| Summary: | Unethical behaviour in South African (SA) government organisations is often highlighted in
government reports as a root cause to impeding good governance and promoting integrity. Objectives
Unethical behaviour in South African (SA) government organisations is often highlighted in
government reports as a root cause to impeding good governance and promoting integrity. To address
the problem, the study’s primary objective was to evaluate perceptions of ethics risk in a SA
government organisation. Theoretical and empirical objectives were identified in order to assist in
achieving the primary objective. Prior Work In this article, we examine the perceptions of ethics risk
in a SA government organisation, using a combined leadership approach aimed at building an ethical
and effective public service. Approach The survey focused on three main areas, which include (1)
Ethical culture – How well the organisational culture supports ethical behaviour; (2) Ethics behaviour/
conduct – Specific behaviour or practices that the government organisation may be subjected to and (3)
Ethics management – Respondents’ awareness of the ethics management interventions and the
perceived effectiveness of the interventions. Results The results reflect the findings according to the
themes of ethical culture, behaviour and ethics management factors, thus providing knowledge of
factors that contribute to unethical conduct and how they can be avoided. Implications The results of
the findings provided knowledge of factors that contribute to unethical conduct and how they can be
avoided. Value The key contribution of this study was to provide insight into effective ethics
management in government organisations, and to support further improvements.
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