The Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) is a voluntary investor-led initiative, backed by the United Nations. Together, the six principles are meant to provide a ‘best practice’ code of conduct for institutional investors seeking to adopt responsible investment practices with a secondary goal of contributing to improved corporate performance on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues. Launched in 2006, the PRI has grown to be the single largest global investor initiative with over 700 signatory financial institutions representing assets under management in excess of $US20 trillion. Contributing to the broader literature on plausible explanations for why firms participate in voluntary initiatives, the thesis is primarily concerned with the question of what has motivated institutional investors to create and publicly commit to the PRI. A review of the broader trends behind the growth of responsible investment and the emergence of the PRI indicates the dominant utilitarian, cost-benefit logic is not wholly persuasive in understanding investor motivations. The research findings indicate that decisions to integrate ESG issues and publicly commit to adopting the PRI should be primarily viewed as a response to formal pressures by external stakeholders and actors in an investor’s institutional environment. Regulatory and stakeholder influences in the form of NGO advocacy campaigns have established normative standards directed towards the conduct of investors. As public opinion has shifted to put greater emphasis on sustainable development, the image and reputation of a pension scheme in relation to these trends have come under increasing scrutiny such that being perceived as a ‘responsible’ investor – sometimes even in the absence of a direct market rationale – has become a central driver behind the growth of responsible investment. The decision to adopt the PRI and establish beyond-compliance commitments to integrate ESG issues into investment decision-making should principally be seen as embedded in broader reputational risk management strategies. These findings support complex market rationalism explanations for firm participation in voluntary initiatives which suggest that firms commit to such principles or codes of conduct as a means of assuring stakeholders that their concerns are being internalized into corporate practices. A secondary focus of the thesis is to examine signatory implementation to-date, assessing the adequacy and effectiveness of the voluntary measure for the promotion of more socially-responsible and environmentally-sustainable investments. While substantial progress has been shown by a small group of PRI signatories, it remains unclear whether the PRI has generated significant improvement across the broader signatory base. The PRI suffers from several weaknesses commonly identified in the literature on voluntary initiatives. First, a lack of accountability measures limits incentives for investors to go beyond business-as-usual. Second, less stringent voluntary standards like the PRI are likely to suffer from adverse selection and free riding, therefore threatening the credibility of the initiative’s reputation over the longer-term. Ironically, weaknesses in the institutional design of the PRI may undermine the very reputational benefit sought after by signatories.

The Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) is a voluntary investor-led initiative, backed by the United Nations. Together, the six principles are meant to provide a ‘best practice’ code of conduct for institutional investors seeking to adopt responsible investment practices with a secondary goal of contributing to improved corporate performance on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues. Launched in 2006, the PRI has grown to be the single largest global investor initiative with over 700 signatory financial institutions representing assets under management in excess of $US20 trillion. Contributing to the broader literature on plausible explanations for why firms participate in voluntary initiatives, the thesis is primarily concerned with the question of what has motivated institutional investors to create and publicly commit to the PRI. A review of the broader trends behind the growth of responsible investment and the emergence of the PRI indicates the dominant utilitarian, cost-benefit logic is not wholly persuasive in understanding investor motivations. The research findings indicate that decisions to integrate ESG issues and publicly commit to adopting the PRI should be primarily viewed as a response to formal pressures by external stakeholders and actors in an investor’s institutional environment. Regulatory and stakeholder influences in the form of NGO advocacy campaigns have established normative standards directed towards the conduct of investors. As public opinion has shifted to put greater emphasis on sustainable development, the image and reputation of a pension scheme in relation to these trends have come under increasing scrutiny such that being perceived as a ‘responsible’ investor – sometimes even in the absence of a direct market rationale – has become a central driver behind the growth of responsible investment. The decision to adopt the PRI and establish beyond-compliance commitments to integrate ESG issues into investment decision-making should principally be seen as embedded in broader reputational risk management strategies. These findings support complex market rationalism explanations for firm participation in voluntary initiatives which suggest that firms commit to such principles or codes of conduct as a means of assuring stakeholders that their concerns are being internalized into corporate practices. A secondary focus of the thesis is to examine signatory implementation to-date, assessing the adequacy and effectiveness of the voluntary measure for the promotion of more socially-responsible and environmentally-sustainable investments. While substantial progress has been shown by a small group of PRI signatories, it remains unclear whether the PRI has generated significant improvement across the broader signatory base. The PRI suffers from several weaknesses commonly identified in the literature on voluntary initiatives. First, a lack of accountability measures limits incentives for investors to go beyond business-as-usual. Second, less stringent voluntary standards like the PRI are likely to suffer from adverse selection and free riding, therefore threatening the credibility of the initiative’s reputation over the longer-term. Ironically, weaknesses in the institutional design of the PRI may undermine the very reputational benefit sought after by signatories.

