How Manufacturers deal with “Compliance and Ethics”.

Over the summer months I have been working in my advisory capacity with DMH Stallard on a study into how manufacturing and engineering businesses are addressing the compliance issue, particularly regarding to ethical business. This was a follow on to the report “Protect and Prosper” we published in the Spring explaining how companies were dealing with Intellectual Property.

Initially the work was driven by interest in how firms were dealing with the new Bribery and Corruption Act, which became law in July.We were particularly interested in how companies were tackling the export agenda, especially dealing with the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India & China) and the emerging economies of the CIVETS (Columbia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Egypt, Turkey and South Africa).  These countries with their unfamiliar ways of doing business create a new challenge to those familiar with exporting to Western Europe and the USA.

However, during the period in which we were conducting interviews the News International affair exploded, demonstrating that running an ethical business is not confined to financial transactions alone. Indeed the whole area of CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility), including environmental compliance, was clearly on the agenda.

We interviewed both large and small companies in a wide range of sectors to explore any differences in strategies and implementation that might exist. We were particularly interested in whether this was an issue just for large multi-nationals and not “on the radar” for SMEs.

By respecting the anonymity of the companies we interviewed we were given honest and candid contributions. What we found was enlightening and in some cases quite unexpected and controversial.

We believe we have created a report that is not only insightful and informative, but also will help companies find their way through the maze of compliance. Additionally in the guidance section of the report we have used best practice from the interviewees’ companies to produce a simple “to do” list which will help companies use the compliance agenda to their advantage.

The report is now in its final drafting stage and will be published in October. Copies will be available here, my LinkedIn page and on the DMH Stallard website.

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