Defense acquisition and self-governed compliance programs: An evaluation of the Defense Industry Initiative on Business Ethics and Conduct.

Research and a review of the related literature indicate that the United States defense industry has had a long history of unethical and illegal business practices. Recent polls find that most Americans believe that their nation's weapon acquisition system is one of the worst managed activities in the public or private sectors. The perception of our government as well as the general public is that the defense industry is neither efficient nor honestly managed. Although the defense acquisition process has been the subject of many reform efforts, it is reasonable to ask whether these reform efforts have had any success.