How can a company go about implementing a policy which encourages integrity among its employees? There is, in fact, no one way that a company can guarantee that its employees will not steal from it, or take advantage of company resources, but it can create an environment which discourages the active and overt theft that many companies have come to expect from their employees.
For years, the traditional way to fight theft was to have an atmosphere in which any transgressions were severely punished, usually by immediate termination. This came about as companies expected that employees would seek to gain the maximum that they could from the organization, both in lawful and unlawful manners, and is often found in organizations that are characterized by a Theory X approach to management (Badaracco & Ellsworth, 1992, p. 31).
In these environments, companies foster an "us vs. them" syndrome among employees and management, with the result that employees justify stealing with the attitude that they "deserve" the extra items, and management expects that all employees are going to steal, given the opportunity. It should be noted that in many cases, the most common items stolen are office supplies, such as pens and paper, although there are instances where employees have stolen much more costly items.
Instead of focusing on a punitive atmosphere, companies are better off if they can build an atmosphere that focuses not just on integrity, but on the overall relationship of the employee to the company. By letting each employee see that they provide a vital service to the organization, and by demonstrating that employees are as important as management, the company is likely to build an environment where employees are less likely to steal (Zauderer, 1994, p. 44). In these situations, employees no longer see management as the enemy, but view the entire organization as one where every action is important and where even small theft has a ne...