Codes of Ethics, Ethical Behavior, and Organizational Culture from the Managerial Approach: A Case Study in the Colombian Banking Industry

Background

Even though business ethics has its roots in ancient disciplines, including philosophy, theology, and law, in the twenty-first century its significance has been triggered by corporate scandals and the financial crisis of 2008, in which the Colombian banking sector was not immune. According to Graafland and Ven (2011), the easy money policy and the lack of supervision by Governmental institutions, the focus on short-term results, and the asymmetric information that allowed hindering the risks to mortgage buyers are among the causes of the credit crisis. Furthermore, the relevance of the fields of business ethics and CSR increases through social pressure, which demands that businesses take greater responsibility toward social, political, and environmental concerns (Uccello, 2009). In this scenario, organizations establish norms and instruments, such as codes of ethics, in order to influence employee behavior as well as to recover stakeholder trust. However, according to Burnes (2009), it is important to know what these instruments, such as codes of ethics, mean for employees and what their attitude is toward this issue in order to enhance stakeholders’ loyalty and trust.