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Corporate ethical consulting: Developing management strategies for corporate ethics

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Abstract

The increase of scandals in the business sector is forcing many companies to examine their corporate ethical behavior with a view toward rebuilding their corporate value system. This article describes how value-system reconstruction must proceed in a company and demonstrates that corporate ethics can only become plausible if based on a corporate ethical ethos. It outlines a five-step development plan of management strategies toward rebuilding a company's value system on this corporate ethos through: corporate policy and strategy reformulation; corporate ethical code promulgation and value-statement formulation; management ethical training and corporate ethical education; and corporate ethical performance evaluation. The role of the corporate ethical consultant is also outlined to illustrate how corporate ethical consulting can provide the specialized services designed to insure an enduring management ethical upgrading and to improve a company's corporate ethical performance record. The discussion indicates how corporate ethical consulting promotes good business through its capacity to deliver industry credibility and company security.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. EQUIPAX Consulting Services, The Summit, 277 Main Street, B-3, 06032, Farmington, Connecticut, USA

    Richard H. Guerrette

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  1. Richard H. Guerrette
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Additional information

Richard Guerrette is a Research Fellow at Yale University Divinity School, where he is conducting a research study in organization management process and corporate ethics. He is also a Lecturer in sociology at the University of Connecticut at Hartford and is an author of two books on ecumenical ministry and social movement organization in the church. He has published extensively in theological journals and has recently contributed an article on ‘Environmental Integrity and Corporate Responsibility’ for the Journal of Business Ethics 5 (1986). He is the Director of Equipax, an organization/management consulting service in Farmington, Connecticut.

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Guerrette, R.H. Corporate ethical consulting: Developing management strategies for corporate ethics. J Bus Ethics 7, 373–380 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00382540

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