New Directions in Corporate Social Responsibility and Ethics: Codes of Conduct in the Digital Environment

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
David López Jiménez ◽  
Eduardo Carlos Dittmar ◽  
Jenny Patricia Vargas Portillo
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Codes Of Conduct ◽  
Digital Environment ◽  
Ethics Codes ◽  
New Directions ◽  
Corporate Social

Corporate social responsibility meets traditional supervision of fundamental labour rights*

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Tajgman
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Codes Of Conduct ◽  
Background Information ◽  
International Treaties ◽  
Labour Rights ◽  
Civil Society Organisations ◽  
Labour Standards ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Corporate Social

The International Labour Organisation's 1998 Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work prioritised four core labour standards' principles and led to a burst of new ratifications of the international treaties that are the subject of those principles. Ten years on there are important identified gaps in state implementation of the ratified Conventions that are the subject of the four principles. These gaps leave important holes in public policy and legislation. In a number of important substantive areas, these gaps have the effect of leaving it to private actors to figure out what would amount to fulfilling the norms of fundamental labour principle inspired codes of conduct. Inescapably left on their own to figure out approaches, corporate social responsibility (CSR)-respecting enterprises are subject to criticism levelled on the basis of interpretations of these principles given by civil society organisations and labour rights' campaigners. This chapter details this situation. The first part provides the necessary background information. The second part gives concrete examples of how this governance gap raises challenges to implementing CSR initiatives. The third part suggests that, considering the arguable origins of CSR in neo-liberal deregulatory fervour, social dialogue and reform by non-compliant state actors is the only sustainable solution.

scholarly journals Corporate social responsibility against workers?

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 55-76
Author(s):  
Clément Séhier
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Multinational Corporations ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Codes Of Conduct ◽  
Value Added ◽  
International Labour Organisation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Social Audits ◽  
Corporate Social

Purpose This paper aims to investigate to what extent and for which reasons the codes of conduct and social audits of multinational corporations (MNCs) have failed to change practices within Chinese factories. A special attention is given to the social compliance initiatives (SCIs) and multi-stakeholder initiatives (MSIs) which did not overcome the main obstacles of the compliance approach. Design/methodology/approach This research is based on a fieldwork in China, including 36 semi-constructed interviews with practitioners involved in corporate social responsibility (CSR), participant observation in the CSR programme of the International Labour Organisation office in Beijing and several visits of factories involved in CSR programmes. Secondary sources are used to estimate the distribution of value added along global value chains (GVCs). Findings The codes of conduct and social audits tend to reproduce the domination of MNCs within GVCs. This paper highlights some obstacles – and opportunities – for CSR appropriate to the Chinese context. Research limitations/implications Only a few MNCs agreed to meet the author and speak openly. No one allowed the author to visit their suppliers’ factories. Practical implications The findings of this study suggest that the most widespread approach to CSR by MNCs is flawed. More attention should be given to specific institutional contexts and to workers’ participation. Originality/value CSR discourse and practices in China are put in the context of GVCs and in the transformation of Chinese industry and labour relations. This method allows going beyond a case study approach. Instrumentations of several SCIs and MSIs are also analysed in detail.

scholarly journals How to manage business ethics effectively?

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tran Kiem Viet Thang
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Business Ethics ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Corporate Ethics ◽  
Management Skills ◽  
Ethics Codes ◽  
Good Management ◽  
Ethics Code ◽  
Corporate Social

The main purpose of this paper is exploring ways to manage business ethics effectively. To achieve this, first of all, the paper reviews the concepts and importance of business ethics together with its components, such as corporate ethics codes and corporate social responsibility (CSR). Next, five ways to manage business ethics efficiently are revealed. Based on these suggested ways, the paper recommends four practical actions for managers to have good management skills in this field. These recommendations are setting up an effective corporate ethics code, acting and behaving ethically in any circumstances, setting up rules and regulations, and advancing CSR in a very wise way. The paper concludes with two issues for future researchers: whether corporations need a business ethics manager/ specialist, and how companies motivate their employees to act ethically

