| Abstract |
The ethical dimension of business has become important in recent years. Consequently, many companies have decided to develop ethical codes as inspiring management principles. Different studies link their effectiveness with their content and mode of implementation, aspects that can differ from one organization to another. This work aims at a comparative study on visibility and content of ethical codes in three Spanish economic sectors: financial, energy and telephone. We have applied a qualitative methodology, based on a content analysis of ethical codes, on a sample based on the most relevant companies in each sector. The study shows, among other issues: the existence of inter and intra differences, the absence of relevant values, the generality and ambiguity with which they are formulated, the influence of legislation on the content of the code and the preponderance of the declarations in comparison with aspects related to their management. Despite the doubts raised by the effectiveness of the ethical code, there is widespread agreement that institutionalization and communication of it is the first step to improve the ethical behavior of an organization with its various stakeholders. |
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