Business Ethics and Corporate Governance, Second Edition

PUBLIC AWARENESS AND SCRUTINY

There has been a revolution in communications, itself a source of huge new global business operations. With easier and more immediate access to information, and the stimulus of media analysis, public interest in the conduct of business has intensified. Sophisticated media presentation focuses particular issues and heightens concern, especially where there are perceptions that public interest is threatened or power is being abused. Demands increase for greater transparency and for effective public scrutiny. Society expects corporations to be accountable, not just in traditional areas of financial performance, but across all functions that impact on the physical, social and economic environments. Society’s confidence ...