Corporate ethics education and training programs: First steps in balancing the conflicts of interests in business relationships.

摘要

Corporate social responsibility and business ethics have always attracted the attention of businesses, the consuming public and government. Recently, the benefits and costs of issues concerning corporate ethics skyrocketed in notoriety and importance. This paper identifies conflicting corporate interests and relationships and the business benefits derived from an appropriate and ethical balancing of the needs of these interests. The growth of a global marketplace added the complexity of considering multi-cultural views when determining what is ethically acceptable. To break the cycle of public protest and regulatory costs associated with unethical corporate conduct, there is a critical need for a new executive awareness of the benefits and costs of ethical corporate conduct. This critical need can be best achieved by the implementation of properly designed codes of ethics, ethics education and training programs directed to all members of a business community, especially targeting the highest level of executives and managers.