Corporate Social Responsibility and Theories of Global Governance

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
David L. Levy ◽  
Rami Kaplan
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Corporate Governance ◽  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Multinational Corporations ◽  
Global Governance ◽  
Codes Of Conduct ◽  
New Governance ◽  
Contested Terrain ◽  
Corporate Social

This article develops a framework in which corporate social responsibility (CSR) represents the contested terrain of global governance. The rise of CSR is one of the more striking developments of recent decades in the global political economy. Calls for multinational corporations (MNCs) to demonstrate greater responsibility, transparency, and accountability are leading to the establishment of a variety of new governance structures—rules, norms, codes of conduct, and standards—that constrain and shape MNCs' behavior. CSR is thus not just a struggle over practices, but over the locus of governance authority, offering a potential path toward the transformation of stakeholders from external observers and petitioners into legitimate and organized participants in decision-making. This article points to two distinct perspectives on CSR; as a more socially embedded and democratic form of governance that emanates from civil society, or alternatively, as a privatized system of corporate governance that lacks public accountability.

scholarly journals Ethical codes and corporate responsibility of the most admired companies of the world: Toward a third generation ethics?

2012 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reyes Calderón ◽  
Ignacio Ferrero ◽  
Dulce M. Redin
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Codes Of Conduct ◽  
Empirical Support ◽  
Codes Of Ethics ◽  
Third Generation ◽  
Implementation Processes ◽  
The World ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
Journal Of Business Ethics

Codes of ethics contain a set of rules of conduct and corporate principles concerning the responsibility of a company to its stakeholders and shareholders. These codes help to guide corporate and employee behavior, and constitute verifiable elements of social responsibility. This study examines the Most Admired Companies of the World, ranked by Fortune magazine in 2009 to find out, first, whether their codes of ethics exhibit greater emphasis on social responsibility and strong implementation processes, and second, whether they could be considered codes of the third generation as elaborated by Stohl et al. in their article in the Journal of Business Ethics. Our results indicate that the codes of ethics of the 2009 Most Admired Companies of the World resemble “codes of conduct” rather than strictly codes of ethics or “codes of corporate social responsibility”. These codes continue to be governed by traditional norms related to immediate economic success, normative compliance, internal management and the pressing effects of their sector. This study thus provides empirical support for the idea that the philosophy of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is scarcely present in the codes of the most reputable companies.

scholarly journals Regulating corporate social responsibility practices of adopting codes of conduct through criminal law

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lilach Litor
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Criminal Law ◽  
Corporate Social Performance ◽  
Criminal Liability ◽  
Codes Of Conduct ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Legal Standards ◽  
Regulatory Approach ◽  
Corporate Social

PurposeThis paper explores different approaches to regulating corporate social responsibility (CSR) patterns of adopting codes of conduct, and discusses the approach that courts should embrace.Design/methodology/approachCase studies from various legal systems will be examined. The paper presents new typology relating to different patterns of the Corporate Social Performance (CSP) model, based on aspects of the CSR pyramid, namely, legislative CSR and ethical CSR. Legislative CSR includes adoption of thin codes which reflect compliance within current legal standards of the criminal code, while ethical CSR includes codes reflecting ethical norms and corporate social citizenship beyond mere compliance. The paper also includes the interplay of different patterns of CSR and three approaches to regulation regarding these patterns.FindingsBoth the Israeli negative CSR regulatory approach and the American legislative CSR regulatory approach present difficulties.Originality/valueThe paper introduces a theory for regulating CSR within criminal law, drawing on the pyramid of CSR. It presents an original discussion of distinct approaches to regulation of corporate liability, while further developing the institutional theory of CSR and the interplay of regulation and CSR. The paper suggests a novel solution regarding the regulation and acceptance of CSR: the granting of protection from criminal liability to corporations who adopt CSR.

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