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The content and focus of Canadian corporate codes of ethics

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Abstract

This paper primarily reports the findings of content analyses of seventy-five codes of ethics ofFinancial Post 500 corporations. The contents of each code were comprehensively evaluated along sixty-one criteria according to four levels. It was found that the focus of these codes was the protection of the firm. While some of them refer to issues of social responsibility, they are principally concerned with conduct against the firm.

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Maurica Lefebvre holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology from the University of Western Ontario and a Bachelor of Commerce degree and MBA from the University of Windsor. She is presently employed marketing consumer packaged goods.

Jang B. Singh, B. A. (Toronto), M. A. (St. Thomas), M. A. (Toronto), M. B. A. (Windsor), Ph. D. (Toronto) is Associate Professor at the Faculty of Business Administration of the University of Windsor. His research focus is on ethical issues involved in the management process.

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Lefebvre, M., Singh, J.B. The content and focus of Canadian corporate codes of ethics. J Bus Ethics 11, 799–808 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00872312

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