Making Codes of Corporate Conduct Work: Management Control Systems and Corporate Responsibility

Many companies have implemented programmes that help them to respond to societal concerns about the economic, social and environmental impacts of their activities. These help them to manage their compliance with legal or regulatory requirements and their response to “softer” forms of social control of business. These voluntary initiatives by companies have included public statements -- codes of conduct --in which they commit to behavioural norms in a variety of areas of business ethics (e.g. environment, anti-corruption, etc.). Some companies have backed these up with management systems designed to help them respect their commitments. Indeed, codes of conduct often represent just the first step in a process of improving management processes in support of legal and ethical compliance. Subsequent steps include the implementation of systems of management control designed to promote compliance. These systems typically employ a range of tools including accounting and record keeping ...