The Ethical Environment Facing the Profession of Purchasing and Materials Management

This article presents the key findings of a study cosponsored by NAPM that surveyed NAPM members in an effort to (1) identify the key ethical issues facing the profession of purchasing and materials management today, and (2) determine the extent to which purchasing professionals find various factors to be helpful or to present challenges to their efforts to act ethically. A comparison of the findings for C.P.M.s and non‐C.P.M.s indicates that the two groups of NAPM members have very similar views regarding the key ethical issues and the helps and challenges encountered by the profession. The implications of the key findings for business and the profession are discussed.