The title of the research is "Ethical codes for training staff in South African Collieries -a case study". The research was conducted in coal mining training centres in the Free State, Gauteng and the Mpumulanga provinces of South Africa. The objective of the research was to examine ethical codes currently in place internationally and locally. Based on this research the research was then focused on its contribution to the human resource development arena. South African coal mining training centres staff were interviewed regarding how they perceived ethical codes and ethical conduct and the importance of these concepts to their daily work lives. It was found that training staff were aware of ethical behaviour and conduct. Factors such as age, the type of professional association a person belongs to were found to be significant. Recommendations were made regarding further research on ethical conduct in other mining products, companies a for human resource development practises. / Thesis (M.Ed.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.

The title of the research is "Ethical codes for training staff in South African Collieries -a case study". The research was conducted in coal mining training centres in the Free State, Gauteng and the Mpumulanga provinces of South Africa. The objective of the research was to examine ethical codes currently in place internationally and locally. Based on this research the research was then focused on its contribution to the human resource development arena. South African coal mining training centres staff were interviewed regarding how they perceived ethical codes and ethical conduct and the importance of these concepts to their daily work lives. It was found that training staff were aware of ethical behaviour and conduct. Factors such as age, the type of professional association a person belongs to were found to be significant. Recommendations were made regarding further research on ethical conduct in other mining products, companies a for human resource development practises. / Thesis (M.Ed.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-15T19:32:25Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Gustavo Melcher Felipe.pdf: 2329257 bytes, checksum: 54dce1296c3435dd91a1322afe4d148c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-02-11 / The objective of this study is to verify through the perception of independent auditors and educators in Brazilian universities which work or worked as independent auditor, the main factors that affect the auditor s ethical responsibility, based on the national and international auditor profession codes of conduct/ethical guidelines. Taking the stand of the factors that contributed to the recent financial/accounting scandals and even frauds in the world business scenario, it is imperative that the independent auditor s professional activities be performed in a more adequate manner. Therefore, the auditor should observe and maintain an ethical position and should be in compliance with the professional audit codes of conduct/ethical guidelines, therefore, mitigating audited entity s risk and protecting their image. This position also aims to prevent audit firms from embarrassment and a negative impact that generate loss of credibility and litigations, including folding up their activities as it happened to one of the biggest independent audit companies in this era, Arthur Andersen. Therefore, to guide this study, the research question is: what are the main factors that impact the auditor's ethical responsibility in the perception of independent auditors and educators? The studied population consisted of independent auditors (semi-senior/senior/supervising) from the Big Four audit firms (PricewaterhouseCoopers, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, Ernst & Young Terco and KPMG) in São Paulo Brazil, and educators in Brazilian universities which work or worked as an independent auditor. In this context, a qualitative analysis was performed, looking for characteristics that contribute to validate the objectives and the research question. The research revealed there are thirteen factors that could impact the auditor s ethic responsibility that are related to integrity, independence, technical competence, professional care and confidentiality. From these identified factors, seven are related to the independent auditors perception, two are related to the educators perception and the other four are common in both perceptions. In this context, it is suggested a deeper look into these factors for future researches, and this should go in line with deductive studies in order to ascertain the correlation between them. Furthermore, it is important to check the point of tangency between the question of ethics and technical competence of the independent auditors, since in the perceptions of the independent auditors and educators, some factors do not impact their ethical responsibility. However, evidences show that this could be related to unlikely mapping of accounting / financial problems occurred in the business scenario. And these are factors involving for instance, the adequateness of the methodology, quality of training to improvement and maintenance of professional skills and effectiveness of continuing education, which are not always the direct responsibility of a junior/assistant independent auditor. / O presente trabalho tem o objetivo de verificar por meio da percepção dos auditores independentes e dos profissionais de ensino que atuam ou atuaram como auditores independentes, quais os principais fatores que afetam a responsabilidade ética do auditor, com base nos códigos de conduta nacionais e internacionais da profissão. Em virtude dos fatores que contribuíram para os recentes escândalos contábeis/financeiros e até mesmo fraudes no mundo