CORPORATE CODES OF ETHICS : HOW SHOULD A COMPANY BEHAVE?
After discussing numerous issues related to the impact of globalization on business, the role of businesses in the globalization process, and the impact of MNEs on society, we now come to a qualitatively different question: How should a company behave? The United
Nations Global Compact is a good start since it identifies ten broad principles in the areas of human rights, labor, environment, and anti-corruption-all of which we've described in this chapter. The Global Compact is not legally binding, but it is a helpful guide for companies in establishing a code of conduct. Launched in 2000, the initiative has more than 10,000 participants, of which more than 7,000 are businesses representing 145 countries. The UN Global Compact Web site allows you to search participating companies by country. It is inter esting to note that on June 20, 2013, there were 824 French companies actively participating in the initiative, compared to 302 from the United States, 211 from the United Kingdom, and 241 from Germany, Brazil leads the BRIC countries with 342 active business participants, more than the US, UK, and Germany, and Russia has the least among the BRICs with only 28 participants.