Culture, fairness and dishonesty are concepts that have become a recent focus demanding the attention of company directors. But what is the influence of law on the nature of culture? Can legal framework provide guidance for directors?
Recent commentary on the underlying causes of numerous corporate scandals has focused on culture as a governance tool, difficult though it is to specifically identify culture in a manner that avoids platitudes. Nevertheless, an urgent search for explanations and solutions becomes even more necessary when companies, and the people who work within them, systemically act in a way that breaches normative values, or worse act criminally.