ABSTRACT
The behaviour of non-executive directors within corporate boards and board members within nonprofit organizations has come under increasing scrutiny in recent years. A series of reviews of corporate and nonprofit governance legislation and regulatory systems in countries such as Australia, Canada, the USA and the UK have drawn attention for the need for tighter regulation of boards and a need for higher standards of ethical behaviour from board members. Sport organizations at the community and professional levels are not immune to such calls from their members, funding agencies and stakeholders for better governance standards.
This chapter explores the ethical dimensions of governance, the pressures to improve the ethical behaviour of boards and board members and the variety of mechanisms for delivering such improvements. The chapter is presented in six parts. First, the concept of ethical governance is reviewed along with the implications of poor ethical behaviour and the pressures from government, the market and organizational stakeholders to improve ethical standards of governance. Second, the statutory obligations of board members in relation to their governance role are reviewed. Third, the development of various corporate governance codes of practice, standards and guidelines are examined. Fourth, recent developments such as codes practice and guidelines in the nonprofit sector are analysed. Fifth, specific sport governance guidelines developed by national sport agencies and other bodies are outlined. Finally, other influences on ethical governance in sport organizations are discussed and some examples of codes of conduct for sport organizations are reviewed.
