scholarly journals A System Approach to Implementing Business Ethics in the Corporate Workplace

2011 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Clifton Clarke
Keyword(s):  
Business Ethics ◽  
Boards Of Directors ◽  
System Approach ◽  
Business Schools ◽  
Codes Of Ethics ◽  
The United States ◽  
Corporate Boards ◽  
Unethical Conduct ◽  
Financial Scandals ◽  
The Impact

The current vitriolic discourse over the financial scandals implicating Wall Street and its satellite institutions dictates a fresh look at strategies intended to eradicate or prevent unethical practices in business activities. The spate of recently published unethical behavior among business executives in the United States confirms, unequivocally, that past and current strategies have failed. This paper reviews and evaluates the impact of some of these strategies. It found that the strategies focus on legislation, written corporate codes of ethics and assorted activities in business schools. It found that these strategies are largely isolated and missed the fact that unethical business conduct is systemic, reflecting the ethical lapses of two systems: a public system (consisting of governmental bodies, business schools, and the general citizenry) and a corporate system (consisting of boards of directors, executives, managers and employees). It found that there is a significant gap between the rhetoric of corporate executives and their attention to unethical conduct in the workplace. It concludes that isolated legislative actions, apathetic business schools’ policies, complacent and complicit corporate boards, contribute to the failure. It also concludes that, the implementation of business ethics in the workplace requires a transformation of attitude within and between these systems and posits that a system approach is the only strategy that can successfully transform these systems and that business schools are uniquely capable of leading this transformation.

scholarly journals The Financial Debacle Necessitates a Systematic Approach to Achieving Ethical Behavior in the Corporate Workplace

2013 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Clifton Clarke ◽  
Myles Bassell
Keyword(s):  
Boards Of Directors ◽  
Business Schools ◽  
Codes Of Ethics ◽  
The United States ◽  
Corporate Boards ◽  
Wall Street ◽  
Unethical Conduct ◽  
Business Executives ◽  
Financial Scandals ◽  
The Impact

The current vitriolic discourse over the financial scandals implicating Wall Street and its satellite institutions dictates a fresh look at strategies intended to eradicate or prevent unethical practices in business activities. The spate of recently published unethical behavior among business executives in the United States confirms, unequivocally, that past and current strategies have failed. This paper reviews and evaluates the impact of some of these strategies. It found that the strategies focus on legislation, written corporate codes of ethics and assorted activities in business schools. It found that these strategies are largely isolated and missed the fact that unethical business conduct is systemic, reflecting the ethical lapses of two systems: a public system (consisting of governmental bodies, business schools, and the general citizenry) and a corporate system (consisting of boards of directors, executives, managers and employees). It found that there is a significant gap between the rhetoric of corporate executives and their attention to unethical conduct in the workplace. It concludes that isolated legislative actions, apathetic business schools’ policies, complacent and complicit corporate boards, contribute to the failure. It also concludes that, the implementation of business ethics in the workplace requires a transformation of attitude within and between these systems and posits that a system approach is the only strategy that can successfully transform these systems and that business schools are uniquely capable of leading this transformation.

scholarly journals A Fresh Apple or a New Barrel: Business Ethics from an Individual to Corporate Level

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 8
Author(s):  
Sibel Oktar Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Business Ethics ◽  
Human Nature ◽  
Boards Of Directors ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Holistic Approach ◽  
Codes Of Ethics ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Economic Effects ◽  
The Public ◽  
Purpose Of Business

The moral nature of corporations has been discussed for a long time. But, since 2001, with enormous economic effects of the misconduct of some corporations this discussion gained another dimension, it moved into the public sphere, the subject became more sensitive. The anger and mistrust of the public toward business triggered legislators and corporations to take urgent action. For example, just after the collapse of Enron (2001) the American Congress passed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (2002) that covers the responsibilities of boards of directors and requires compliance training at all levels. It also revived the old controversial arguments about the nature of business – whether the only purpose of business is to make profits, the relationship of business and ethics – whether business ethics is an oxymoron, and human nature – whether it is ‘bad apples’ or ‘bad barrels’. Yet, with new sets of regulations, in 2017, we are still witnessing the misconduct of corporations on a global scale. This article investigates the effectiveness of corporate efforts such as revisiting mission statements, polishing the codes of ethics and conducting training, by evaluating the nature of business, human nature and the understanding of ethics in the workplace. By looking through the lens of utilitarianism of ethical issues in business, I will argue that codes of ethics and ethics training are necessary but not sufficient. Within the scope of this paper I wish to pave the way to a holistic approach which is necessary and sufficient to create ethical businesses.

