1. Visit the websites of two or more multinational companies of your choice. Read the materials concerning social responsibility those companies have published on their website. Compare and contrast the codes of ethics of any two multinational companies as published on their websites.

Consider the following questions:

1. What key social issues does the company identify with respect to its international operations?

2. What action is the company taking to address these issues?

3. Does the company consider social responsibility to be a source of competitive advantage?

How this helps you to learn
The aim of this exercise is to provide learners with the opportunity to scrutinise and comment on how companies present their stance on socially responsible practice. Learners are encouraged to view the company accounts and note whether there is a separate section on social responsibility/ethics on the website and evaluate the material there. They should also examine whether the company is a member of the UN Global Compact 2000 and how prominently this information is displayed.

This activity lends itself to small group discussion with other learners in the class, making short presentations of their findings. The companies chosen should be different amongst the group members. Comparisons should be made on the basis of:

• Form of code – integrity or compliance based;

• Scope of code;

• Whether the code is externally verified;

• Sanctions for breaking the code;

• How the company presents the code;

• Ease of access;

• Does the code promote competitive advantage?