Corporate Ethics

Paper Summary:

The paper discusses how scandals at formerly reputable corporations such as Enron have sullied the corporate image for the public and major shareholders. The paper explains that one of the greatest weapons that corporations have developed to deal with these new circumstances is the corporate code of ethics, or code of conduct. The paper explores the existing code of conduct currently being used at British Petroleum (BP). The paper demonstrates how this provides an interesting glimpse into the effects and difficulties of implementing codes of ethics in the corporate setting.

From the Paper:

"At its most basic, a code of ethics is a "management tool for establishing and articulating the corporate values, responsibilities, obligations, and ethical ambitions of an organization and the way it functions." Simply put, a code of ethics amounts to a written record of a corporation's policies. Sometimes this can amount to a few sentences that describe the loose corporate values employees should keep in mind when faced with an ethical dilemma like integrity or honesty. In more extreme cases--usually limited to larger corporations--detailed descriptions will be provided for the appropriate ethical response to moral quandaries employees might face in the workplace."

Sample of Sources Used:

• BP sacked 252 for unethical behavior. (2005, April 12). The Financial Times. InfoTrac OneFile. Retrieved July 15, 2006.
• Clark, A. (2001, April 20). BP chief fields barrage of questions on ethics. Guardian Unlimited. Retrieved July 16, 2006, from http://www.guardian.co.uk/petrol/story/0,,475635,00.html
• Code of conduct. (2006). BP. Retrieved July 16, 2006, from http://www.bp.com/sectiongenericarticle.do?categoryId=9007693&contentId=7014598
• Codes of ethics. (n.d.). Institute of Business Ethics. Retrieved July 15, 2006, from http://www.ibe.org.uk/codesofconduct.html

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