scholarly journals Guest Editorial Governance and ethics: an indispensable relationship

2008 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anona Armstrong
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Governance ◽  
Business Ethics ◽  
Guest Editorial ◽  
Securities Market ◽  
Unethical Conduct ◽  
The World ◽  
Financial Scandals ◽  
Regulations And Guidelines

One of the fascinating questions of our time is why, when so much effort has gone into implementing corporate governance guidelines and raising the awareness of business ethics, stories of unethical conduct and poor governance continue to emerge on the front pages in our newspapers. Around the world financial scandals continue to occur and each time seekers of an antidote to the latest disaster call for more governance. This was evident after the 1987 securities market collapses when the Cadbury Committee and the OECD (Cadbury 1992; OECD 1999) were among many organisations which were to introduce governance regulations and guidelines over the next decade, and it is again prominent today.

New Directions in Corporate Governance and Finance: Implications for Business Ethics Research

2010 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 673-694 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lori Verstegen Ryan ◽  
Ann K. Buchholtz ◽  
Robert W. Kolb
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Governance ◽  
Firm Performance ◽  
Business Ethics ◽  
Boards Of Directors ◽  
Financial Regulation ◽  
Academic Fields ◽  
Board Processes ◽  
Ethics Research ◽  
New Directions ◽  
The Impact

ABSTRACT:Corporate governance and finance are dynamic academic fields that offer myriad opportunities for business ethics analysis. Within the corporate governance triad in recent years, shareholders have increased their power over boards of directors and executives through both regulation and movements to change corporate by-laws. The impact of board characteristics on firm performance has proven elusive, leading to questions concerning board processes and individual director beliefs and behaviors. At the same time, CEOs have lost considerable power, leaving many struggling to regain their control and maintain their compensation levels, while others adopt a stewardship approach to their posts. In the field of finance, the recent financial debacle has led to a reexamination of financial regulation and of the fundamental nature and purpose of the industry. All of these issues provide business ethicists fodder for investigation and analysis.

scholarly journals The Impact of Effective Corporate Boards and Audit Committees on Attracting Foreign Ownership in Listed Companies in the Gulf Cooperation Council

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 190
Author(s):  
Mohammed Gubran Al-shamahi ◽  
Kamarul Bahrain Abdul Manaf ◽  
Ali Saleh Al-arussi
Keyword(s):  
Firm Size ◽  
Stock Markets ◽  
Boards Of Directors ◽  
Listed Companies ◽  
Foreign Ownership ◽  
Gulf Cooperation Council ◽  
Audit Committees ◽  
Corporate Boards ◽  
Political Risks ◽  
The Impact

This study empirically examines the impact of effectiveness of both corporate boards and audit committee on foreign ownership in selected non-financial listed companies of the stock markets in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Contrary to previous studies, this study enters the firm size, leverage, exchange rate risks, inflation risks and economic growth as control variables. For the first time, it also includes the political risks’ variable as a control variable that may affect foreign ownership. In term of panel data regression analysis, the study was built on fixed effect model and conducted to the period of 2012-2015 for 143 non-financial listed companies on the GCC stock markets. Our results explain that foreign ownership is positively related to the effectiveness of both the boards of directors and the audit committees. Political risks and firm size are positively significant with foreign ownership, while the leverage is negatively related to foreign ownership. The implication of this study may help beneficiaries in making better policy decisions and provide guidance for corporate managers on the needs of foreign investors.

scholarly journals The Impact Of International Financial Reporting Standards On Accounting Curriculum In The United States

2011 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
JeRamMohan R. Yallapragadarry ◽  
Alfred G. Toma ◽  
C. William Roe
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Business Schools ◽  
The United States ◽  
International Financial Reporting Standards ◽  
Reporting Standards ◽  
Financial Reporting Standards ◽  
Accounting Curriculum ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Impact

