The Damage Control Approach to Managing Business Ethics

The Damage Control Approach to Managing Business Ethics:

Damage control is favored at companies whose managers are intentionally amoral but who fear scandal and are desirous of containing adverse fallout from claims that the company’s strategy has unethical components or that company personnel engage in unethical practices. Companies using this approach usually make some concessions to window-dressing ethics, going so far as to adopt a code of ethics so that their executives can point to it as evidence of their ethical commitment should any ethical lapses on the company’s part be exposed. The main objective of the damage control approach is to protect against adverse publicity brought on by angry or vocal stakeholders, outside investigation, threats of litigation, or punitive government action.