Posts Tagged ‘ethics’
Featured In
Social Research Digest – February 2013
Summary
This study analyzes the nexus between perceived ethicality at a corporate level, and brand trust, brand affect and brand loyalty at a product level. The study uses a theoretical framework with hypothesized relationships is developed and tested through structural equations modeling and specifically looks at 4,027 spanish consumers.
Key findings
- The results suggest that there is a positive relationship between perceived ethicality of a brand and both brand trust and brand effect.
- There has been a recent rise in ethical consumerism in tandem with increasing number of corporate brands projecting a socially responsible and ethical image.
- The main research question is whether having a corporate brand that is perceived to be ethical have any influence on outcome variables of interest for its product brands?
- Results from the study demonstrate that: (1) There a positive relationship between perceived ethicality of a brand and both brand trust and effect (2) Brand trust and brand affect both show a positive relation with brand loyalty.
Author(s)
J. J. Singh, O. Iglesias, J. M. Batista-Foguet
Source
Journal of Business Ethics, 111 (4), 541-549.
1. The Sustainability Champion’s Guidebook: How to Transform your Company (Bob Willard)
This book is a guide primarily for someone who wants to start the sustainability transformation in a company that he or she owns or someone who wants to review the existing processes in such a company. This is also a great book for people who are open to moving towards new business models, governance systems as well as products and services. Review by Tolga Yavuz. Read more
2. The Why of Work: How Great Leaders Build Abundant Organisations That Win (Dave Ulrich and Wendy Ulrich)
This book is about both the why and the how of meaning at work. The why refers to the human search for meaning that finds its way into our organisations, a search that motivates and defines us. The how gets us into the practicalities of how leaders facilitate that search personally and among their employees. It provides specific tools and principles to help leaders put meaning to work. Review by Adil El Menyari. Read more
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Author: Dave Ulrich and Wendy Ulrich
Publisher: McGraw-Hill
Year: 2010
Pages: 304
This book is about both the why and the how of meaning at work.
The why refers to the human search for meaning that finds its way into our organisations, a search that motivates and defines us. The how gets us into the practicalities of how leaders facilitate that search personally and among their employees. It provides specific tools and principles to help leaders put meaning to work.
Divided into 10 chapters, this book covers a variety of topics including the economic value of creating an abundant work culture based on meaning. It provides a tool for the creation of an “abundant organisation”. It highlights seven questions to help leaders reach the abundance objective–
1 – What am I known for?
2 – Where am I going?
3 – Whom do I travel with?
4 – How do I build a positive work environment?
5 – What challenges interest me?
6 – How do I respond to disposability and change?
7 – What delights me?
The authors devote a separate chapter to each of these seven questions, focusing on real-world situations.
The book targets “leaders”. Ulrich defines leaders as meaning-makers – they set the direction that others aspire to, they help others participate in doing good work and good works, they communicate ideas and invest in practices that shape how people think, act and feel.
As one of the classics of CSR in business is employees’ engagement, Ulrich book designs a map to transform employees into stakeholders, so that they in turn become the organisation’s CSR advocates when interfacing with other stakeholders.
Finally, it is important to mention that the creation of meaning applies to countries as well as companies. One example shows how sustainability drives happiness to nations. Bhutan is a small country located in South Asia. Although most countries use the GNP index to measure national prosperity, this country established a Gross National Happiness (GNH) index to measure its progress. The GNH index assesses the progress of sustainable development, preservation of cultural values, conservation of the natural environment, and establishment of good governance. Even with a low GNP, Bhutan citizens are considered among the happiest in the world. For this small country, true happiness and well-being are reflected in sustainable education, health, and environment.
Review by
Adil El Menyari, CSR International
1. The Ethics of Banking: Conclusions from the Financial Crisis (Peter Koslowski)
Did the attitude of the banking industry towards ethical issues play a starring role in the financial crash of 2008? In this book, the recently-deceased expert on ethics and finance Peter Koslowski provides a thorough overview of the ethical requirements relevant to all banking business areas… most of which have been far from fulfilled in recent years. Review by Cristina Carrillo. Read more
2. The Politics of Corporate Social Responsibility: The Rise of a Global Business Norm (Ursula Mühle)
Over the past decade, there has been a global call for businesses to behave in a socially responsible manner. The notion of a socially responsible business has been gaining momentum through the emergence of Corporate Social Responsibility policies, initiatives, and organisations. However, there are few studies addressing how and why CSR has made its way into particular policies and institutional arrangements. Therefore, there is every reason to welcome a new academic work exploring why the world is witnessing the diffusion of CSR. Review by Selena Lucien. Read more
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Author: Peter Koslowski
Publisher: Springer
Year: 2011
Pages: 214
Did the attitude of the banking industry towards ethical issues play a starring role in the financial crash of 2008? In this book, the recently-deceased expert on ethics and finance Peter Koslowski provides a thorough overview of the ethical requirements relevant to all banking business areas… most of which have been far from fulfilled in recent years.
