BUSINESS ETHICS

SAKSHI GUPTA (95)

PGDM (B)

Institute of Social and Ethical Accountability (ISEA) / International

Accreditation Forum (IAF) / International Association for Business and
Society (IABS)
Established in 1995, Accountability is the leading international non-profit institute that brings
together members and partners from business, civil society and the public sector from across
the world. Accountability is dedicated to promoting accountability for sustainable
development by the development of innovative and effective accountability tools and
standards, most notably the AA1000 Series. Undertaking cutting-edge research that explores
best practice for practitioners and policy-makers in organisational accountability. Promoting
accountability competencies across the professions. Securing an enabling environment in
markets and public policies. The purpose of our research is not just to broaden and deepen
knowledge and understanding in the field, but to create rigorously tested and readily
applicable tools and approaches that can be used by individual practitioners, businesses, civil
society groups, and governments around the world.

Reference: https://wiser.directory/organization/institute-of-social-and-ethical-
accountability/

An international membership organization based in the U.K., the Institute of Social and
Ethical Accountability's stated mission is "strengthening the social responsibility and ethical
behaviour of the business community and non-profit organisations." Members come from
academic institutions, nongovernmental organizations, consulting firms, and other public and
private companies. Accountability, the Institute's Web site, outlines the organization's efforts
to promote best practices in social and ethical accounting, auditing, and reporting, and to
develop standards and accreditation for auditing professionals. "About Us" offers basic
information on the Institute and the general principles of corporate accountability. Click on
the "AA1000 Standard" link for details on the Institute's efforts to provide "both a framework
that organisations can use to understand and improve their ethical performance and a means
for others to judge the validity of ethical claims made."

Reference: https://hbswk.hbs.edu/archive/institute-of-social-and-ethical-accountability

International Accreditation Forum (IAF)

The International Accreditation Forum, Inc. (IAF) is the world association of Conformity
Assessment Accreditation bodies and other bodies interested in conformity assessment in the
fields of management systems, products, services, personnel and other similar programs of
conformity assessment. Accreditation is an essential ingredient for competitiveness, access to
new markets, productivity improvement, innovation of new products and environmental
protection, as well as the health and safety of populations. An efficient and effective quality
and standards infrastructure, underpinned by accreditation, is key to a country’s growth, as
well as being essential in creating a safer, cleaner, and more equitable and well-integrated
world. Accreditation provides confidence in the quality, safety, and environmental credentials
of goods, services, and processes. It is required for the effective operation of domestic
markets, and its international recognition is important to enable access to foreign markets.
Accreditation is a critical element in promoting and sustaining economic development as well
as environmental and social well-being, as it provides confidence in metrology,
standardization, and conformity assessment.

The IAF Vision

To be preferred partners for worldwide recognition of accredited conformity assessment

results that meet the market, regulatory and public need.

The IAF Mission

Facilitate trade, support regulators, protect consumers and the environment, and facilitate
sustainable development by operating a worldwide mutual recognition arrangement among
accreditation bodies in order that the results issued by conformity assessment bodies
accredited by IAF members are accepted globally.

Role of the IAF

The primary purpose of IAF is two-fold. Firstly, to ensure that its accreditation body
members only accredit bodies that are competent to do the work they undertake and are not
subject to conflicts of interest. The second purpose of the IAF is to establish mutual
recognition arrangements (MRAs), known as Multilateral Recognition
Arrangements (MLAs), between its accreditation body members which reduces risk to
business and its customers by ensuring that an accredited certificate may be relied upon
anywhere in the world. The MLA contributes to the freedom of world trade by eliminating
technical barriers to trade. IAF works to find the most effective way of achieving a single
system that will allow companies with an accredited conformity assessment certificate in one
part of the world, to have that certificate recognized else where in the world. The objective of
the MLA is that it will cover all accreditation bodies in all countries in the world, thus
eliminating the need for suppliers of products or services to be certified in each country
where they sell their products or services.

The objectives of IAF

 To maintain and develop a Multilateral Recognition Arrangement (MLA) between its

Accreditation Body Members to ensure recognition of accredited certification
between signatories.
 To act as a global forum to bring together accreditation bodies and stakeholder groups
to facilitate global trade.
 To develop appropriate harmonization of conformity assessment best practice.
 To promote accredited conformity assessment by working with, and influencing, key
international organisations and industry groups.

Types of IAF membership

The International Accreditation Forum is a global association of Accreditation Bodies,
Conformity Assessment Body associations, Regional Accreditation Groups, and Industry
associations, including scheme owners.

 Accreditation Body Membership: Open to Bodies developing, or conducting and

administering, accreditation of entities that perform conformity assessment such as
management system certification, product certification, certification of persons,
verification/validation, or similar conformity assessment.

 Association Membership: Open to groups of entities that engage in , are subject to,

make use of, accept or rely on, conformity assessment results from bodies accredited
by Accreditation Body Members of IAF.

 Regional Accreditation Group Membership: Open to regional groups of

Accreditation Bodies whose aims include the maintenance of Regional Multilateral
Recognition Arrangements recognising the equal reliability and/or equivalence of
their members’ accreditations.

Structure of the IAF

The highest level of authority in IAF is the Members in a General Meeting. General Meetings
make decisions and lay down policy in the name of the members. The Board is responsible
for legal actions to be carried out on behalf of the members, for developing broad policy
directions for IAF and for ensuring that the day-to-day work of the IAF is carried out in
accordance with policies approved by members. The terms of reference, tasks and duties as
defined by the Bylaws and the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) remain unchanged for
the members at a General Meeting, the Board of Directors and the Secretary. The Executive
Committee is responsible to the Board of Directors for the day-to-day work of IAF on the
basis of decisions made by the Members and directions by the Board of Directors. The
operations of all IAF Committees and Subordinate Groups, including the Executive
Committee, are subject to the IAF General Procedures.

