When’s the last time you heard the question, “Do we really need a corporate code of conduct?” asked in your company, if ever? And do you react with surprise or even a bit of annoyance as you read it here, thinking it’s stupid to even ask such a thing in 2014?
Perhaps it is. Whether your company has established a code of conduct because it faced a legal requirement to have one, or to satisfy stakeholder demands, or to serve as the foundation of the organization’s compliance program, the very idea of questioning the value of having a corporate code of conduct seems out-moded in today’s business world. And yet, if we slightly rephrase the question to ask, “What value can we gain from a code of conduct” we set the stage for a meaningful management discussion that takes place all too infrequently.
