The Importance of Integrity in Both Business and Academia
Integrity plays an important role in both business and academia. The need for trustworthy and ethical behaviour cannot be over-emphasised.
In business
According to indeed.com (2023) – business integrity is the ‘act of conducting business practices by following a moral and ethical framework. As with personal integrity, business integrity requires you to act with honesty and consistency and to hold yourself accountable for your actions, even when nobody’s watching.
Developing and maintaining integrity has a number of important business outcomes including -
When you act with business integrity you show people that you can be trusted – this in turn helps you build relationships with customers and co-workers alike;
Business integrity can strengthen your reputation – this in turn usually results in better business options;
In striving for excellence and integrity the process will improve performance – which in turn not only delivers quality results – but creates new and enduring options;
When you demonstrate business integrity you often increase job satisfaction – this can be achieved at an individual as well as a group level.
BetterUp (2022) argues – ‘having integrity means that you are honest, ethical, and follow defined moral principles. And integrity at work is about even more than honesty and respect. If an organization has a true culture of integrity, that means employees take their commitments seriously, are proactive when they don’t understand their responsibilities, and ultimately, are accountable for their results. As a result, the business thrives.’
The seven traits associated with integrity include –
Expressing gratitude for others – people with integrity are able to recognise that friends, co-workers and the larger community actually enhance their lives and as a result do what they can to thank and support those around them;
Communicating honestly and openly – this includes being prepared to have hard and difficult conversations;
Taking responsibility for your actions – that is being accountable for your actions – whether good or bad – this will include learning from your mistakes and accepting/admitting when you are in the wrong;
Respecting yourself and those around you – this includes accepting your own strengths and weaknesses and the same with those around you;
Helping those in need – wanting to help others with time, ability and even finances.
Demonstrating reliability and trustworthiness – knowing the importance of teamwork and ensuring that people are included and acknowledged;
Showing patience and flexibility – overcoming hurdles and challenges with patience, flexibility and resilience.
If these outcomes can be achieved and these traits are evidenced in the workplace – the business will grow and so too will the individuals working within the organisation grow and develop.
In academia
TEQSA (2023) believes academic integrity is ‘the expectation that teachers, students, researchers and all members of the academic community act with honesty, trust, fairness, respect and responsibility’.
The Australian National University (2023) furthers the understanding that – ‘academic integrity is a core part of our culture as a community of scholars. At its heart, academic integrity is about behaving ethically. This means that all members of the community commit to honest and responsible scholarly practice and to upholding these values with respect and fairness.’
At the heart of the discussion is the view that integrity comes from honest and ethical behaviour within the academic community – and being upfront about what is being said and what sources were used to form the opinions.
My own organisation has in place an academic misconduct policy - https://www.ubss.edu.au/media/4651/academic-misconduct-policy-v15.pdf - that highlights the principles of dealing with alleged cases of misconduct; principles of academic misconduct; examples of academic misconduct; levels of academic misconduct; penalties; guidelines for reducing academic misconduct; and misconduct appeals.
We also have in place an Academic Integrity Committee (a standing committee of the Academic Senate) that meets regularly and deals with issues raised in a fair and appropriate way.
Integrity remains integral to both business and academic activity – and represents a key aspect of appropriate behaviour in both industries - and within relevant sectors of both.
Australian National University - https://www.anu.edu.au/students/academic-skills/academic-integrity
BetterUp - https://www.betterup.com/blog/integrity-in-the-workplace
TEQSA - https://www.teqsa.gov.au/students/understanding-academic-integrity/what-academic-integrity
Emeritus Professor Greg Whateley is Deputy Vice-Chancellor (UBSS) and Chief Executive Officer (GCA).
