On some business or policy issues, business leaders are largely of one mind. On other issues, they may be divided or even polarized. On the issue of the Boeing CEO dismissed because of a dalliance with another senior executive, our panel of business leaders and CEOs is undecided as a group in the sense that attitudes cover the entire spectrum of possible opinion with no concentration of opinion at any point on the spectrum.

The panel embraces both the idea of ethical standards for the office and Boeing’s own mission statement with respect to upholding honesty, impartiality, the company’s reputation. Business leaders and CEOs are inclined to believe that organizations should have rules governing contracts with friends and relatives as well as relationships between individuals of unequal authority. But they are slightly disinclined to believe that there ought to be rules governing office relationships between married individuals and especially not between those who are unmarried.

These are the key findings from this week’s web-survey of the COMPAS/Financial Post panel of business leaders and CEOs conducted under the sponsorship of BDO Dunwoody LLP and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.

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