Creating a Code of Ethics for Your Organization

by Chris MacDonald, Ph.D.

• Outline of the content of a code of business practice and ethics (Institute of Business Ethics)
• Authoring a Code: Observations on Process and Organization, by Andrew T. Olson
• "Can you improve your code of ethics?", American Society of Newspaper Editors 
• "Creating a Code of Ethics: Developing ethical standards for a sector," Canadian Council for International Co-operation [PDF document]
• The Toronto Resolution ("a methodology for assessing particular ethical codes which comprises the key elements that all codes of ethics in science and scholarship should include...")
• Progress towards a World-Wide Code of Conduct, by John A. N. Lee and Jacques Berleur (report from the International Federation for Information Processing Task Force on Ethics)
• Ethical Codes in Action (International Management Accounting Study)
• Codes of Conduct: Panacea or Bunk?, by Cornelius von Baeyer
• Industry Canada's Voluntary Codes Guide
• Organization and Management of NGOs: The Mandate, The Vision and The Mission
• Resources for Writing a Code of Ethics (Center for the Study of Ethics in the Professions)

Sample Codes of Ethics:

• Corporate Codes of Ethics etc. On-Line
• Codes of Professional Ethics, etc., On-Line
• Codes From Student Organizations
• The Caux Principles (the first international Ethics code for business)
• Codes of Conduct
• Codes of Ethics Online: The Index (comprehensive listing, from the Illinois Institute of Technology)

Books / Manuals (in association with Amazon.com)...

	Global Codes of Conduct: An Idea Whose Time Has Come (The John W. Houck Notre Dame Series in Business Ethics), by Oliver F. Williams (Editor)			Eighty Exemplary Ethics Statements, by Patrick E. Murphy (Editor). University of Notre Dame Press, 1997.
	The Mission Statement Book: 301 Corporate Mission Statements from America's Top Companies, by Jeffrey Abrahams. Ten Speed Press, 1995.			Say It & Live It: 50 Corporate Mission Statements That Hit the Mark, by Patricia Jones, Larry Kahaner. Currency/Doubleday, 1995.
	Creating a Mission That Makes a Difference (Carverguide, 6) by John Carver (1996)			Organizational Vision, Values and Mission, by Cynthia D. Scott, Glenn Tobr, Dennis Jaffe. Crisp Publications, 1994.
	The Code of the Executive: Forty-Seven Ancient Samurai Principles Essential for Twenty-First Century Leadership Success, by Don Schmincke (Plume, 2000)			Creating Mission Statements For Smaller Groups -- A Mission Statement That Clarifies Vision, Values, and Goals Can Improve Teamwork [DOWNLOAD: PDF] by Beverly Goldberg
	Creating a Workable Company Code of Ethics, (Ethics Resource Center, 1990)			Writing a Museum Code of Ethics, (American Association of Museums, 1993)
	Developing and Enforcing a Code of Business Ethics, by Gary Ward			Codes of Professional Responsibility: Ethics Standards in Business, Health, and Law (4th Ed), by Rena A. Gorlin (Editor). Bureau of National Affairs, 1999.
	Codes of Professional Ethics. Published by Amnesty International U.S.A., 1984.			Implementation and Enforcement Codes of Ethics in Corporations and Associations (Opinion Research Corporation Study, No 65334), by Opinion Research Corporation Staff. Ethics Resource Center, 1980.
	Resolving Workplace Conflict by Customizing the Golden Rule, written by Rochelle Sjolseth.

 

For more books on ethics, look to The EthicsWeb Bookstore.

• Books on Professional Ethics.

For additional resources, see also: BusinessEthics.ca.

For commentary on recent news stories related to business ethics, see The Business Ethics Blog.

See also "Writing a Conflict of Interest Policy."