Corporate codes of ethics

The majority of North American corporations awakened to the need for their own ethical guidelines during the late 1970s and early 1980s, even though modern corporations are subject to a surprising multiplicity of external codes of ethics or conduct. This paper provides an understanding of both internal and external codes through a discussion of the factors behind the development of the codes, an analysis of internal codes and an identification of problems with them. Leonard J. Brooks, Jr. is a Professor of Accounting in the Faculty of Management of the University of Toronto. His involvement with the field of corporate ethics includes participation in the social audit program of The United Church of Canada; authorship of a monograph, Canadian Corporate Social Performance; Vice-Chairmanship of the Canadian Centre for Ethics and Corporate Policy; and consultant to EthicScan Canada Ltd., a newly formed gatherer of corporate social performance information.