Beyond ethics : a community platform to secure moral integrity

Stakeholders perceive the role of accountants to reflect trust, honesty, impartiality, fairness and transparency. The aim of this paper is to explore avenues to strengthen the moral integrity of professional bodies and their members. The resulting recommendations include a community or "milieu" approach.

The use of codes of ethics in the marketplace in corporate Australia : a longitudinal study

The stock market crash of 1987 was a defining moment in Australian corporate life. As a nation, we became acutely aware of the ‘moral bankruptcy’ that had come to permeate our corporate world. The focus on business ethics or the lack of it, in corporate Australia in the late 1980s, prompted this research.

The research for this paper that was first conducted in 1995 and replicated in 2001 focussed on the top 500 companies in Australia. These companies were surveyed on a raft of issues, one of which was their use of their codes of ethics in the marketplace. This paper examines the data sets from 1995 and 2001 and concludes that many of Australia’s largest enterprises have recognised the need for business ethics. As perceived by them, they can and do use their codes of ethics in a positive manner in the marketplace and attribute benefits to this interaction.

The commitment of public sector Sweden to codes of ethics

This article examines the results of a study conducted of the top 100 public sector units in Sweden. These units are comprised of entities of government, municipalities, and county councils. The aim of the study was to examine and describe the commitment to codes of ethics in these Swedish public sector units. This article reports on the responses of those public sector units that possessed a code of ethics. The construct of commitment was measured by a consideration of the inputs, objectives and outputs of the code across six areas. The commitment to codes of ethics has an interest for those involved in the public sector in Sweden and society in general. Most public sector units are in the early stages of development and assimilation into overall ethics policies in code artefacts. On a specific level there are customized codes of ethics that are not always documented in a generic artefact. Theoretical and managerial implications are provided. Furthermore, suggestions for further research are proposed.

Strategic approaches of corporate codes of ethics in Australia: a framework for classification and empirical illustration

Purpose - Research has so far not approached the contents of corporate code of ethics from a strategic classification point of view. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to introduce and describe a framework of classification and empirical illustration to provide insights into the strategic approaches of corporate code of ethics content within and across contextual business environments.

Design/methodology/approach - The paper summarizes the content analysis of code prescription and the intensity of codification in the contents of 78 corporate codes of ethics in Australia.

Findings - The paper finds that, generally, the studied corporate codes of ethics in Australia are of standardized and replicated strategic approaches. In particular, customized and individualized strategic approaches are far from penetrating the ethos of corporate codes of ethics content.

Research limitations/implications - The research is limited to Australian codes of ethics. Suggestions for further research are provided in terms of the search for best practice of customized and individualized corporate codes of ethics content across countries.

Practical implications - The framework contributes to an identification of four strategic approaches of corporate codes of ethics content, namely standardized, replicated, individualized and customized.

Originality/value - The principal contribution of this paper is a generic framework to identify strategic approaches of corporate codes of ethics content. The framework is derived from two generic dimensions: the context of application and the application of content. The timing of application is also a crucial generic dimension to the success or failure of codes of ethics content. Empirical illustrations based upon corporate codes of ethics in Australia's top companies underpin the topic explored.

Ethical performance evaluation (EPE) in business practices: framework and case illustrations

Purpose – A set of principal parameters (i.e. time, context, gap, outcome, and consequence) influences the ethical performance evaluation (EPE) of business practices in the marketplace and society. The purpose of this paper is to describe a managerial framework of EPE based upon these parameters.

Design/methodology/approach – Case illustrations are used to underpin the introduced managerial framework of EPE.

Findings – The EPE of business practices is not only dependent upon the ethical values and principles of today, but those principles of tomorrow may be equally, or even more, crucial. The EPE of business practices is also dependent upon the surrounding context and its specific ethical values and principles. Furthermore, it is dependent upon the gap between different perceptions of ethical values and principles and if the outcome of the corporation's ethical values and principles are proactive or reactive in relation to the reigning ethical values and principles in the marketplace and society. Finally, it is also dependent upon the potential and eventual consequences of ethical values and principles.

Research limitations/implications – The only way that we can “objectively” evaluate past ethical values and principles is through the use of ethical values and principles at the time and in respect to the context at hand. Research tends to fail when considering the longitudinal and evolutionary dimensions in the exploration of ethical values and principles in business practices. There is too much focus upon on-the-spot-accounts in the past and in current research efforts. An important area for further research is how to deal with the durability and variability of ethical values and principles in business practices in the marketplace and society. The key may be a stronger emphasis on longitudinal research efforts that may explore them over time and as contexts evolve. Ethical values and principles are connected and re-connected over time and across contexts in one way or another. They have a past, a current status and a future.