dos negócios, é essencial que as atividades profissionais do auditor independente sejam executadas de maneira adequada. Desta forma, o auditor deve observar e manter a postura ética e em concordância com os códigos de conduta da profissão, mitigando assim, os riscos da entidade auditada e protegendo sua imagem. Esse posicionamento também visa evitar que as empresas de auditoria tenham impactos negativos em sua credibilidade e venham a sofrer litígios, inclusive encerrando suas atividades como ocorreu com uma das maiores empresas de auditoria do mundo, a Arthur Andersen. Portanto, para guiar este estudo, o trabalho tem como questão de pesquisa: quais são os principais fatores que impactam a responsabilidade ética do auditor na percepção dos auditores independentes e dos profissionais de ensino? A população estudada foi dos auditores independentes encarregados (semi-sênior/ sênior/supervisor) nas empresas de auditoria intituladas Big Four (PricewaterhouseCoopers, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, Ernst & Young Terco e KPMG) localizadas em São Paulo e os profissionais de ensino de faculdades/universidades brasileiras que atuam ou atuaram como auditores independentes. Dentro deste contexto, realizou-se uma pesquisa qualitativa buscando identificar características que contribuíssem para validar o problema e os objetivos da pesquisa. A pesquisa revelou que existem treze fatores que poderiam impactar a responsabilidade ética do auditor, relacionados à: integridade, independência, competência técnica/zelo profissional e confidencialidade. Destes fatores identificados, sete são inerentes à percepção dos auditores independentes, dois são inerentes à percepção dos profissionais de ensino e os outros quatro são comuns em ambas percepções. Neste contexto, sugere-se para futuras pesquisas um aprofundamento no estudo destes fatores,incluindo a elaboração de estudos quantitativos com objetivo de identificar a correlação entre eles. Além disso, torna-se importante verificar o ponto de tangência entre a questão ética e a competência técnica do auditor, uma vez que nas percepções dos auditores independentes e profissionais de ensino alguns fatores não impactam a sua responsabilidade ética. Entretanto, evidências sugerem que poderiam ter correlação com a não identificação de alguns problemas contábeis/financeiros ocorridos no mundo dos negócios. São fatores envolvendo, por exemplo, a adequabilidade da metodologia de auditoria, qualidade dos treinamentos para aprimoramento e manutenção das competências profissionais e efetividade da educação continuada, que nem sempre são de responsabilidade direta de um auditor independente trainee/assistente.

No description available.

The aim of my study is to investigate how representatives of wine-farm workers' unions and wine-farm workers' support groups formulate their ideas about procedures aiming at achieving improved conditions. As sustainability work and ethical follow-up are terms which most often are used within companies, and not reflect methods, procedures instruments etc. for change, I have chosen to name them approaches. The study's data is collected between April and June 2016, through interviews with representatives for the farm workers' unions and farm workers' support groups in the Western Cape province (where most of the wine districts are located) in South Africa. The results are structured by using the theory around 'mapmaking', originally created by Smith (2005), and which Newman (2012) further developed in her theory known as 'working the spaces of power'. The various approaches on how to improve working and living conditions that the study will show, are structured in clusters according to where the spaces of power are created. This forms the first part of the analysis and its purpose is partly descriptive. The map that is formed, containing the various approaches to improve the farm workers' positions, shows the plurality of aspects in which improvement can be made. The second part of the analysis is based on the presented result's clusters, on which theories of governmentality then are used to place the study in a broader context. / <p>2017-01-31</p>

<p>Background: Etiquette has become vital in business relationships. In today’s competitive business climate signs indicate that social competence affect whether a business deal is settled or not. This type of competence could be of crucial importance at a first business meeting and it also plays an important role for future business relationships. Business etiquette is therefore, within the world of business, an interesting area to study.</p><p>Purpose: The purpose of this essay is to clarify what knowledge and understanding companies, listed on the Swedish stock exchange, possess towards business etiquette, their viewpoint on etiquette education and finally to ascertain whether or not those companies perceive business etiquette to be pivotal to success.</p><p>Methodology: In order to attain our purpose of this essay we found it most suitable to utilize both a quantitative and qualitative research method. To obtain a deeper understanding, two personal interviews, with professionals within the field of business etiquette, were carried out. A questionnaire was sent out to 100 companies and four personal interviews, with representatives from two different banks, were also conducted.</p><p>Conclusions: We have come to the conclusion that many business deals fail due to lack of appropriate etiquette. According to the respondents, business etiquette could be a suitable tool to achieve success in business. Our analysis shows that business etiquette is a collection of rules where common sense, judgment, humility and respect are important aspects that should pervade conduct toward colleagues and customers. According to our survey, the customer is imperative in business relations and the employees should therefore perform situational in accordance to the customer’s expectations. A conclusion could be drawn that if a company succeeds in offering the customer greater value, in comparison with its competitors, it will give the company a competitive advantage and result in profitability.