In a great introduction, the author outlines the main arguments used by financial industry managers in order to justify the alleged “irrelevance of ethics” in modern finance: creation of shareholder value and maximum return on investment are priority and non-negotiable, as well as a strict adherence to neoliberal economic orthodoxy (which involves an unconditional belief in full rationality of market participants, perfect information and infallibility of the market). Considering these approaches to be utterly unsustainable and irresponsible, professor Koslowski devotes the rest of the book to dismantling them one by one, with an authority informed by his deep knowledge of the particularities and nuances of the banking business.
The first part shows the conceptual alternatives that underpin Finance Ethics: Ethical Economy, Economic Ethics and Business Ethics. The second and most extensive part details a number of ethical and economic implications of the markets for credit, capital and derivatives which, together with bad corporate governance, had a decisive influence on the rise of the financial crisis of 2008, as explained in the third part.
The book can be read at different levels. On the one hand, anyone interested in the subject can easily make the most of it, thanks to the plain language used, the many examples and the references to cases we all know through the media. However, some of the sections on capital and derivatives markets do provide arguments of significant technical depth, more aimed at financial professionals, who can find economic, legal, academic… and even semantic, philosophical and theological arguments.
In short, The Ethics of Banking: Conclusions from the Financial Crisis is essential reading for those who think that the future sustainability of the banking industry relies on a rigorous application of the ethical filter to all its business areas.
Review by
Cristina Carrillo, CSR International
1. Who’s Running the Company: A Guide to Reporting on Corporate Governance
This media guide aims at helping business journalists report on corporate governance and raise public awareness of the impact it has on businesses, shareholders, and the broader community of stakeholders. Read more
2. The Icelandic Banking Crisis: A Reason to Rethink CSR?
This article discusses the ‘Icelandic banking crisis’ in relation to the notion of corporate social responsibility (CSR). Read more
3. The Ethics of Gifts and Hospitality
A new briefing from the IBE considers some of the ethical issues around the giving and accepting of corporate gifts and hospitality and outlines good practice. Read more
4. 2012 Report on Sustainable and Responsible Investment Trends in the United States
A new report was released tracking growth and reflecting trends within the sustainable, responsible, impact (SRI) investment industry in the U.S. Read more
5. Internet-Based Corporate Disclosure and Market Value: Evidence from Latin America
Authors examine the relationship between an Internet-based corporate disclosure index and firm value, and evaluate the relatively understudied corporate use of the Internet by firms. Read more
6. On Materiality and Sustainability: The Value of Disclosure in the Capital Markets
The Initiative for Responsible Investment at Harvard University has written a white paper on corporate disclosure entitled “On Materiality and Sustainability: The Value of Disclosure in the Capital Markets”. Read more
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Featured In
Governance Research Digest – November 2012
Summary
A new briefing from the IBE considers some of the ethical issues around the giving and accepting of corporate gifts and hospitality and outlines good practice. The report outlines what organisations and their employees need to bear in mind when giving or accepting gifts and hospitality.
Key Findings
- The acceptance of gifts, services and hospitality can leave an organisation vulnerable to accusations of unfairness, partiality or deceit, or even unlawful conduct.
- Commercial relationships may be subject to bias and an organisation’s reputation for ‘doing business ethically’ will be put at risk.
- Companies which operate outside their home market need to be particularly aware of cross- cultural differences in what is considered appropriate in gift giving and accepting.
- Although in some markets gifts and hospitality are a prevalent and fundamental part of business transactions, the extraterritorial reach of the UK Bribery Act (2010) has made the giving and accepting of gifts and hospitality a real concern for businesses and their employees around the world.
- Companies help prevent their employees giving or accepting inappropriate gifts/hospitality by providing guidance, usually in the company code of ethics (or equivalent document).
