Theoretical Underpinnings for Creating Effective Industry-wide Voluntary Codes of Conduct

2009 ◽  
pp. 107-115
Author(s):  
S. Prakash Sethi
Keyword(s):  
Codes Of Conduct ◽  
Voluntary Codes Of Conduct

NGO Strategies for Promoting Corporate Social Responsibility

2002 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-87 ◽  
Author(s):  
Morton Winston
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Multinational Corporations ◽  
Codes Of Conduct ◽  
Legal Standards ◽  
Voluntary Codes Of Conduct ◽  
Financial Interests ◽  
Corporate Social Accountability ◽  
Naming And Shaming ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
National Governments

This article describes and evaluates the different strategies that have been employed by international human rights nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in attempting to influence the behavior of multinational corporations (MNCs). Within the NGO world, there is a basic divide on tactics for dealing with corporations: Engagers try to draw corporations into dialogue in order to persuade them by means of ethical and prudential arguments to adopt voluntary codes of conduct, while confronters believe that corporations will act only when their financial interests are threatened, and therefore take a more adversarial stance toward them. Confrontational NGOs tend to employ moral stigmatization, or “naming and shaming,” as their primary tactic, while NGOs that favor engagement offer dialogue and limited forms of cooperation with willing MNCs.The article explains the evolving relationship between NGOs and MNCs in relation to human rights issues and defines eight strategies along the engagement/confrontation spectrum used by NGOs in their dealings with MNCs. The potential benefits and risks of various forms of engagement between NGOs and MNCs are analyzed and it is argued that the dynamic created by NGOs pursuing these different strategies can be productive in moving some companies to embrace their social responsibilities. Yet, in order for these changes to be sustainable, national governments will need to enact enforceable international legal standards for corporate social accountability.

Voluntary Codes of Conduct for Multinational Corporations

2006 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 117-117
Author(s):  
S. Prakash Sethi
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Business Ethics ◽  
Multinational Corporations ◽  
Codes Of Conduct ◽  
University Of Pennsylvania ◽  
Corporate Accountability ◽  
Select Group ◽  
Ethics Research ◽  
Voluntary Codes Of Conduct ◽  
Additional Support

This issue of Business Ethics Quarterly offers a special forum incorporating a select group of papers that were presented at the First International Conference on “Voluntary Codes of Conduct for Multinational Corporations: Promises and Challenges,” held at the Zicklin School of Business, Baruch College, City University of New York, on May 12–15, 2004. The conference was organized by the International Center for Corporate Accountability (ICCA), Inc., and was co-sponsored by the Zicklin Center for Business Ethics Research of The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and the World Bank’s World Bank Institute. Additional support was provided by a number of major corporations, academic institutions, and nongovernment organizations.

Cross-Sector Alliance Learning and Effectiveness of Voluntary Codes of Corporate Social Responsibility

2006 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 211-234 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bindu Arya ◽  
Jane E. Salk
Keyword(s):  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
Codes Of Conduct ◽  
Socially Responsible ◽  
For Profit ◽  
Regulatory Governance ◽  
Learning Platform ◽  
Governance Systems ◽  
Voluntary Codes Of Conduct ◽  
Corporate Social

Firms and industries increasingly subscribe to voluntary codes of conduct. These self-regulatory governance systems can be effective in establishing a more sustainable and inclusive global economy. However, these codes can also be largely symbolic, reactive measures to quell public criticism. Cross-sector alliances (between for-profit and nonprofit actors) present a learning platform for infusing participants with greater incentives to be socially responsible. They can provide multinationals new capabilities that allow them to more closely ally social responsibility with economic performance. This paper examines learning facilitators in cross-sector alliances that enrich corporate understanding of stakeholder concerns. It suggests that these organizational learning experiments can translate into globally responsible practices and processes that improve the content and effectiveness of voluntary corporate codes.

Ontstaan en betekenis van transnationale kaderovereenkomsten

2011 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kees Vos
Keyword(s):  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Codes Of Conduct ◽  
Voluntary Codes Of Conduct ◽  
The Impact

Origin and meaning of transnational framework agreements Origin and meaning of transnational framework agreements In recent years the number of transnational framework agreements (international and European framework agreements) has grown rapidly. In many respects it can be considered as a reaction to existing, voluntary codes of conduct. The question to be addressed in this article concerns the impact of this kind of agreements. Are they – as is sometimes expected – a sign of an emerging global industrial relations framework or of international collective bargaining? It is concluded here that global industrial relations are still a very distinct utopia, but framework agreements can be considered as a first step in the direction of a global arrangement.

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