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ACCA Strategic Professional · Strategic Business Leader · Professionalism, ethical codes and the public interest

The board of Brightwater Pharma wants to move from a compliance-based to an integrity-based approach to ethics. Which action is most consistent with an integrity-based approach?

The integrity-based approach embeds shared ethical values in decision making, with managers modelling them and staff encouraged to use judgement. More rules, penalties, audits and rule-knowledge tests are features of a compliance-based approach, which depends on external control rather than internalised values.

  1. AAdding more detailed rules and penalties to the existing code to deter breaches
  2. BIncreasing external audit checks on employee expense claims
  3. CEmbedding shared ethical values in decision making, with managers modelling them and staff encouraged to exercise judgementCorrect
  4. DLimiting ethics training to a single annual test of rule knowledge

Explanation

An integrity-based approach relies on internalised values and judgement, supported by leadership example. The other options rely on rules, monitoring and penalties, which characterise a compliance-based approach.

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