Practical implications – The decision as to whether business practices are ethical or unethical is – relatively speaking – easy to determine from a narrow perspective, however, the decision whether business practices are ethical or unethical becomes complicated as the perspective is widened and deepened. An introduced managerial framework of EPE provides a generic foundation and structure to examine the acceptability versus unacceptability of business practices.

Originality/value – The paper introduces a managerial framework of EPE, followed by case illustrations. It addresses the impact of time on ethical values and principles in any context on the potential and eventual gaps, outcomes and consequences in business practices. The managerial framework of EPE may also be used in non-business areas whenever found applicable and convenient to use.

Investigating codes of ethics within the largest private sector organizations in Sweden and Turkey

The aim of the study was to examine the ways that private sector organizations in Sweden and Turkey communicated the intent of their codes of ethics to their employees. Primary data was obtained via a self-administered mail questionnaire distributed to a census of the top 500 private sector organizations in each country based on revenue. The study identified some interesting results that showed that the small group of companies in Turkey that have a code may be more advanced in ethics artefacts usage than Sweden. Such a conclusion is counterintuitive as one would have expected a developed nation like Sweden to be more advanced in these measures than a developing nation such as Turkey. The culture of one's country may playa large role in the implementation of ethics artefacts in corporations and could be a major reason for this difference.

Corporate ethics and trust in intra-corporate relationships, an in-depth and longitudinal case description

Theoretically, a contribution of this article is the pinpointed connection between corporate ethics and trust in intra-corporate relationships. Furthermore, it contributes to a conceptual framework that distinguishes between the constructs of business ethics and corporate ethics. The authors also provide a grounded conceptual framework of corporate ethics and trust. The principal dyadic determinants of corporate ethics in intra-corporate relationships are interpreted to be management behaviour versus employee perception of that behaviour. Empirically, the contribution is an in-depth and longitudinal case description that underpins the topic and the discussion provided in the article.

Codes of ethics best practice in the Swedish public sector: a PUBSEC-scale

Examines business ethics in Swedish public sector organizations, and in particular, explores the content of public sector codes of ethics; suggests that it is possible through such an analysis to gain an understanding of an organization's performance in this area. Describes the questionnaire survey sent to public sector organizations (government, county councils, municipalities) requesting information on how they developed an ethical ethos into their daily operations, and details the analysis undertaken into their codes of ethics. Draws on case studies with public sector units representing best practice, in respect to codes of ethics, to develop a customized public sector scale (PUBSEC-scale) consisting of seven dimensions and 41 items. Makes suggestions as to how the PUBSEC-scale could be used; points to the differences between the codes of ethics in the public and private sectors; looks at what the private sector can learn from the public sector; makes suggestions for further research.

Corporate ethics in TQM: management versus employee expectations and perceptions

Purpose – The objective of this research is to develop and describe a conceptual framework of corporate ethics in total quality management (TQM).

Design/methodology/approach – The research is based on a summarised in-depth and longitudinal case illustration. The summarised case describes corporate ethics in an intra-corporate relationship.

Findings – TQM requires human resources and failing to care for them will affect accordingly the success of TQM. The case description illustrates the evolution of management versus employee expectations and perceptions of corporate ethics. It has an emphasis on the human resources of a company that strives towards TQM. As the quality of corporate ethics decreases the outcome of TQM is also affected (i.e. directly or indirectly). The case is initialised in an atmosphere of management and employee optimism and positivism of corporate ethics, which is a requisite from both parties in order to ensure prosperous TQM. The successive change towards pessimism and negativism of corporate ethics in the intra-corporate relationship concludes the in-depth case description.

Research limitations/implications – Four parameters of corporate ethics are used to incorporate corporate ethics into TQM, namely management versus employee expectations and perceptions. Internal corporate quality management should always be regarded as dependent upon the achieved equilibrium between management and employee perceptions. It is also dependent upon the derived equilibrium between management and employee previous expectations.

Practical implications – An important insight of this research is that TQM requires the continuous attention to the management versus employee expectations and perceptions inherent in corporate ethics of internal business operations. Furthermore, corporate ethics is complementary to business ethics.

Originality/value – The case description has shown that TQM may be running well and accomplishing the hard goals. However, TQM is not only about figures, profits and costs. It is also a business approach that should penetrate all activities inside and outside that are related to the company, including the soft issues.

Codes of ethics in corporate Sweden

Purpose – The purpose of the study is to examine and describe the use of codes of ethics in the top 100 companies operating in the Swedish corporate sector. This paper reports on the responses of those companies that possessed a code of ethics.