According to the time line presently specified by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), business firms in the United States (US) should switch from the existing US accounting reporting guidelines of the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) by the year 2014.  The US business school graduates and accounting professionals have less than four years to understand the differences between the two accounting systems, and to learn how to implement the new International Accounting Standards.  But many of the business schools in the US are not yet ready to include the new IFRS standards in their accounting curriculum. In many schools, administrators do not have any understanding of how to incorporate the new standards in their curriculum. Many European countries shifted to IFRS as early as 2005.  They are ahead of the US in teaching IFRS to their students. The main problems in incorporating IFRS in the curriculum include lack of good textbooks and providing training for professors to learn IFRS procedures so that they can teach them to their students. This paper makes an effort in presenting the historical background of IFRS, and the impact of the adapting of IFRS on US business schools.

Testing Structural Changes in the U.S. Whitefish Import Market: An Inverse Demand System Approach

2013 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 453-470 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank Asche ◽  
Dengjun Zhang
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
System Approach ◽  
Structural Changes ◽  
The United States ◽  
Demand System ◽  
On Demand ◽  
The Impact ◽  
A New Species ◽  
The U.S ◽  
Structural Shifts

The seafood market has changed substantially in recent decades, becoming increasingly globalized. This has led to introduction of new species and new sources of fish in most markets. We estimate a seafood demand system that, unlike models in previous studies, accounts for potential structural shifts caused by these market changes. We investigate the impact of tilapia as a new species and China as a new source on demand for imported whitefish in the United States. The results indicate that price flexibilities change substantially over time and that the structural shift takes place over a prolonged period.

scholarly journals Does Board Gender Diversity Affects Dividend Payout? Evidence from a review of literature

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (16) ◽  
pp. 19-34
Author(s):  
Emma Anuar ◽  
Rozainun Abdul Aziz ◽  
Maslinawati Mohamad ◽  
Rugayah Hashim
Keyword(s):  
Gender Discrimination ◽  
Boards Of Directors ◽  
Publishing House ◽  
Gender Diversity ◽  
Board Composition ◽  
Corporate Boards ◽  
Women Directors ◽  
Dividend Payout ◽  
Board Gender Diversity ◽  
The Impact

The objective of this paper is to review the literature on how board gender diversity impacts dividend payout among public listed companies in Malaysia. Traditionally, higher-level management positions are held by men. Leadership and decision making are predominantly male, while the minority are women directors. When corporate boards show diversity, there is a significant presence of women or the addition of women to the board. In the past, present, and indeed the future, board gender diversity is the issue that is a growing trend and is getting more attention. The shareholders and investors are putting pressure on the boards of directors’ to show increased performance. The findings from this paper will provide evidence on whether board gender diversity influences the dividend payout. Board composition without gender discrimination is the new normal for corporations to thrive after the global lockdowns from Covid-19. Other relevant matters on the impact of board gender diversity will also be discussed.Keywords: board gender diversity; board characteristics; board composition; board traits; female directors; dividend payout; MalaysiaeISSN: 2514-7528 © 2020 The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open-access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia.DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/jabs.v5i16.350

Reversing Predatory Value Extraction

2019 ◽  
pp. 192-206
Author(s):  
William Lazonick ◽  
Jang-Sup Shin
Keyword(s):  
Boards Of Directors ◽  
The United States ◽  
Stock Repurchases ◽  
Open Market ◽  
Corporate Boards ◽  
Executive Pay ◽  
Socioeconomic Mobility ◽  
Reward Value ◽  
Innovative Products ◽  
Corporate Profits

This concluding chapter suggests the following changes in the United States’ corporate-governance regime that can get its economy back on the path to sustainable prosperity: (1) rescind SEC Rule 10b-18 and ban open-market stock repurchases; (2) redesign executive pay to incentivize and reward value creation, not value extraction; (3) reconstitute corporate boards of directors to include to include representatives of households as workers, as taxpayers, and as savers as well as households as founders—and exclude the predatory value extractors; (4) reform the corporate tax system so that it returns profits to taxpaying households and funds government spending on infrastructure and knowledge for the next generation of innovative products; (5) redeploy corporate profits and productive capabilities to support collective and cumulative careers, and thus enable widespread upward socioeconomic mobility.

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