by James Dwyer
By the early 2000’s, 81% of all Australian companies offered some form of training for their employees. Over the years, this has only increased - to the point it has become a common occurrence for every new starter in a major Australian institution to complete a series of often repetitive mandatory modules. The ideal of these trainings is to ensure all companies have ”[an] appropriate system of... internal controls”, to ensure employees abide by ethical standards and industry best-practice (AICD). Yet, how well does reality stack up with these guiding documents?
Consider the example of one of Australia’s oldest institutions, QANTAS, the ”Spirit of Australia”. During the early 2020’s, QANTAS faced a number of high-profile governance failures, including allegations of quid-pro-quo favours in order to secure market advantages. At the time public opinion turned strongly against the company. Yet despite this, QANTAS executed a change in leadership, apologising and promising to do right by customers. Soon, public opinion returned to 84% having a positive or neutral view of the company. This surprising neutrality is significantly indicative of our broader attitudes.
I contend that our neutral perception as a society of ethical corporate decision-making relates to our idea of certain rituals organisations perform to become ethical. If a company does wrong, it apologises. If you want to ensure good business ethics, make everyone complete a module. Society tells companies if they simply present cosmetic changes, they redeem themselves.
However, this thinking must be guarded against. SDG 16 calls for ”Strong Institutions” and this applies to businesses. Through holding companies accountable for substantial change to their institutional values - peering beyond the ritual - consumers can hope to improve business ethics in corporate decision making.