Corporate Ethics

Corporate ethics are defined in several ways. Conceptual arguments about the definition of organizational ethics revolve around the questions of stakeholder status, as defined by two theories: stakeholder theory and social contracts theory. Operational approaches to increasing ethical behavior in organizations may be more or less proactive, and are structured around issues of organizational mission, organizational policy, and legal compliance. Official ethical standards articulated by organizational leadership may include ethical codes and corporate social responsibility [Page 236]policies but are arguably less important than actual ethical expectations, which are intertwined with organizational culture. Each of these approaches to understanding corporate ethics is addressed in turn, followed by discussion of cultural differences in values that undergird ethical norms and codes of conduct.