How good companies build a culture of integrity

In the present environment of corporate governance brought on by high-profile executive scandals, this book makes a strong case for encouraging business leaders to manage beyond compliance. Achieving the bare minimum of compliance isn't enough. By making corporate responsibility and integrity a strategic priority-rather than something companies are forced to comply with-companies can realize tangible financial returns and benefits. This book provides practical advice, effective tools, and time-tested best practices for approaching corporate integrity strategically and managing an integrity program on a day-to-day basis.

Donna Kennedy-Glans (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) is a lawyer and businesswoman with nearly 20 years of experience representing large companies. Robert Schulz (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) is a professor of strategic management at Haskayne School of Business at the University of Calgary, where he has taught for three decades.

From the Inside Flap

"The failure of ethics in business is front-page news. In response, regulatory agencies are drafting more integrity rules and most corporate managers I know are scrambling to comply. Managers are looking to strict compliance with rules and regulations, internal and external audits and insurance to reduce the impacts of integrity risks to their corporate bottom-line. Through work in the trenches with companies, it is my experience that compliance is not enough to navigate integrity dilemmas. The big rewards are in moving beyond compliance."

From the Preface

In the present environment of corporate governance and rule-making, this book makes a business case encouraging leaders to manage beyond compliance. By making corporate responsibility and integrity a strategic priority (instead of something they are forced to do or comply with), companies can realize tangible financial returns. This book provides practical advice, tools, and best practices on how to approach corporate integrity strategically, and how to manage it on a day-to-day basis.

There is a growing realization that compliance with the rules is only a minimum standard of performance, and an increasing demand from stakeholders at every level-shareholders, employees, customers along the entire supply chain, consumers, advocacy groups, and the local community at large-for more transparency and accountability from corporations.

But most businesses have little experience and few tools to deal with the urgent demand to increase corporate responsibility. Corporate Integrity provides practical tools and proven processes to manage complex integrity dilemmas and support implementation:

* Explains how to create a culture of integrity in your organization and how to motivate the appropriate corporate behaviors.

* Coverage includes: How to assess and measure integrity; how to align corporate integrity commitments and actions; how to design and implement dependable and strategic corporate accountability systems and processes; how to develop corporate integrity standards and report on them, and much more.

* Includes a wealth of practical business tools and best practices that readers can apply to improve the level of corporate integrity in their own company.

* Features three detailed case studies and numerous other examples that illustrate corporate integrity dilemmas and solutions in action.

* Shows how managing corporate responsibility strategically and proactively can go beyond a mere public relations exercise to foster a corporate "win" in the court of popular opinion and in the marketplace.

* Bridges the gaps between corporations, governments, employees, interest groups, and consumers.

* Offers tools and solutions that apply to both for-profit corporations and non-profit organizations.



About the Author

Donna Kennedy-Glans's expertise is drawn from more than twenty years of experience as a lawyer and business executive, representing large international corporations struggling to manage integrity dilemmas at head office and on the ground. Ms. Kennedy-Glans has pioneered and implemented best practices in the field of business integrity in over thirty countries. More recently, she advises the voluntary sector on integrity, and bridges relationships between the private and voluntary sectors (www.integritybridges.com). She is a frequent speaker and workshop presenter at events and conferences around the world.

Dr. Bob Schulz is a professor of strategic management at Haskayne School of Business at the University of Calgary, where he has coached business leaders and trained future business leaders for three decades. Dr. Schulz's award-winning teaching/learning style focuses on bridging academic theory and practical application. As a strategic planning consultant, he has worked closely with senior leaders in both the public and private sectors.