Abstract:
Presents a literature review of reported findings on the analyses of the contents of
codes of ethics in corporations and the various strategies, processes, procedures and resources
that accompany and support them. The starting point is the seminal paper by Cressy and Moore.
In the literature a distinction is drawn between inspirational and prescriptive code types, and this
classification becomes a focal point on what is the appropriate subject matter for a rode of ethics.
The issue remains an unresolved feature of research artides. For some researchers a document
that prescribes behaviours is not a code of ethics because it precludes empowerment of addressees
to make the ethical decisions. Others consider prescriptive documents to be "best practice" for
codes of ethics. The latter authors propose the perspective that the only satisfactory contents for
codes are clear and precise behavioural dictates that lend themselves to a supporting disciplinary
Function: In practice the managers of corporations continue to publish the types of rode they
favour.
