ETHICAL PRACTICES IN THE CORPORATE WORLD: NEED FOR REGULATION

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Kuber Bhola, Reema Malhotra ORCID logo

https://doi.org/10.22495/jgr_v3_i4_c1_p1

Abstract

The corporate world today is highly pro-active in adopting ethical practices that cater to the upliftment of a wide section of the society. Corporate social responsibility, as a business ethic and method, ensures social partnership and multi-cultural diversity at the workplace. Even as attempts are made to make CSR mandatory for organizations, a process like this comes with its pros and cons. These practices are often accused with a poor sense of regulation and are ill known for their attempts to enhance reputation, taxation and revenue. This paper attempts to raise some of these critiques of the CSR model, as exemplified by some leading IT companies in India. We aim to highlight the emergent need of a systemic regulation and assessment of these ethical measures. Bringing ethics into the mainstream by establishing regulatory mandates and systematizing norms of execution of CSR protocols remains central to our work. Towards the end, we propose a solution in the form of a certifying tool called ‘SA 8000’ that evaluates the ethical impacts of corporate activities and policies. The adherence to these international business standards is foreseen to have long-term implications in certification and promotion of socially acceptable working practices in any organizational structure.

Keywords: Ethical Practices, Corporate World, Regulation, Corporate Social Responsibility

How to cite this paper: Bhola, K., & Malhotra, R. (2014). Ethical practices in the corporate world: Need for regulation. Journal of Governance and Regulation, 3(4-1), 91-97. https://doi.org/10.22495/jgr_v3_i4_c1_p1