Please probide response to discussion

The Global Business Standards Codex is a good starting point for a companys code of ethics standards. The Codex is written in a vague way to be applicable worldwide, but the implementation could look very different from company to company. This is especially true when cultural differences are considered. The Codex would make a great framework that various industries and cultures could easily adapt. According to Paine et al. (2005), the Codex is meant to be a benchmark for best practice and not a model to be copied outright.

The eight guiding principles are fiduciary, property, reliability, transparency, dignity, fairness, citizenship, and responsiveness. These eight principles are further broken down into greater detail on how they relate to different constituencies: customers, employees, investors, competitors, suppliers/partners, and the public. The eight guiding principles are adequate as a starting point, but each company will need to tailor them to their specific company culture and industry needs. According to Paine et al. (2005), companies can use the Codex as a reference, adopt minimalist or robust versions of it, add their own values, and use it to compare themselves to the standards of conduct for global business.

I find the eight guiding principles to be reasonable, common-sense measures of being an ethical business. These guiding principles apply to both small and large organizations. When I first read the article, I found the information similar to a program that we used when I worked in Child Development called Character Counts! that discussed ethical values. I did look up the program, and its six pillars include trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship. The similarity is evident to me.

Travis Stewart has a great video on why business ethics are crucial to an organization.