire process that extended
to over 80 countries.
The questionnaire responses exceeded 83%, and the result
– coupled with interview material – provided an
assessment of the internal "ethical temperature."
It was then possible to compare this outcome with the "ethical
climate" outside, thus providing benchmarks for measuring
future progress as well as data on the total degree of commitment
to the Business Principles.
As a result of this work and other information, the Statement
of General Business Principles now contains specific references
to topics such as human rights, which is rare amongst major
companies. Another outcome of this work was to underscore
the importance of assurance. That is, regular and timely
feedback on the effective operation of stated standards
of business conduct.
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