</p> / <p>Bakgrund: Vett och etikett blir alltmer betydande i affärer. I dagens konkurrenskraftiga företagsklimat tyder allt fler tecken på att social kompetens kan påverka om ett affärsavtal sluts eller inte. Denna typ av kompetens kan vara helt avgörande vid ett första affärsmöte och även återspegla framtida affärsrelationer. Affärsetikett är alltså ett viktigt område i näringslivet, och därför intressant att studera.</p><p>Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att studera svenska börsbolags kunskap om affärsetikett och deras ställningstagande till utbildning i ämnet. Slutligen vill vi ta reda på om företagen ser affärsetikett som en framgångsfaktor i affärer.</p><p>Metod: För att uppnå vårt syfte valde vi att kombinera en kvantitativ med en kvalitativ ansats. För att öka vår förförståelse utfördes först två djupintervjuer med kunniga i ämnet. En enkät skickades sedan ut till 100 stycken börsbolag och ytterligare fyra personliga intervjuer genomfördes med två svenska banker.</p><p>Slutsatser: Vi har kunnat konstatera att alltför många affärer misslyckas på grund av dålig etikettkunskap. Enligt respondenterna kommer affärsetiketten in som ett lämpligt verktyg för framgång i affärer. Undersökningen visar på att affärsetikett utgör ett regelverk där sunt förnuft, omdöme, ödmjukhet och respekt är viktiga aspekter, som ska genomsyra uppförandet gentemot kollega och kund. Vidare har det framkommit att kunden är det centrala i affärsrelationer och personalens agerande bör därför situationsanpassas efter kundens förväntningar. Slutsatsen som kan dras är att om en organisation lyckas erbjuda kunden ett större värde, jämfört med konkurrenterna, kommer detta ge företaget konkurrensfördel som i längden utmynnar i lönsamhet.</p>

Background: Etiquette has become vital in business relationships. In today’s competitive business climate signs indicate that social competence affect whether a business deal is settled or not. This type of competence could be of crucial importance at a first business meeting and it also plays an important role for future business relationships. Business etiquette is therefore, within the world of business, an interesting area to study. Purpose: The purpose of this essay is to clarify what knowledge and understanding companies, listed on the Swedish stock exchange, possess towards business etiquette, their viewpoint on etiquette education and finally to ascertain whether or not those companies perceive business etiquette to be pivotal to success. Methodology: In order to attain our purpose of this essay we found it most suitable to utilize both a quantitative and qualitative research method. To obtain a deeper understanding, two personal interviews, with professionals within the field of business etiquette, were carried out. A questionnaire was sent out to 100 companies and four personal interviews, with representatives from two different banks, were also conducted. Conclusions: We have come to the conclusion that many business deals fail due to lack of appropriate etiquette. According to the respondents, business etiquette could be a suitable tool to achieve success in business. Our analysis shows that business etiquette is a collection of rules where common sense, judgment, humility and respect are important aspects that should pervade conduct toward colleagues and customers. According to our survey, the customer is imperative in business relations and the employees should therefore perform situational in accordance to the customer’s expectations. A conclusion could be drawn that if a company succeeds in offering the customer greater value, in comparison with its competitors, it will give the company a competitive advantage and result in profitability. / Bakgrund: Vett och etikett blir alltmer betydande i affärer. I dagens konkurrenskraftiga företagsklimat tyder allt fler tecken på att social kompetens kan påverka om ett affärsavtal sluts eller inte. Denna typ av kompetens kan vara helt avgörande vid ett första affärsmöte och även återspegla framtida affärsrelationer. Affärsetikett är alltså ett viktigt område i näringslivet, och därför intressant att studera. Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att studera svenska börsbolags kunskap om affärsetikett och deras ställningstagande till utbildning i ämnet. Slutligen vill vi ta reda på om företagen ser affärsetikett som en framgångsfaktor i affärer. Metod: För att uppnå vårt syfte valde vi att kombinera en kvantitativ med en kvalitativ ansats. För att öka vår förförståelse utfördes först två djupintervjuer med kunniga i ämnet. En enkät skickades sedan ut till 100 stycken börsbolag och ytterligare fyra personliga intervjuer genomfördes med två svenska banker. Slutsatser: Vi har kunnat konstatera att alltför många affärer misslyckas på grund av dålig etikettkunskap. Enligt respondenterna kommer affärsetiketten in som ett lämpligt verktyg för framgång i affärer. Undersökningen visar på att affärsetikett utgör ett regelverk där sunt förnuft, omdöme, ödmjukhet och respekt är viktiga aspekter, som ska genomsyra uppförandet gentemot kollega och kund. Vidare har det framkommit att kunden är det centrala i affärsrelationer och personalens agerande bör därför situationsanpassas efter kundens förväntningar. Slutsatsen som kan dras är att om en organisation lyckas erbjuda kunden ett större värde, jämfört med konkurrenterna, kommer detta ge företaget konkurrensfördel som i längden utmynnar i lönsamhet.

