Work Developed
There are two main regular activities per year: Reflection Sessions and the Annual Study, which intercalates with the IBE's triennial International Ethics at Work Study.
The Ethics Forum Collection by UCP Editora, the celebration of Global Ethics Day and Research Notes are other recent Forum activities.
Reflection Sessions
Many topics have been debated at Ethics Forum sessions since 2015:
Top management: how to sensitise hierarchies to ethics; Limits of transparency in companies: what are the critical success factors in promoting business ethics? How to manage with glass ceilings; How to promote reflection on corruption and bribery with managers; Identification of organisational ethical risk; Harassment at work; Designing ethics like someone designs a brand; Technology at the service of ethics; Ethical leadership at a distance.
Some of the topics were suggested by Forum members, others by the organising team, depending on current events or new legislation. Many of them were transformed into case studies for debate, or worked on using innovative methodologies such as the Case Clinic or debated with the support of specialists in each topic.
Articles and testimonies
From 2019 onwards, the reflections and conclusions drawn from each Forum session have been used as raw material for articles published on the Portal VER to share with the community, presented here in chronological order (available in Portuguese):
- Ethical organisational culture: what do we (really) need to know?
- Succession of ethical leadership: the case of St Ignatius' leadership
- The fine line that separates lobbying from influence peddling: Law, Ethics and Compliance?
- Ethics and Generational Diversity in the Workplace: crossed perspectives
- Harassment and Retaliation: crossed perspectives of ethics and compliance
- Ethics and Hybrid Labour: perspectives that make a difference
- Retaliation: narratives that make a difference
- Tell me your fudge factor and I'll tell you who you are
- Emotions cannot be deferred. Not even in the workplace
- Where's the fairness?
- Business ethics in times of pandemic - survey results
- The importance of (re)knowing emotions
- Post-COVID ethics: rethinking is a must
- Ethical challenges in times of pandemic | public call
- Technology at the service of ethics
- Designing ethics like designing a brand
- Rewarding and punishing ethical performance
Also within the scope of the VER Portal, Forum members took part in the "World's Smallest Film Cycle" (Ciclo de Cinema mais Pequeno do Mundo) to comment on short videos as a starting point for reflection on ethics in companies.
Members of the Forum also took part at the invitation of CPBS in the FNAC Business Talks to talk about "(Dis)Gender Equality: team management" and to "Talk about ethics in companies", a participation that led to another article on the VER Portal.
Global Ethics Day | 2024
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Do you want to be part of Global Ethics Day VoxPop? |
16 OUT | Global Ethics Day: webinar "Thinking with and about Ethics: Generational Diversity"
Agenda:
14h00 | Ethics and Generational Diversity: a study with history, Helena Gonçalves*
14h10 | Generational diversity - with each other, Helena Gil da Costa*
14h20 | Thinking ethically about diversity: (Re)readings, Susana Magalhães*
14h30 | Ethics and Generational Diversity: inhabiting the (in)experience, Henrique Manuel Pereira*
14:40 | Global Ethics Day Voxpop: What ethical issues are most important to you?
14h45 | Debate
*Ethics Forum team
Global Ethics Day | 2023
As usual, Católica Porto Business School marked another Global Ethics Day. In 2023, the motto was "Ethics Empowered: using the power of ethics to build a better world".
The month of October 2023 was marked by various initiatives by the Católica Porto Business School Ethics Forum, as part of Global Ethics Day:
18 OCT | Católica Porto Business School celebrates Global Ethics Day with various Ethics Forum initiatives
18 OCT | Article published in Público "Thinking with and about ethics on Global Ethics Day", written by Helena Gonçalves and Susana Magalhães, from the Ethics Forum (available in Portuguese)
Global Ethics Day | 2022
Thinking with and about ethics on Global Ethics Day | Opinion | PÚBLICO (publico.pt)
As part of the Executive Course on Ethics, Compliance and Whistleblowing in Organisations and in celebration of Global Ethics Day, Católica Porto Business School has the pleasure of inviting you to an Open Session on "The Contribution of Whistleblowing Channels to Organisational Ethics".
The session took place on 19 October at 9.30am (duration 2 hours) in hybrid mode, and could be attended in person (in the Porsche Room, in the Américo Amorim Building) or via the web. The round table had the valuable participation of:
- Luís Silva Santos, CEO of Ascendi
- Mafalda Pinto, CEO of Scoop
- Miguel Franco, Co-CEO of Schmitt Elevadores
- Rui Lopes Ferreira, CEO of Super Bock Group
Global Ethics Day | 2021
Global Ethics Day - Testimonials - YouTube | Testimonials from Ethics Forum Members: Manuela Silva, EDP Ethics Ombudsman; Maria João Simões, SONAE Ombudsman; Rita Nabeiro, Adega Mayor CEO
Global Ethics Day 2021 - Susana Magalhães - YouTube | Testimonial by Susana Magalhães, Integrity Officer at i3S
Global Ethics Day - Helena Gonçalves and Ana Roque YouTube | Testimonials from the Forum coordinators
Research Notes
This study, based on the methodology of the Institute of Business Ethics (IBE, 2023), presents the results of a comparative analysis of the codes of ethics/conduct of companies listed on the Portuguese Stock Exchange (PSI).
While 93 per cent of PSI companies demonstrate a commitment to transparency through publicly available codes, only 29 per cent meet the "good" quality criterion. An average quality score of 5.3 (out of 10 points) means that there is room for improvement. In designing the Code, it is recommended that there is a need to shift towards values-driven structures, prioritising ease of use, establishing comprehensive guidelines for the "Speak Up" process and strengthening Leadership involvement. This study aims to guide companies towards fostering a culture of integrity, transparency and accountability, thus contributing to the ongoing evolution of ethical practices in the corporate sphere in Portugal and promoting sustainable governance of organisations.
Seminars
- Since 2023, Annual conferences “Artificial Intelligence: crossed perspectives between Ethics, Law and Technology”
- Conference to present "Ethics at Work | Portugal | 2018" | participation of 3 Members as speakers;
- Seminar "The impact of the new legislation on harassment on companies" | in partnership with PortalVER and EDP | reflection on the ethical implications (Harassment: from the talk of compliance to the walk of ethical cultures - VER) and participation of 4 Members as speakers (Lisbon, Nov. 2017; Porto, Jan. 2018).
Studies
Ethics and Generational Diversity at Work - annual study carried out by the Ethics Forum in 2023, with the aim of studying perceptions of generational diversity at work. This knowledge will support the identification of opportunities and the creation of guidelines that allow the labour context to be a space of hospitality and inclusion for the different generations that inhabit it. See more here.
Ethics and Hybrid Work - a study carried out by the Ethics Forum in 2022, with the aim of supporting organisations in identifying opportunities, creating guidelines for (re)imagining the future of the workforce and organisations, and contributing to the emergence of (more) humanised, more ethical workplaces. See more here.
Ethics at Work - a triennial study carried out since 2005 by the Institute of Business Ethics (IBE) and which, in 2018, through a partnership with Católica Porto Business School, included Portugal for the first time, out of a total of 8 countries. In 2021, the study was extended to 13 countries. See more here.
Ethical challenges in times of pandemic - a study carried out by the Ethics Forum in 2020, with the aim of taking a snapshot of how the crisis generated by the COVID-19 pandemic has been experienced from an ethical point of view in organisations. See more here.