ABSTRACT
The world of business and public sector management has changed dramatically in Australia over the past 20 years, as regards attitudes towards poor governance and corrupt behaviour in both the public and private sectors. The major excesses of the 1980s and 1990s gave birth to a movement in public sector ethics, leading to the establishment of anti-corruption agencies, major inquiries into ethical misconduct and a myriad of integrity building strategies. Internationally, major corporate excesses and collapses, such as Enron, Worldcom and others, have jolted citizens out of their lethargy. In Australia, the collapse of companies such as HIH and OneTel, and the recent Australian Wheat Board (AWB) involvement in the ‘oil for foods scandal’ have heightened public awareness of the need to address ethics and corporate governance at the highest levels in both the private and public sectors ( Cole 2006; Prasser 2004, 94; Bower and Gilson 2003, 20; Houghton and Jubb 2003, 67; Leibler 2003, 61; Leung and Cooper 2003, 505; Mellema 2003, 125; Riley 2003, 31; Veasey 2003, 839; Clarke, Dean, and Houghton 2002, 58-72; Dabscheck 1998, 155-87; Glasbeek 1998, 188-221).