The Benefits of IAF

 MLA underpins cross border trade through the acceptance of certifications. “Certified once,
accepted everywhere”.
 Coordination to harmonize best practices.
  Platform to exchange information and knowledge.
 Technical assistance and development services to support developing countries to establish
certification infrastructure.
 Support to developing and emerging economies.
 Links with ILAC, international standardization bodies and trade organizations.

The IAF MLA

 A network of accreditation body members of IAF deemed competent through a

stringent peer evaluation process.
 There are currently five main scopes: Management Systems, Product Certification,
Certification of Persons, Greenhouse Gas Validation and Verification, and Validation
and Verification
 There are currently seven sub-scopes for Management Systems (QMS, EMS, ISMS,
FSMS, MDMS, EnMS, FAMI-QS), one for Product (Global G.A.P Integrated Farm
Assurance), one for Persons (IPC Management System Auditors), and one for GHG
Validation and Verification (ICAO CORSIA Version 1).
 Certificates/statements issued by bodies accredited by IAF signatories in the fields of
management systems, products, personnel, and validation and verification can be
accepted as equivalent worldwide.
 The key to the MLA is the increasing global network of accredited conformity
assessment bodies by IAF MLA signatories

World Accreditation Day

World Accreditation Day takes place on 9th June each year. A theme is agreed by the Joint
Executives, and materials are available from the ILAC and IAF websites to support
promotion in your economy. Major conferences, events, workshops, and press campaigns
take place in over 90 economies.

IAF Partners

IAF works with a number of organisations and cooperates with many international bodies to
achieve shared objectives. IAF has signed MoUs with the following nine organisations:

References: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Accreditation_Forum
 International Association for Business and Society (IABS)
The International Association for Business and Society (IABS) is a non-profit
organization devoted to research and teaching about the relationships between business,
government and society. Established in 1990, IABS sponsors a scholarly journal, Business
and Society, publishes a newsletter, hosts an annual conference, and publishes an annual
conference proceeding. IABS members receive the journal, the newsletter, and the conference
proceeding as benefits of membership. The International Association for Business and
Society is a learned society devoted to research and teaching about the relationships between
business, government and society. On another level IABS is a community of friends and
colleagues. Founded in 1990, it has members worldwide from over one hundred universities,
as well as members from various corporations and not-for-profit organizations. IABS is a
multidisciplinary association which attracts scholars and executives from all the disciplines of
management. Its research domain covers the various aspects of the interface between
management and the social political dynamics of the surrounding society. It includes, among
others, research on corporate social responsibility and performance, emerging social issues
for business, business ethics, environmental affairs as well as business and government
relations.

Activities

IABS sponsors a journal, Business & Society, the only peer-reviewed scholarly journal
devoted entirely to research, discussion, and analysis on the relationship between business
and society.  IABS also organizes annual conferences, which meet in countries around the
globe. Papers presented at the conference are selected through a blind review process, and
published in the conference proceedings.

Reference: https://www.pdcnet.org/iabs/About-Us

Annual Meetings

Meetings of the International Association for Business and Society, Society are held annually
in a different location. IABS conferences have been held in the US, Canada, Mexico, Austria,
Finland, France, Italy, the Netherlands, and United Kingdom, reflecting the organizations
international character.

Reference:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Association_for_Business_and_Society

Examples:

1) 3M
The Company, known for its many products and patents, is located in Minnesota. It has
worldwide revenue of $ 23 bn. It makes products like reflective materials, circuits in printers
and cellphones, dental supplies, medical-related products, safety products, and industrial
materials like tapes, adhesives, etc. It was started in 1902, and the organization was built
through innovation and need-driven products for the consumers.

2) Apple

Apple was founded in April 1976 by Steve Jobs and has become a tech giant. Millions of
people use its products Mac, iPhone, Ipad, and other smart devices, so much so that tech
enthusiasts await the new product launches. In 2018, Apple recorded the highest revenue of $
265 billion. With a strong presence of more than 500 stores worldwide, the Company is
expanding in sales and revenue year on year.

3) Microsoft

Microsoft was started by Bill Gates in 1975 and built a software called Windows. The
Company went on to build Ms. Office – Ms. Word, Ms. Excel, Powerpoint, Outlook, and
much other software, which are used daily by professionals and almost every Company. The
Company is currently led by Satya Nadela and earned a revenue of $ 110 billion in 2018 with
revenue growth of 14.28%. The Companies founder Bill Gates and his spouse Melinda Gates
are involved in many social causes worldwide through their foundation called Bill and
Melinda Gates Foundation. They work to uplift people from poverty, hunger, and health
problems.

https://www.wallstreetmojo.com/corporation-examples/

4) Starbucks

The Starbucks founders wanted to name their coffeehouse after the book Moby Dick,
originally leaning toward either Cargo House or Pequod, the name of Captain Ahab’s ship. A
brand consultant turned them toward Starbucks, pulling out an old 1800s map, on which the
name of the mining town, Starbos, featured in the book, stood out. The brand consultant then
suggested Starbuck, the name of Pequod’s first mate, adding the “s” to make it sound more
conversational. The “st” sound is powerful and commanding, which gives the coffee chain a
psychological authority among customers. 
https://howtostartanllc.com/business-name-generator/examples-of-great-business-
names