Adults must help teens find moral compass

As I read last week about yet another sentencing for business executives gone bad, it got me wondering whether the lessons we should be learning from the Tycos and Enrons and WorldComs of the world are sinking in with the next generation of leaders.

A day later, I received a hint that maybe they are.

But we're not out of the woods yet.

A poll released by JA Worldwide (Junior Achievement) and Deloitte & Touche USA LLP, shows that the number of teens who say they would act unethically to get ahead if there was no chance of getting caught has dropped to 22 percent this year from 33 percent in 2003.

That's the good news.

Less positive were poll results showing that more than 40 percent of teens admitted they might act unethically if instructed to do so by their boss, and 35 percent said they likely would lie to a boss to cover up a mistake made at work.

Poll results are based on a Harris Interactive online survey of 777 U.S. youth aged 13 to 18, conducted between July 13 and 18. The margin of error is 4 percent.

For more insight on what these poll results might mean, I contacted Adrian Gostick, a local business ethics expert and co-author of "The Integrity Advantage."

Adrian says he has some concerns about the generation of young people now entering the work force. Anecdotal information indicates that their top concern regarding work is drawing a high salary, he says, while earlier generations wanted job security or work/life balance.

"People say these kids come into the workplace nowadays right out of college, and in a couple of years they expect to be making six-figure salaries," Adrian says. "For some reason, money has risen to a very high level of importance with the work force entering today. I think when you're expecting to make a lot of money, and it doesn't happen after a few years, . . . all of this is sort of combining to make a dangerous environment."

That may be why so many teens would be willing to lie to hide a mistake.

However, Adrian says, "Society isn't falling apart. They just need to be shown by leadership as they enter a company what values are important. This is why it's important for companies to have . . . a culture of integrity."