Is the Convergence Advocacy Model of Corporate Governance the Right Model for Globalization?

Abstract

Around 1974 there was a paradigm shift in the field of business ethics. This was triggered by a convergence of several factors: the oil crisis with long gas lines, episodes of oil tanker spills, environmental damage from the use of herbicides and defoliants in Vietnam, and concern in the wake of the Watergate scandal over quid pro quo campaign contributions. These concerns intersected in almost incendiary fashion with trends for the increased regulation of business, an upsurge in shareholder litigation, a quantum leap in the presence and influence of non-governmental organizations, and the flourishing of investigative journalism. We saw at that time the sudden emergence of public relations advertisements of major oil companies and other large firms, in an effort to soothe frayed nerves of consumers who awakened to riveting news, almost daily, about corruption in corporate and political life. At that time there was a kindling of ethics courses in all fields, including but not limited to business ethics, at universities and colleges throughout the country, and companies and organizations began to formulate codes of ethics affecting individual firms and individual professional groups. Today, globalization is an irreversible reality. Throughout the world globalization triggers widespread cultural anxiety. This anxiety takes many