Diamonds are almost completely useless but prized above all other gems. Historically they have attracted crimes of passion and awful cold-blooded efficiency, have bedazzled the greatest filmstars and the most opulent courts, and provided the incentive for adventure, destruction and greed on a monumental scale. No one company is more identified with diamonds than the South African based De Beers.

Until the collapse of the Iron Curtain they controlled the diamond market. After the collapse, they still controlled it – once they had bought up most of the diamonds emerging from the former Soviet Union. They are secretive, discreet and very, very powerful. A strike in Northern Canada could hardly seem to trouble them. Except that it prefigured a diamond rush in a territory over which they had no influence by prospectors they did not own. And the strike promised enormous riches.

Here is the true story of the strike that upset the diamond kings, and with it the history of the world’s most acclaimed diamonds, the process by which they are cut, fashioned, smuggled and stolen, the legends and superstitions that are attached to them, the characters who comprise the great diamond prospectors and, above all, of the shadowy hand of De Beers for whom diamonds are forever.

Don't be misled by the word social in the title. This is a book about how to improve corporate performance and gain competitive advantage. In Corporate Social Opportunity! Grayson and Hodges challenge perceived wisdom that adherence by business to corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a zero-sum game where the impact on companies is added costs and extra regulatory burden. From their unique vantage point working with leaders of global businesses and of local communities, the authors explain how powerful drivers forcing companies to adopt stringent social, ethical and environmental standards simultaneously create largely untapped opportunities for product innovation, market development and non-traditional business models. The key to exploiting these opportunities lies in building CSR into business strategy, not adding it on to business operations. With examples from 200 companies to illustrate their case, they outline both in theory and practice a seven-step process managers can apply to assess the implications of CSR on their business strategy and identify their own corporate social opportunities. Business is operating in a whirlwind of interacting global forces: revolutionary developments in communications and technology, significant changes in markets, shifts in demographics, and a transformation of personal values. The fallout from these forces is the underlying reason that corporate social responsibility has come of age. These global forces have led to a number of issues-such as ecology and environment, human rights and diversity, health and well-being, and communities-becoming potential liabilities for companies. Once regarded as 'soft' management issues, they are now increasingly recognised as hard to predict and hard for the business to deal with when they go wrong. Corporate Social Opportunity!, by the authors of the best-selling Everybody's Business moves the argument from the "why" of corporate social responsibility (CSR) to the "how" and beyond - to a future where CSR is perceived as an opportunity for business both in terms of reaping the benefits of retaining brand or organisational value and by developing new products and services, serving new markets and adopting new business models. This is not always a story of black and white, of what is right or what is wrong. Often it embraces apparently conflicting demands which require the application of judgement, guided by a clear sense of overall direction and corporate purpose. This book is designed to act as a compass for aiding navigation through such dilemmas and complex decisions. Using examples of current good practice, detailed interviews with leading CEOs and newly created diagnostic planning tools, all framed within a seven-step model for making CSR happen, the book aims to provide a practical guide to help business leaders and their managers understand how to assess the impact of corporate social responsibility factors on their core business strategy and operations and help them identify and prioritise between subsequent options and resulting business opportunities. The book is structured into two parts. Both parts describe the same seven-step model which, if followed, will help managers think through desired changes to business strategies, and necessary corresponding changes to operational practices. In Part 1, the seven steps-triggers; scoping; making the business case; committing to action; resources and integrating operations; engaging stakeholders; and measuring and reporting-are described and illustrative evidence and corresponding data provided. In Part 2, the authors have created a worked example of the diagnostic processes that form the backbone of the seven steps, based on the health and well-being issue of fast food and the growing problem of obesity, particularly among children, along with notes on how a manager might work through the processes with colleagues. The authors are pro-business although not business-as-usual. The book is written first and foremost with the purpose of helping to improve business performance, because business is after all the principal motor for growth and development in the world today. The authors argue that companies adhering to best practice in CSR and taking advantage of possibilities inherent in Corporate Social Opportunity! are good for shareholders as well as customers and employees.

