There is increasing discussion within the communication industry about benchmarking and best practice. The concepts, derived from manufacturing industry, are now being used to compare and analyse communication functions and practices. To a certain extent this has been driven by organisations...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether there is a global divergence or convergence with regard to the ethics of corporate governance. Design/methodology/approach – Regional perspectives on the ethics of corporate governance from four regions, namely, Africa, Asia,...

Purpose – In anticipation of the demands of its constituents, management schools have to deal with the dual challenge facing management education: the challenge of relevance, in particular to integrate the subject of corporate social responsibility (CSR) into the management curriculum, and the...

Ethics training is important in the preparation of current or future managers, but many people have misconceptions about ethics in general, and business ethics in particular. Those who question the wisdom of business ethics education are ignoring the fact that ethical dilemmas are a standard...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to apply Chester Barnard's ideas about authority in organizations to the modern phenomenon of “whistle‐blowing” and highlight insights that can advance contemporary theory in business ethics. The paper coins a new term “the whistle‐blowing...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the current gap between the subjects of business ethics and pre‐1960 management theory. Design/methodology/approach – In an attempt to achieve the objective of the paper, the business ethics content of three leading management theorists...

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to better understand the origins of modern corporate social responsibility. The paper seeks to examine some factors that enabled the new industrial corporation to expand its role in society. Design/methodology/approach – Using institutional theory, this...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to trace a history of American codes of business ethics as they evolved from religious bases to legalistic bases to an international emphasis. Design/methodology/approach – The paper describes the evolution of business codes of ethics over the twentieth...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to elucidate and explain the origins and transformation of the study of corporate social responsibility (CSR) over its half‐century history. Design/methodology/approach – This paper is a historical study in two parts. The first and larger part...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore how chief executive officer values and ethics have been translated into what we now term corporate social responsibility in a stakeholder view of the firm. Design/methodology/approach – To fulfill this purpose, the reflections of early...