Ethical Aspects of Corporate Governance

Questions of ethics, or the 'right way to run a business', are inherent in all aspects of corporate governance and in every board decision and action. Ethical choices are relevant within the core business strategies that boards pursue and the way that they direct the business as a whole to achieve them.

This raises questions such as: Has the consideration of ethical principles explicitly influenced the development of corporate governance? And, to what extent are there different notions of what is fair and responsible governance in different businesses and countries - in terms of both governance frameworks and governance processes? So how is ethics played out in the boardroom? The imperative for ethical behaviours and practices to be part of governance has arguably never been more important.

To what extent has the implicit inter-relationship between corporate governance and ethics clearly been articulated for the Board of Directors?