Reference no: EM133345711
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We have come to recognize the legal obligation known as the Fiduciary Duty of Directors and Officers of a Corporation to their immediate stakeholders (namely - the shareholders). Additionally, Directors and Officers direct the activities of a Corporation within the legal framework within which they operate. Nevertheless, Corporations generally prefer to operate in a deregulated environment with less, as opposed to more, outside public or governmental scrutiny.
In this Corporate environment, there has very recently and certainly more increasingly, developed a focus by Corporations to address non-economic issues that affect or might affect stakeholders - other than and in addition to a Corporation's shareholders. The manifestation of this focus has been characterized in relatively new terms, such as - Corporate Social Responsibility, Corporate Ethics, and Corporate Code of Conduct.
So - as students in International Corporate Responsibility class, we should be asking ourselves:
- Is what is evolving a good thing?
- Is this focus on the ethical conversation real or is it self-serving?
- Does it matter as to what the motives of a Corporation are in this regard? Regardless of motive, what if the initiatives taken are making a positive impact on a broader range of stakeholders.
- Why are Corporations choosing to go down this road?
- Aren't Corporations really just trying to protect their brand and their reputation? And, if so, what's wrong with that?
- Is Business Ethics just an oxymoron?
Explore the above conversation in a paper titled - Corporate Ethics or Corporate Marketing.
Your paper will incorporate the issues 1 to 6 referred to above. Explore those issues and what we have canvassed in class to demonstrate that you have a clear understanding of the competing views. Please express your personal views as well with respect to what is evolving... good or bad.