Regulating virtue: formulating, engendering and enforcing corporate ethical codes

Amongst the most popular instruments used when attempting to inject ethics into organisational life is the code of ethics (or code of practice—I use the expressions synonymously). In fact, such codes are often the first formal structure to be established when the attempt is made to raise the ethical profile of an organisation. The popularity of codes stems from the fact that they are very adaptable; they are used in all types of regulatory environments, from external regulatory regimes to self-regulatory and enforced self-regulatory regimes. As well, all sorts of organisations—government departments and agencies, universities, along with many