Design/methodology/approach – A three-stage research procedure was used. First, a questionnaire was sent to the public relations managers of the top 100 companies operating in the Swedish corporate sector (based on revenue). Companies were asked to answer up to 29 questions and to supply a copy of their code of ethics. The second stage involved content analysis of the codes of ethics supplied by survey respondents. The third stage involved a more detailed follow-up of a smaller group of firms that appeared to be close to best practice. Findings for Stage 1 of the research are reported in this paper. The areas of questioning were: how common are codes of ethics? Who was involved in the development of these codes? What are the reasons for the codes? How are they implemented? Do companies inform internal and external publics of the codes? What are the prescribed benefits of the codes?

Findings – It would appear that business ethics has only recently become a topic of interest in corporate Sweden and that many companies are in the early stages of code development and assimilation into company policies. The incidence of codes in the population (of 100) suggested by this survey (56 per cent) is lower than a US study finding (in 1995) that over 84 per cent of comparable US companies had codes of ethics. It would appear that Sweden today lags behind the US situation of 1995. When one investigates the special measures to support the inculcation of ethical values at the organizational level, there appears to be some shortfall. The supporting measures of ethics committees, ethics training committees, ethics training, ombudsman, an ethical audit and procedures to protect whistleblowers appear to be under-utilized in companies that possess codes. This lack of utilization tends to suggest that companies in Sweden, as yet, either have not developed a high commitment to supporting business ethics in their corporations, or they may have developed other methods to support their codes in their organizations that they view are as beneficial as the traditional methods practised in other western industrial democracies.

Research limitations/implications – This research was limited to internal ethical expectations. The commitment to business ethics is usually explored in terms of internal ethical expectations, but the simultaneous consideration of the external ethical expectations in the marketplace (e.g. among suppliers and customers or other publics) is desirable. A dyadic approach considering a company's internal ethical expectations and the external ethical expectations of a company's business activities may give a more balanced and in-depth approach.

Practical implications – Evidence is now available to show that codes of ethics are well developed in many of Sweden's largest corporations: organizations that, from their responses, appear to see a diverse range of benefits in developing the area of business ethics. Companies are beginning to implement not only a code of ethics, but other complementary initiatives that reinforce the need for the culture of the organization to be ethical. Codes of ethics are perceived by organizations to have assisted them in their dealings in the marketplace and many companies use their ethical values to underpin their strategic planning process. It appears that many companies now see the formalisation of business ethics as an integral part of their commercial practices.

Originality/value – This study is the first one of its kind on codes of ethics in corporate Sweden. It will enable all sectors of Swedish business to benchmark their efforts against the major companies in the Swedish corporate sector.

Ethics in a capitalistic society

The problem of semantics is inherent in any discussion of ethics. The general term "ethics" is itself commonly confused. In addition, systems of ethics must be built upon assumptions, and assumptions are necessarily subject to lengthy debate. These two problems are encountered in my investigation of the ethical practices of the modern business community and to remedy the situation I have taken two steps: the first being an attempt to clarify the meaning of terms used therein;-and the second being a clear description of the assumptions utilized to further my analysis. To satisfy those who would disagree with these assumptions, I have attempted to outline the consequences of differing premises. The first assumption in my discussion is that the capitalistic economy is powered by the motivation supplied by man's self-interest. We are conditioned to basing our courses of action upon an orientation toward gratifying this self-interest. Careers are chosen by blending aptitude, interest, and remuneration. of course, some people are less materially inclined than others, but the average member of our capitalistic society is concerned with the physical rewards derived from his employment. Status and happiness are all-important considerations in pursuing a chosen course of action, yet all too often they are measured in physical terms. The normal self-interest natural to mankind is heightened in capitalism, due to the emphasis placed upon material compensation. Our thinking becomes mechanistic as life devolves into a complex game played by the rules. We are accustomed to performing meaningless or unpleasant duties to fulfill our gratifications. Thought, consequently, interferes with the completion of our everyday routines. We learn quickly not to be outspoken, as the outspoken one threatens the security of his fellow man. The majority of the people are quite willing to accept others views on morality, and indeed this is the sensible thing to do as one does not risk his own neck. The unfortunate consequence of this situation has been the substitution of the legal and jural for the moral and ethical. Our actions are guided by legal considerations and nowhere has this been more evident than in the business community. The large legal departments of modern corporations devote full time to inspecting the legality of corporate actions. The business community has become preoccupied with the law, yet this is necessarily so. Complex, modern, capitalistic society demands an elaborate framework of rules and regulations. Without this framework it would be impossible to have an orderly economy, to say nothing of protecting the best interests of the people. However, the inherent complexities, contradictions, and sometimes unfair aspects of our legal system can tempt men to take things into their own hands. From time to time cases arise where men have broken laws while acting in good faith, and other cases where men have been extremely unethical without being illegal. Examples such as these foster the growth of cynicism, and generally create an antagonistic attitude toward the law on the part of business. My second assumption is that the public, on the whole, has adopted an apathetic attitude toward business morality. when faced with an ethical problem, far too many people choose to cynically assume that, if I don't do it someone else will. "The danger of such an assumption lies in that it eliminates many of the inhibitions that normally would preclude unethical action. The preventative factor in contemplating an unethical act not only lies in it going against the "right course of action", but also in that it would display the actor as one of the few, immoral practitioners. However, if the contemplator feels that many other people follow the same course of action, he would not feel himself to be so conspicuous. These two assumptions underly my entire discussion of modern business ethics., and in my judgment are the two most important causal factors in unethical acts perpetrated by the business community. The future elimination of these factors seems improbable, if not futile, yet there is no reason to consider things worse than they ever have been before. The heightened public interest in business morality undoubtedly lies in part in the fact that examples of corporate malpractice are of such magnitude in scope, and hence more newsworthy.

