Reference no: EM133300067

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:

1. Is what is evolving a good thing?

2. Is this focus on the ethical conversation real or is it self-serving?

3. 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.

4. Why are Corporations choosing to go down this road?

5. Aren't Corporations really just trying to protect their brand and their reputation? And, if so, what's wrong with that?

6. Is Business Ethics just an oxymoron?