Jang B. Singh

The content and focus of canadian corporate codes of ethics

This paper primarily reports the findings of content analyses of seventy-five codes of ethics ofFinancial Post 500 corporations. The contents of each code were comprehensively evaluated along sixty-one criteria according to four levels. It was found that the focus of these codes was the protection of the firm. While some of them refer to issues of social responsibility, they are principally concerned with conduct against the firm.

The teaching of ethics in Canadian Schools of Management and Administrative Studies

Business ethics has been described as a prime academic growth industry. This paper reports the findings of a survey aimed at establishing the status of ethics in the curricula of Canadian Schools of Management and Administrative Studies. It was found that twenty-three of the forty-two responding schools offer courses in business ethics and that they offer a total of twenty-five ethics courses, twenty of which are offered as electives. Forty-two percent of the schools not offering a course in business ethics plan to offer such a course by 1989. This means that by 1989 seventy-four percent of the responding schools should have a business ethics component in their curricula.

Implementation, Communication and Benefits of Corporate Codes of Ethics: An International and Longitudinal Approach for Australia, Canada and Sweden

This paper examines the implementation, communication and benefits of corporate codes of ethics by the top companies operating in Australia, Canada and Sweden. It provides an international comparison across three continents. It is also based on a longitudinal approach where three national surveys were performed in 2001–2002 and replications of the same surveys were performed in 2005–2006. The empirical findings of this research show in all three countries that large organisations indicate a substantial interest in corporate codes of ethics. There are, however, differences in the ways that the companies in each country implement and communicate their corporate codes of ethics and the benefits that they see being derived from them. The longitudinal comparison between 2001–2002 and 2005–2006 indicates changes in the implementation, communication and benefits of corporate codes of ethics in the three countries.

Business ethics and the international trade in hazardous wastes

The annual production of hazardous wastes which was less than 10 million metric tonnes in the 1940s is now in excess of 320 million metric tonnes. These wastes are, in the main, by-products of industrial processes that have contributed significantly to the economic development of many countries which, in turn, has led to lifestyles that also generate hazardous wastes. The phenomenal increase in the generation of hazardous wastes coupled with various barriers to local disposal has led to the thriving international trade in these environmentally hazardous substances. This paper examines the nature of the international trade in hazardous wastes and the ethical issues associated with such business activity.

Human Rights in Global Business Ethics Codes

The last decade has witnessed renewed attempts to regulate the conduct of transnational corporations. One way to do this is via global ethics codes. This paper examines seven such codes (the Sullivan Principles, UN Center for Transnational Corporations Draft Code, OECD Guidelines, ILOs Tripartite Declaration, the Caux Round Table Principles for Business, Global Compact, and the United Nations Norms) to determine their coverage of human rights and concludes that if these initiatives succeed, particularly the more recent codes, transnational corporations may emerge as a major force in promoting human rights globally.

A Longitudinal and Cross-Cultural Study of the Contents of Codes of Ethics of Australian, Canadian and Swedish Corporations

This study uses a specific method to analyze the contents of the codes of ethics of the largest corporations in Australia, Canada and Sweden and compares the findings of similar content analyses in ...

Inter-relationships among focal dimensions in relationship quality: a quantitative and exploratory approach

It is generally agreed that the relationship quality (RELQUAL) in business exchange situations is important. However, there does not appear to be a consensus on the conceptualisation and measurement of the many dimensions of this construct. This may be due to the difficulty in measuring many dimensions in one empirical study. This raises a concern regarding the understanding of the interaction among the various dimensions. Using data gathered in a survey of Canadian managers and executives the present study investigates how focal dimensions pertaining to RELQUAL inter-relate. A model consisting of the following ten dimensions derived from RELQUAL literature was tested: continuity, satisfaction, trust, commitment, opportunism, cooperation, coordination, formalisation, dependence, specific assets. All recommended guidelines for convergent, discriminant and nomological validity, as well as construct reliability, were met.

Code of Ethics Quality: An International Comparison of Corporate Staff Support and Regulation in Australia, Canada and the United States

The objective of this paper is to examine the ‘Code of Ethics Quality’ (CEQ) in the largest companies of Australia, Canada and the United States. For this purpose, a proposed CEQ construct has been applied. It appears from the empirical findings that while Australia, Canada and the United States are extremely similar in their economic and social development, there may well be distinct cultural mores and issues that are forming their business ethics practices. A research implication derived from the performed research is that the construct provides a selection of observable and measurable elements in the context of CEQ. The construct of CEQ consists of nine measures divided into two dimensions (i.e. staff support and regulation). They should not be seen as a complete list. On the contrary, it is encouraged that others propose and elaborate revisions and extensions. A practical implication of this paper is a structure of what and how to examine the CEQ in a managerial setting. It may assist companies in their efforts to establish, maintain and improve their ethical culture, norms and beliefs within the organization and supporting them in their ethical business practices with different stakeholders in the marketplace and society. The dimensions and measures of the construct may be used as a frame of reference for further research. They may be useful and applicable across contexts and over time using similar samples when it comes to large companies, as small- or medium-sized ones may not have considered all areas nor have the elements in place. This is a research limitation, but it provides an opportunity for further research.

The Embeddedness of Codes of Ethics in Organizations in Australia, Canada and the United States

The objective of this study is to test the embeddedness of codes of ethics (ECE) in organizations on aggregated data from three countries, namely Australia, Canada and the United States. The properties of four constructs of ECE are described and tested, including surveillance/training, internal communication, external communication and guidance. The data analysis shows that the model has satisfactory fit, validity and reliability. Furthermore, the results are fairly consistent when tested on each of the three samples (i.e. cross‐national validation). This cross‐national study makes a contribution beyond previous descriptive or exploratory studies by using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. Nevertheless, a number of limitations are raised, all of which provide opportunities for further research in refining, extending and testing the proposed ECE model in other cultural and corporate settings.

Towards a model of conscientious corporate brands: a Canadian study

Purpose – This paper attempts to validate a conceptual model for conscientious corporate brands (CCB) by exploring environmental and climate change issues together with perceptions of the internal and external effectiveness of corporate codes of ethics as dimensions of CCBs. Design/methodology/approach – By surveying organizations, the paper attempts to extend and validate previous research in ethical branding by proposing an additional empirically grounded conceptual model of “the conscientious dimension” of corporate brands. Research limitations/implications – The CCB model was tested on a sample of small-, medium- and large-sized companies in Canada, which may indicate less generalizability to larger companies or in other countries and contextual settings. Practical implications – The CCB-framework provides insights into the relationship between the natural environment, climate change and corporate codes of ethics, which organizational managers might relate to their organization. Originality/value – Th...