Establishing business ethics to insulate against scandals

Abstract

Business ethics is gaining more business and academic interest as new scandals highlight the value incongruence between operations and communications of many organisation. This conceptual review could identify that business ethics should permeate the entire operations of an organisation to undertake specific communications associated with it. However, this is a complex and time-consuming process. Towards this the creation of corporate ethical identity, which comprises of ethical core and ethical management of external functions, is indispensable. The presence of ethical leadership, the establishment of a code of ethics, mission, strategy and supplier code of ethics can play a pivotal role here. The establishment of corporate ethical identity enables an organisation to confidently undertake specific communications associated with business ethics provided the amorphous and everevolving nature of business ethics and sustainability is acknowledged in such specific communications.