Submitted by ANA KARLA PEREIRA RODRIGUES (anakarla_@hotmail.com) on 2017-09-29T13:49:28Z No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 1490911 bytes, checksum: 8dfe7fdde29c102ab866fdfcd65627d0 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-09-29T13:49:28Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 1490911 bytes, checksum: 8dfe7fdde29c102ab866fdfcd65627d0 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-05-02 / Hiring private armies or private security forces for a specific action, in favor of governments, corporations or civil society organizations – as opposed to the public formalities of war declaration between States with broad national goals –, generated one of the most relevant contemporary global markets. Yugoslavia, Colombia, Somalia, Nigeria, Ukraine, Iraq and the Levant: every insecure stage, after the end of the Cold War, counted on private military and security companies (PMSCs) for supporting roles or for staying at the backstage. Considering this innovative commercial aspect of today’s conflicts, this work counts on such non-State actors as protagonists, and its theme is the regulation of PMSCs. The problem that the dissertation examines is the insertion of the International Code of Conduct for Private Security Service Providers (ICoC) – launched in 2010, as part of the Swiss Initiative – in the multilevel governance of such a market, based especially on the works of Ernst-Ulrich Petersmann and Gunther Teubner on constitutionalism beyond the State. Through documental research and inductive methods, the text points out the main issues on the market for force and discusses the inapplicability or insufficiency of treaties that discipline trade, such as GATS, or conflict, such as the Geneva Conventions; besides, it sheds light on the current debate about a binding instrument at the United Nations and explains soft law initiatives, like the Montreux Document. Finally, it reads the ICoC and examines its advantages and limitations, with reference to reviewed literature. The research, therefore, aims at presenting the possibilities of regulating actors in need of hard law, based on theoretical contributions that reclaim the “constitutionalization of markets”. Keywords: Privatization of international security. Multilevel regulation. / A contratação de exércitos privados ou de forças de segurança para uma atuação pontual e específica, em favor de Governos, de corporações ou de entidades da sociedade civil – em oposição às públicas formalidades da declaração de guerra entre Estados com propósitos nacionais amplos –, gestou um dos mais relevantes mercados globais contemporâneos. Iugoslávia, Colômbia, Somália, Nigéria, Ucrânia, Iraque e Levante: todos os palcos de insegurança, após o fim da Guerra Fria, contaram com empresas militares privadas ou empresas de segurança internacional (ESIs) nos bastidores ou como coadjuvantes. Considerando essa inovadora faceta comercial dos conflitos hodiernos, o presente trabalho tem esses atores não-estatais como protagonistas, e seu tema é a regulação de ESIs. A dissertação problematiza a inserção do Código Internacional de Conduta Para Provedores de Serviços de Segurança Privada (ICoC) – lançado, em 2010, no contexto da Iniciativa Suíça – na governança multinível desse mercado, baseando-se especialmente nos trabalhos de Ernst-Ulrich Petersmann e Gunther Teubner sobre constitucionalismo além do Estado. Com pesquisa documental e com método indutivo, o texto aponta os principais problemas do mercado da força e discute a inaplicabilidade ou a insuficiência dos tratados que disciplinam o comércio, como o GATS, ou o conflito, como as Convenções de Genebra; explica, ainda, a situação atual do debate de um instrumento vinculante na ONU e as iniciativas de “soft law”, como o Documento de Montreux. Enfim, apresenta uma leitura do ICoC e examina seus trunfos e limitações, fazendo referência à literatura revisada. A pesquisa, afinal, visa a discutir as possibilidades de regulação de atores que carecem de “hard law”, a partir de aportes teóricos que reclamam a “constitucionalização de mercados”.