With the recent Occupy movement, the concept of ethics and trust in the City has barely left the news - the perception remains that the City does not serve the wider economy and society.

On October 27th 2011, leading figures came together to discuss a recent initiative to restore trust in the City. The aim of this initiative, established by The Rt Hon The Lord Mayor, Alderman Michael Bear, was to look at practical ways to embed the right values and behaviours in the DNA of every City business and worker.

The project brings together a range of companies and a team from Cass Business School have conducted the City Business Voters Survey, putting forward a number of key observations and suggestions on regulation, professional codes, leadership and communication.

Some of the key observations included:

• Those who are members of professional institutions tend to feel more personally engaged in handling ethical issues, whereas those who are not members of a professional body tend to look to their employer's senior management for action
• Women are less confident in challenging actions at work that conflict with their ethical principles compared to men
• Ethical resilience is weaker in larger organisations
• There is a need to challenge the short-term bonus culture which breeds self-interest
• There is a need for fair implementation and follow through of existing regulation, rather than more regulation
• Leadership should take action against wrongdoers and communicate these cases more openly.

A synopsis of the event and the summary report are now available for you to read. What do you think? Let us know in the comments box below.