Comparing codes of ethics among the top companies in Australia, Canada and the USA

In the twentieth century, industrialized economies around the world enacted legislation to protect free and fair trade. These legislative initiatives were often precipitated by exposure to unethical business practices. With the fairly recent corporate business scandals around the world, ethics is once again at the forefront of concerns about commercial exchanges. This situation has become more complex with the globalization of commercial trade. Subsequently, there have been various attempts by international organizations to regulate the conduct of global corporations. One key technique to try to regulate the conduct of corporation is the use of codes of ethics. This study examines corporate codes of ethics and the measures in place to communicate the ethos of the codes to both internal and external stakeholders in three countries. A questionnaire that was non-sponsored and unsolicited was sent to the top companies operating in the private sector within Australia, Canada and the USA. Nine key areas of corporate ethics are examined and they are divided into two categories as follows:<br /><br /><u><b>Regulation</b></u><br />Consequences for a Breach<br />Ethical Perfonnance Appraisal<br />Conduct Ethical Audits<br /><u><b><br />Staff Support</b></u><br />Support of Whistle blowers<br />Guide to Strategic Planning<br />Ethics Committee<br />Ethics Training Committee<br />Staff Training<br />Ethics Ombudsman.<br />