Questioning the Legitimacy of Corporate Codes of Conduct as Instruments to Regulate B2B Relations: A Precarious Balance Between States and Multinational Corporations

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Di Martino
Keyword(s):  
Multinational Corporations ◽  
Codes Of Conduct ◽  
Corporate Codes Of Conduct

Corporate Codes of Conduct and the Success of Globalization

2002 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Prakash Sethi
Keyword(s):  
Multinational Corporations ◽  
Free Trade ◽  
Codes Of Conduct ◽  
Adverse Conditions ◽  
Current State ◽  
Corporate Codes Of Conduct ◽  
Protection Of Human Rights ◽  
Overseas Operations ◽  
Efficiency And Productivity

This article focuses on the expanding role of multinational corporations (MNCs) in developing countries, within the context of globalization and free trade. It demonstrates that the current state of globalization does not conform to the conventional notion of free trade. Therefore, given the prevailing circumstances, MNCs have an unfair advantage in expropriating a greater share of gains from efficiency and productivity from international trade than would be possible if labor had greater mobility or more equitable bargaining power.The article presents evidence that the arguments advanced by MNCs in defense of their position are factually incorrect and logically flawed. Next, the article examines the efforts made by MNCs to ameliorate some of the adverse conditions arising from their overseas manufacturing and sourcing operations. The findings show that most of these efforts are more rhetorical than substantive.Finally, it outlines a framework that allows multinationals to undertake meaningful actions that would both minimize the adverse consequences of, and enhance the positive benefits emanating from their overseas operations. These actions must be independently verifiable and transparent if MNCs are to gain credibility and public trust.A failure to undertake meaningful reforms will retard or even reverse the process of globalization, thus depriving all concerned of globalization's attendant benefits. Even more ominously, such a failure would seriously undermine democratic values and erode the very foundations of political and economic freedom in large parts of the world that sustain private enterprise, property rights, respect for individual freedom, and protection of human rights.

scholarly journals Transnational Labor Mobilizing in Two Mexican Maquiladoras: The Struggle for Democratic Globalization

2004 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 295-310 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victoria Carty
Keyword(s):  
Multinational Corporations ◽  
Working Conditions ◽  
Codes Of Conduct ◽  
Trade Agreements ◽  
National Standards ◽  
Export Processing Zones ◽  
International Trade Agreements ◽  
Network Building ◽  
Corporate Codes Of Conduct ◽  
Export Processing

The struggle to improve workers' rights in Mexican maquiladoras and export processing zones elsewhere in the world is central to the politics of global economic integration. State-centered development is increasingly compromised by supranational institutions and trade agreements. Meanwhile, multinational corporations are relocating at an unprecedented rate to overseas locations. Export processing zones are notorious for poor working conditions and result in a "race to the bottom." The maquila sector in Mexico is a prime example of this phenomenon. This article uses two case studies to examine ways in which grassroots organizing has successfully resisted low wages and poor working conditions through international network building and information sharing. It combines social movement theory with the literature on international relations to conceptualize the internationalization of grassroots efforts to pressure multinational corporations and host governments to respect labor laws included in international trade agreements, national standards, and self-mandated corporate codes of conduct. Key to the success in both cases has been the role that nonstate actors played in domestic and international politics, operating outside of national borders to simultaneously target the local, national, and international level.

scholarly journals Corporate codes of conduct: Are three generations sufficient to ensure the effective enforcement of labour rights?

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 106-118
Author(s):  
Aneta Tyc
Keyword(s):  
Multinational Corporations ◽  
Multinational Enterprises ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Codes Of Conduct ◽  
Code Of Conduct ◽  
Corporate Code ◽  
Three Generations ◽  
Labour Rights ◽  
Corporate Codes Of Conduct ◽  
Illegal Activities

In the 1970s, the number of reports concerning unethical or illegal activities of multinational corporations increased and led to discussions within international organisations. In 1976, the OECD was first to adopt its Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. The ILO adopted its Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy in 1977, and UN issued the Global Compact in 2000. Subsequently, many codes of conduct have been established to provide a stable framework in which MNEs conduct their business. The purpose of this paper is to assess, through the prism of three generations of codes, if self-regulation is sufficient to ensure the effective enforcement of labour rights. I fill the gap in existing research by providing a comprehensive explanation for the shortcomings of this instrument. Research indicates that there is a lack of involvement of social partners in the decision-making process leading to the adoption of codes of conduct. Once adopted, they impose lower standards than the public regulatory frameworks. They are more selective in their choice of labour rights. There are also many difficulties in implementing, monitoring and enforcing a corporate code of conduct. These tools mainly address marketing aims and respond to the unfavourable publicity produced by the media about the inconsistency of certain corporate policies with international labour standards. I conclude by discussing how codes of conduct could be transformed to more eƒectively address workers’ rights.

NGO Strategies for Promoting Corporate Social Responsibility

2002 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-87 ◽  
Author(s):  
Morton Winston
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Multinational Corporations ◽  
Codes Of Conduct ◽  
Legal Standards ◽  
Voluntary Codes Of Conduct ◽  
Financial Interests ◽  
Corporate Social Accountability ◽  
Naming And Shaming ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
National Governments

This article describes and evaluates the different strategies that have been employed by international human rights nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in attempting to influence the behavior of multinational corporations (MNCs). Within the NGO world, there is a basic divide on tactics for dealing with corporations: Engagers try to draw corporations into dialogue in order to persuade them by means of ethical and prudential arguments to adopt voluntary codes of conduct, while confronters believe that corporations will act only when their financial interests are threatened, and therefore take a more adversarial stance toward them. Confrontational NGOs tend to employ moral stigmatization, or “naming and shaming,” as their primary tactic, while NGOs that favor engagement offer dialogue and limited forms of cooperation with willing MNCs.The article explains the evolving relationship between NGOs and MNCs in relation to human rights issues and defines eight strategies along the engagement/confrontation spectrum used by NGOs in their dealings with MNCs. The potential benefits and risks of various forms of engagement between NGOs and MNCs are analyzed and it is argued that the dynamic created by NGOs pursuing these different strategies can be productive in moving some companies to embrace their social responsibilities. Yet, in order for these changes to be sustainable, national governments will need to enact enforceable international legal standards for corporate social accountability.

Private Regulation of Labor Standards in Global Supply Chains

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarosh Kuruvilla
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chains ◽  
Codes Of Conduct ◽  
Regulatory System ◽  
Labor Standards ◽  
Global Supply Chains ◽  
Private Regulation ◽  
Labor Conditions ◽  
Voluntary Regulation ◽  
Corporate Codes Of Conduct ◽  
Multi Stakeholder

This book examines the effectiveness of corporate social responsibility on improving labor standards in global supply chains. The book charts the development and effectiveness of corporate codes of conduct to ameliorate “sweatshop” conditions in global supply chains. This form of private voluntary regulation, spearheaded by Nike and Reebok, became necessary given the inability of third world countries to enforce their own laws and the absence of a global regulatory system for labor standards. Although private regulation programs have been adopted by other companies in many different industries, we know relatively little regarding the effectiveness of these programs because companies don't disclose information about their efforts and outcomes in regulating labor conditions in their supply chains. The book presents data from companies, multi-stakeholder institutions, and auditing firms in a comprehensive, investigative dive into the world of private voluntary regulation of labor conditions. The picture painted is wholistic and raw, but it considers several ways in which this private voluntary system can be improved to improve the lives of workers in global supply chains.

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