Has Integrity Become a Commodity? – Warning Signs of Bad Behavior for Compliance Professionals

By Thomas Sullivan Last updated May 5, 2018

This article takes a fresh look at trends in changing norms of ethical behavior by senior management and the challenge for compliance officers to recognize and address these changes at the enterprise level. A body of research is beginning to emerge to help inform compliance officers of new approaches to identify and address the threat of deteriorating ethical behavior before damage is done. A review of research in behavioral science points to examples of predictable outcomes where certain conditions create incentives for a change in ethical outcomes.

This may seem an odd question to ask, but has the “cost” of integrity created a commodity market in dishonesty? Can integrity be traded like an investment or derivative? In other words, if the price of integrity becomes too low, will the market for dishonesty rise to find equilibrium in a trade-off of values like any other marketplace?

The definition of a commodity has both positive and negative connotations. On the one hand, a commodity is defined as an “economic good” that is useful and valued. On the other hand, a commodity is defined as a good or service whose wide availability typically leads to smaller profit margins and diminishes in importance, a good that is subject to ready exchange or exploitation within a market. Given these conflicting definitions; Integrity, or the perception of integrity, can be considered both a commodity that creates value and a source of diminishing returns as others try to create a perception of integrity but fail to add value.