A construct of code effectiveness: empirical findings and measurement properties

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to examine and describe the use of codes of ethics in companies operating in South Africa. The population included the company secretaries of the top 500 companies operating in the South African corporate sector. The findings stipulate that South African companies need to understand that their employees are diverse in beliefs and opinions and as a result do not all have similar ethical value systems. Therefore, ethical education is imperative to ensure a stronger focus on the offering of ethics programmes aligned with the business philosophy of the company.

Profiting with Values: A Qualitative Approach to SMEs in the Informal Economy of Uganda’s Central Region

“…Although SMEs in Uganda's informal economy contribute enormously to Uganda's labour market and GDP at large, there is a relative research paucity about their operations. Whereas there is a myriad of research findings in developed/developing economies about ethical behaviour and firm performance (Roberts-Lombard et al 2016: Wei & Yazdanifad, 2014: Long, 2016and Vercio & Champion, 2006, there is, nevertheless, a paucity of studies focusing on ethics and profitability of SMEs in Uganda's informal economy. Having established the commonly practiced core values in Uganda's informal economy (Kintu, 2017), it is important to establish the relative purpose of such core values to firm operations (considering profitability lens), in Uganda's informal economy which is currently missing.…”

More does not always mean better : do more comprehensive ethics management programmes result in better outcomes?

“…Establishing and maintaining a strong ethical culture in the workplace encourages collective commitment to the organisation and creates an environment where employees support one another in the ethical pursuit of organisational goals (Chun, Shin, Choi & Kim, 2013). In contrast, an organisational environment characterised by unethical behaviour has significant deleterious consequences for such organisations, as evidenced by recent examples of ethical failure by South African organisations such as Clover South Africa, South African Airways (SAA) (Schoeman, 2007;South African Lawyer, 2017), Allied Bank of South Africa (ABSA), Fidentia Asset Management (Hogg, 2014), Saambou Bank (IOL, 2008), Leisurenet, Tiger Brands, Premier Foods, Foodcorp, Pioneer Foods (Stokes, 2007); the MTN Group (Fin24tech, 2015;Roberts-Lombard, Mpinganjira, Wood & Svensson, 2016); the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) (Business Report, 2015) and DSTV (Competition Commission SA, 2017). These organisations have been found guilty of unethical behaviour, which included allegations of price fixing, insider trading, bribery, fraud and maladministration (Tai, 2015;Lloyd, Mey & Ramalingum, 2014;Rossouw & Van Vuuren, 2013).…”