Ethical structures and processes of corporations operating in Australia, Canada and Sweden : A longitudinal and cross-cultural study

Based on the ‘Partnership Model of Corporate Ethics’ (Wood, 2002), this study examines the ethical structures and processes that are put in place by organizations to enhance the ethical business behavior of staff. The study examines the use of these structures and processes amongst the top companies in the three countries of Australia, Canada, and Sweden over two time periods (2001–2002 and 2005–2006). Subsequently, a combined comparative and longitudinal approach is applied in the study, which we contend is a unique approach in the area of business ethics. The findings of the study indicate that corporations operating in Sweden have utilized ethical structures and processes differently than their Canadian and/or Australian counterparts, and that in each culture the way that companies fashion their approach to business ethics appears congruent with their national cultural values. There does, however, appear to be a convergence of views within the organizations of each culture, as the Swedish companies appear to have been more influenced in 2005–2006 by an Anglo-Saxon business paradigm than they have been in the past.

Ethical perspective on sustainable business practices

This paper considers contemporary business practice and its sustainable performance from the view of stakeholder value. Stakeholder value is a broad concept and implies that a company has responsibilities and commitments to many different internal and external stakeholders in the marketplace and society, not only to its investors and the owners of the company, but also to its employees, customers, suppliers, societies and the environment. This view underlines the need for organisations to, not only provide value, but do so in a sustainable and socially responsible manner.

In considering the stakeholder value perspective of contemporary business practice, the authors proffer that undertaking an ethical perspective in corporate business practices will result in long term sustainable and socially responsible performance that delivers superior stakeholder value. In order to operationalise this concept a model is developed based on five, separate but interconnected, elements: (i) Foundation, (ii) Communication, (iii) Guidance, (iv) Outcome, and (v) Reconnection. The authors emphasise that the model is iterative and acknowledge its elementary state, suggesting further development and refinement in the field of sustainable business practices from an ethical perspective.

Bio-economical and ethical impacts of alien finfish culture in European inland waters

Since 1989, and in comparison to the global trend, inland aquaculture production of European finfish has declined. To date, the yearly European freshwater aquaculture production is 371,727 tons, valued at over US$1 billion. Indigenous species accounted for less than one-third of the production, whereas alien species (a species that has been moved beyond its natural range of distribution) accounts for the remainder. However, in general, indigenous species command a higher market price. Currently, food quality and food safety are leading concerns of consumers, and European consumers are also becoming alert to environmentally detrimental practices. Therefore, to aim at economic sustainability, the sector needs to satisfy consumer expectations of environmentally friendly practices. It is believed that farming alien finfish species can threaten local biodiversity through escapes, and this represents a current environmental concern relative to aquaculture. In this context, an attempt is made in this paper to understand and quantify the impacts of alien finfish cultivation in European inland waters, and to suggest remedial measures.

Reflexive and critical views of leadership performance in corporate accomplishment : framework and illustration

Purpose – This paper intends to shed some light on the relationship between leadership performance and corporate accomplishment through the aid of complexity sciences. The objective is to describe leadership performance in corporate accomplishment using different teleological approaches.

Design/methodology/approach – The paper discusses the underlying criteria of the relationship between leadership performance and corporate accomplishment. Case illustration and narrative analogy are also provided.

Findings – The authors believe that the discussion highlights a potential downside of leadership performance in corporate accomplishment and its precision rarely highlighted in practice and literature.

Research limitations/implications – There is a reigning assumption in management practice that is based on the belief that a top-down approach of leadership performance in management and business practices is superior to the bottom-up approach. It proffers the assumed importance of strategic management issues, but neglects the knowledge, experience, competence and awareness inherent among employees at tactical and operational levels of business practices. It also proffers a mechanical view of employee performance and ignores the worth of the generation of ideas from subordinates in management and business practices that contribute to corporate achievements. Furthermore, it neglects the fact that it is not possible to know the future nor it is predictable.

Practical implications – The paper contends that the importance of top management tends to be inflated in respect to corporate achievements in the management/leadership literature. It also contends that it should be questioned as to whether the top management of corporations are largely responsible for the corporate results on which they attempt to justify their salaries and other benefits. Furthermore, the paper contends that it also should be questioned as to what extent corporate accomplishment may be derived from the performance of the top management in organizations.

Originality/value – The paper strives to contribute to the ongoing discussion of leadership performance in corporate accomplishment in various ways. The principal contributions are: a set of teleological sub-processes of leadership performance and a case illustration and narrative analogies of teleological leadership performance patterns, in respect to corporate accomplishment in management and business practices. These contributions provide theoretical and managerial ideas and insights to anticipate and avoid deficient or erroneous grounds of leadership performance evaluation in corporate accomplishment.

The neglect of racism as an ethical issue in health care

Race and racism has been increasingly implicated in known disparities in the health and health care of racial, ethnic and cultural minorities groups. Despite the obvious ethical implications of this observation, racism as an ethical issue per se has been relatively neglected in health care ethics discourse. In this paper consideration is given to addressing the following questions: What is it about racism and racial disparities in health and health care that these command our special moral scrutiny? Why has racism per se tended to be poorly addressed as an ethical issue in health care ethics discourse? And why, if at all, must racism be addressed as an ethical issue in addition to its positioning as a social, political, cultural and legal issue? It is suggested that unless racism is reframed and redressed as a pre-eminent ethical issue by health service providers, its otherwise preventable harmful consequences will remain difficult to identify, anticipate, prevent, manage, and remedy.

Risk management and ethical environment : effects on internal audit and accounting control procedures

This study examines the impact of the scope of risk management and ethical environment on internal audit activities and the quality of accounting control procedures (ACPQ). The conceptual framework for the study is guided by COSO’s frameworks on internal controls and enterprise risk management and data from a questionnaire survey of 64 Australian firms are analysed using a structural equation model. The results of the study support that (1) internal audit activities have a significant intervening effect on the relationship between the scope of risk management and ACPQ, and (2) a direct and positive relationship exists between ethical environment and ACPQ. Our findings suggest that widening the scope of risk management activities do not directly improve ACPQ, but that it leads to more extensive internal audit activities and in turn such activities promote better ACPQ. Further, the results indicate that fostering a more ethical environment directly leads to higher ACPQ. These results have implications for the design of internal controls, namely with respect to the role of internal audit activities and ethical environment in enhancing ACPQ.