- The code will outline the company’s position on gifts and hospitality and set out good practice for employees. Codes of ethics will often reference a gifts and hospitality policy which expands on the guidance in the code.
- Corporate gifts and hospitality policies typically set out:
- clear definitions of what constitutes ‘gift giving’ or ‘hospitality’;
- what type of gift/hospitality can and cannot be given or accepted;
- the financial value of gifts/hospitality that can be given or accepted without disclosure;
- how and where gifts/hospitality should be recorded when given or accepted i.e. on a gifts and hospitality register;
- how employees can refuse gifts or hospitality without causing offence;
- how staff can seek further guidance;
- standards for the giving and accepting of gifts and hospitality in the markets the company operates in and how the company responds to cultural differences in these markets.
Author(s)
IBE
Source
1. Be Prepared: Monitoring Supply Chains; Maximising Resilience
This report looks at how companies are building the flexibility and resilience into their operations and through their supply chain. Read more
2. Cultural Dimensions, Ethical Sensitivity and Corporate Governance
This study examines the differences in Corporate Governance practices in firms across different countries using the concept of ethical sensitivity. Read more
3. Japan’s Energy Policy Survey
The aim of the survey is to see what people in other countries think about Japan’s energy policy direction in order to provide input into debate in Japan. Read more
4. Multinationals’ Accountability on Sustainability: The Evolution of Third-party Assurance of Sustainability Reports
This article explores how multinational corporations (MNCs) adopt assurance practices to develop and sustain organizational accountability for sustainability Read more
5. Business Ethics & Human Rights
An IBE Briefing explores the link between business ethics and human rights with a brief overview of the current business and human rights landscape. Read more
6. The Internal Significance of Codes of Conduct in Retail Companies
This paper focuses on the significance of codes of conduct (CoCs) in the internal work context of two retail companies. Read more
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Featured In
Governance Research Digest – September 2012
Summary
An IBE Briefing explores the link between business ethics and human rights with a brief overview of the current business and human rights landscape. It also looks at how businesses seek to respect human rights and avoid human rights violations in their business operations and relationships.
Key Findings
- Attention to human rights has been shown to have a positive impact on business performance through improved stakeholder relations, positive corporate reputation and brand image, and employee motivation and retention.
- ‘Doing business ethically’ necessarily involves respecting human rights in the course of business operations.
- A company that is wishing to be considered as ethical will need to be mindful of human rights within the responsibilities of business and consistent with local law.
- Although respecting human rights can be considered integral to a business ethics agenda, IBE research (2012) found that only half of FTSE100 companies (52%) explicitly consider human rights in their code of ethics in some way.
- The positive and negative duties to protect human rights are still firmly with national governments.
- However, trends such as globalisation and the increasing presence of multinational corporations, pressures from NGOs, and reputation risk management, has meant there are increasing expectations of business in respecting human rights.
- The Briefing explores how companies are responding to this and the mechanisms they are using to express commitment and avoid human rights violations.
Author(s)
Institute of Business Ethics
Source
1. The Zeronauts: Breaking the Sustainability Barrier (John Elkington)
The Zeronauts, by veteran meme-incubator John Elkington, is about the individuals and organisations (and even cities) that meet both criteria. Building on his previous agenda-setting work on sustainability (Cannibals with Forks) and social entrepreneurship (The Power of Unreasonable People, with Pamela Hartigan), this latest book promises to once again capture the ‘next big thing’. Review by Wayne Visser. Read more
2. The Social Entrepreneur Revolution: Doing Good By Making Money, Making Money By Doing Good (Martin Clark)
One of the most discussed concepts in the world of sustainability and sustainable business today is that of social entrepreneurship. If you have heard the term being bounced around and have been vaguely intrigued by what it is, then this book is for you. Review by Nazareth Seferian. Read more
3. Onward: How Starbucks Fought for its Life without Losing its Soul (Howard Schultz with Joanne Gordon)
In 2008, Howard Schultz, the president and chairman of Starbucks, made the unprecedented decision to return as the CEO eight years after he stepped down from daily oversight of the company and became chairman. Concerned that Starbucks had lost its way, Schultz was determined to help it return to its core values and restore not only its financial health, but also its soul. In Onward, he shares the remarkable story of his return and the company’s ongoing transformation under his leadership, revealing how, during one of the most tumultuous economic times in history, Starbucks again achieved profitability and sustainability without sacrificing humanity. Review by Elaine Cohen. Read more
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