Solution 7: Ethics, Environment and Social Responsibility | Tim O'Hanlon Strategic Mangement Services

TOSMS Boardroom Solutions

Boardroom
Integrated Governance Framework Solution

Pillar 1
Enterprise Development
and Strategy Management Solution

B. Governance Documentation & Training red.png

Pillar 2
Boardroom
Governance Documentation and Training Solution

C. Combined Assurance and Accountability red.png

Pillar 3
Boardroom Accountability
and Combined Assurance Solution

D. Governance Oversight & Secretariate red.png

Pillar 4
Governance
Oversight
and
Secretariat Solution

Pillar 5
Boardroom Organisation Design and
Controls
Solution

Pillar 6
Boardroom
Risk and Compliance Monitoring Solution

G. Environment Social and Ethics red.png

Pillar 7
Ethics, Environmental and Social Responsibility
Solution

Pillar 7: Ethics, Environmental and Social Responsibility Solution

The issue of culture, the influence from the top on this aspect of governance, the power of social media to influence public opinion, and how easily the wrong attitudes and behaviours of individual members of the board and executive team can very easily result in their removal from office overnight and seriously detract from the reputation of the organisation, make it very clear that you ignore this aspect of governance at your peril.

The problem is that just having a Code of Business Ethics will not work. Board and excutive team members have to be role models for their organisation and know what the desired attitudes and behaviours are that they need to portray. They need to be tracking cultural alignment with the principles and values they have set up, ensuring suitable communication, training and changes are happening continually.

This pillar is an extension of the Governance Documentation and Training pillar and is only separate because of its foundational role in governance. The reputation of the enterprise is dependent on every member of the enterprise and all its stakeholders singing off the same hymn sheet when it comes to these ethics and the integrity displayed by this group in upholding them. Environmental and social responsibilities are separately identified because of their considerable attention and importance, with regulations that compel delivery of outcomes by all major enterprises globally.

Managing the culture of the organisation requires digitization, integration and automation of the key components as part of a structured approach because it is a soft issue that is easily mismanaged. Its very nature makes it difficult to govern, being intangible, challenging to measure with precision and involving subjective elements that can have many different views from members of the organisation and its stakeholders.

An overview of the solution that automates the Ethics, Environmental and Social Responsibility Solution is provided in the diagram below.