Most business people think they are ethical.

How do they know? How do you measure goodness, honesty or systematically doing the right thing?

Anyone who doesn’t believe in the existence of an absolute standard of right and wrong—who thinks a certain behavior is moral in one circumstance and not in another—will have difficulty setting standards by which to measure ethical behavior.

Here’s a measurement that Kenneth Blanchard, management consultant and author of The One-Minute Manager (Penguin Putnam Inc, 1983) has suggested: Would you go home and brag to your spouse, children and mom about what you are doing?

One study found that about 10 percent of workers leave their jobs because of their employer’s unethical business practices. Study the employees, vendors and advisers who have stopped doing business with your firm. Was lack of ethics a reason?

Another study reported that 65 percent of employees know about an ethical violation at their workplace but don’t report it. What percentage of your employees would do the same?

One in eight employees feel pressure at work to make ethical compromises. Are your workers among them?

Six in 10 employees say their organization is highly ethical. What would your employees say? How about your vendors? Your customers?

These and similar questions will help you measure what your company’s ethical standards really are, not just what you think they are or hope they will be perceived to be.