The supermarket chain intends to provide management training to 10,000 bosses across the UK under the auspices of its Asda Leadership Event developed in conjunction with management training specialist Cirrus.

Following a series of launch events, the scheme will be rolled out over the course of this year and include specially-designed activities and role play to inculcate managers with the firm's vision, purpose and values as part of a bid to support expansion. Last November, the retailer announced that it planned to create more than 7,500 new jobs this year.

Amanda Cox, head of learning and development at Asda, said: "The Cirrus team have worked closely in partnership with us to co-create a programme, which will have an impact on everything our leaders do every day."

The aim, according to Cirrus' managing director Simon Hayward, was to devise a scheme that "would become ingrained in the Asda culture, ensuring that everyday leadership behaviours make a big difference to performance".

The news came as a survey undertaken by the Chartered Management Institute revealed that nearly a quarter of leaders had knowingly breached professional conduct guidelines at work, with men significantly more likely to do so (30%) than their female counterparts (19%).

Moreover, of the 1,000 bosses questioned, nearly 25% had not even bothered to read their employer's or professional body's code of conduct, while almost three quarters of those belonging to a professional association did not even know such guidance existed or that they were required to follow it.

Nonetheless, three out of five said that they would think better of colleagues if they made an effort to abide to such rules. The CMI has recently reviewed and updated its mandatory Code of Professional Conduct and Practice and renamed it the 'Code of Practice for Professional Managers'.