ABSTRACT
A great variety of business codes exist in terms of scope, depth, wording and design. A good code has four qualities. A good code is comprehensive, morally justifiable, authentic and manageable. A chemical company that fails to address environmental issues is missing the point entirely. A bank that ignores the issue of insider trading displays a gap in the content of the code. An important requirement is that the company takes a morally justifiable position with respect to the issues the code addresses. A code is also authentic when it is whole, in the sense of an integrated whole. Some codes excel in the repeated use of the word 'not'. A code can include all relevant issues, address them in an authentic and morally justifiable manner, but be so ambitious as to render it unrealistic. The code articulates, emphasises and strengthens existing views that, albeit implicit and sometimes underdeveloped, already exist within the organisation.
