'Let's Keep It Simple,' Tyco International Said

Source:prnewswire.com
MAMARONECK, N.Y., May 25 /PRNewswire/ -- About a year and a half ago, Tyco International, Ltd. conducted a cultural diagnostic survey to assess what its employees were thinking about ethics and compliance.

There was good news and bad news. At the top of the company—e.g., senior managers—there was strong support for ethics and compliance, recalls Matthew O. Tanzer, the company's vice president and chief compliance counsel.

But in the lower reaches, things were different. While "not terrible," support for ethics and compliance was softer.

That survey, developed by the Conference Board's Council on Corporate Ethics and Compliance, served as a "wake-up call," recalls Tanzer.

Admittedly, one might find this sort of ethics gap at many companies. But Tyco wanted to do better with its middle managers, supervisors, and "ground-level" employees.

(Tyco, with about 100,000 employees, specializes in security and protection devices and has U.S. headquarters in Princeton, N.J.)