The use of codes of ethics in the corporate marketplace: the case of Australia and Sweden

Business ethics is a subject that recently has been thrust again into prominence in industrialised economies around the world, due to the revelations of the practices of some of the major corporations operating within the USA. In Australia, corporate collapses such as HIH and Onetel and in Sweden, the scandals with the top executives of Skandia and also Systembolaget have brought in to sharp focus that these practices are not confined to the USA. Since the early 1960s, codes of ethics have been in evidence in many organisations in the USA, whilst in Australia, as in Britain, the interest in codes of ethics was piqued by the stock market crash of 1987. In Sweden, however, this concept of the use of codes of ethics in the corporate sector had not been investigated prior to this study. This paper examines the use of codes of ethics in the marketplace by the top companies operating in corporate Australia and corporate Sweden. The outcome of this research shows that in both Australia and Sweden that large organisations indicate a substantial interest in codes of ethics and value the use of their codes in the marketplace. There are, however, differences in the ways that the companies in each country implement their codes of ethics in the marketplace and the benefits that they see as being derived from them.

Implementation, communication and the benefits of corporate codes of ethics in Taiwan and Turkey : a comparison across contexts

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the corporate codes of ethics (CCE) that are put in place by companies in Taiwan and Turkey.

Design/methodology/approach – This study examines the use of CCE among the top companies in Taiwan and Turkey. It is a replication of a study performed in Australia, Canada and Sweden and a follow-up study.

Findings – The empirical findings show many similarities with top companies in Australia, Canada and Sweden, but more importantly identify key differences distinctly unique to each of the two countries under investigation. Statistical analysis suggests that the implementation, communication and benefits of CCE are paramount to Turkish companies operating in a domestic environment where the aspiration to participate globally and join the European Union is high, whereas in Taiwan it is low in favor of more traditional business practices (similar to the Chinese concept of guanxi) that focus on individual relationships in favor of formalized regulatory frameworks (such as CCE).

Originality/value – This study makes a complementary contribution to the accumulated knowledge in the area of CCE, particularly given the cultural and historical differences these countries possess in comparison to each other and those previously studied and documented in the literature.

Implementation, communication and benefits of public sector codes of ethics : a longitudinal study of Sweden

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the implementation, communication and benefits of codes of ethics in the public sector of Sweden.

Design/methodology/approach – The research is based on a longitudinal approach. It examines the ethos of codes of ethics in the largest public sector organizations of Sweden in 2001-2002 and 2005-2006.

Findings – Only a few of the largest public sector organizations in Sweden have indicated that they possess codes of ethics. This finding may be explained by the current judicial legislation that governs Swedish society. The public codes of ethics have been established both recently and, in part, years ago.

Research limitations/implications – A suggestion for further research would be to examine the implementation, communication and perceived benefits of public sector codes of ethics in other countries. Another area of further research would be to replicate the reported surveys in the future to examine the existence of potential trends.

Practical implications – When it comes to the perceived benefits of public sector codes of ethics there appears to be only minor acknowledgement of the code being used to resolve ethical problems in society. However, there is a strong conviction that the code of ethics positively influences the operations of public sector organizations.

Originality/value – The paper examines the ethical implementation, communication and benefits put in place by private companies to embed codes of ethics into their organizations.