The issue of gender in organizations has attracted much attention and debate over a number of years. The focus of examination is inequality of opportunity between the genders and the impact this has on organizations, individual men and women, and society as a whole. It is undoubtedly the case that progress has been made with women participating in organizational life in greater numbers and at more senior levels than has been historically the case, challenging notions that senior and/or influential organizational and political roles remain a masculine domain. The Oxford Handbook of Gender in Organizations is a comprehensive analysis of thinking and research on gender in organizations with original contributions from key international scholars in the field. The Handbook comprises four sections. The first looks at the theoretical roots and potential for theoretical development in respect of the topic of gender in organizations. The second section focuses on leadership and management and the gender issues arising in this field; contributors review the extensive literature and reflect on progress made as well as commenting on hurdles yet to be overcome. The third section considers the gendered nature of careers. Here the focus is on querying traditional approaches to career, surfacing embedded assumptions within traditional approaches, and assessing potential for alternative patterns to evolve, taking into account the nature of women's lives and the changing nature of organizations. In its final section the Handbook examines masculinity in organizations to assess the diversity of masculinities evident within organizations and the challenges posed to those outside the norm. In bringing together a broad range of research and thinking on gender in organizations across a number of disciplines, sub-disciplines, and conceptual perspectives, the Handbook provides a comprehensive view of both contemporary thinking and future research directions.

Ethics for Accountants and Auditors offers an introduction to the ethical value systems and ethical theories that are relevant to the accounting and auditing profession. The text combines theoretical and practical guidance to equip students and practitioners with the tools to deal with ethical dilemmas in practice.

The book is suitable for accounting and auditing students taking modules in ethics, as well as managerial training, and the ethical orientation of members of accounting and auditing professional associations.

NEW TO THIS EDITION

•    The fifth edition is aligned with the IODSA King VTM  Code on Corporate Governance for South Africa 2025.
•    The new edition also considers the implications of sustainability reporting, environmental, social and governance (ESG) imperatives, and inclusive capitalism in relevant chapters.
•    The International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) International Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (2024) is discussed.

Table of Contents:

Part 1    Principles of ethics

1    Introductory case study: Cows, tax, a bank and one of South Africa’s ‘big four’ auditing firms
2    Key concepts in business and professional ethics
3    Ethical value systems for professionals in South Africa
4    Classical ethical theories
5    Ethical decision-making
6    Applying the Five Lenses of ethical decision-making

Part 2: Business ethics

7    Macro-ethics
8    The modern corporation and its moral obligations
9    Corporate governance
10    Governance of organisational ethics
11    Case studies in business ethics
Part 3: Professional ethics
 12    Accountants and auditors as professionals
13    Codes of professional ethics
14    Case studies in accounting ethics

Good Business: Ethics at Work Advices and queries on personal standards of conduct at work. The world of work is an imperfect one. Good Business: Ethics at Work addresses the ethical issues that we all face in our lives and invites us to examine our personal conduct in business. The advices and queries offered are not rules or requirements; rather they represent ideas to aspire to and standards of excellence to guide us. Living up to these standards is not always the easiest course, but they have a practical as well as an ethical benefit. Businesses known for their ethical conduct enjoy benefits from a good reputation, customer loyalty and a more committed workforce. We invite you to use these advices and queries as a challenge and an inspiration in your work. 10% of proceeds are donated to charities which help the unemployed or those starting up their own small businesses.

For courses in Business Ethics A fresh approach to the assumptions that underlie business practices Two recent events - the 2008 economic meltdown and the ongoing concentration of the nation's wealth in the hands of a very small percentage of the population - have led many people to question a number of basic assumptions about business, corporations, and the workings of contemporary free-market capitalism in a global economy. Written as a dialogue between Socrates and a hypothetical contemporary CEO, Socrates Comes to Wall Street leads students to think critically about perspectives and practices that are taken as "givens" in most American business schools and corporations. Employing this original and provocative approach, author Thomas White seeks to encourage the next generation of business leaders to be more astute about the implications of their actions, and to act more prudently and more fairly than we have seen in the recent past.

As Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies rapidly progress, questions about the ethics of AI, in both the near-future and the long-term, become more pressing than ever. This volume features seventeen original essays by prominent AI scientists and philosophers and represents the state-of-the-art thinking in this fast-growing field. Organized into four sections, this volume explores the issues surrounding how to build ethics into machines; ethical issues in specific technologies, including self-driving cars, autonomous weapon systems, surveillance algorithms, and sex robots; the long term risks of superintelligence; and whether AI systems can be conscious or have rights. Though the use and practical applications of AI are growing exponentially, discussion of its ethical implications is still in its infancy. This volume provides an invaluable resource for thinking through the ethical issues surrounding AI today and for shaping the study and development of AI in the coming years.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) has been described as the next big leap in digital capitalism. Digital technologies such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, 3D printing and robotisation, we are led to believe, will bring more progress, growth and development while also helping us to resolve the deep and multiple crises the world is in. Billions are being invested in these technologies, accompanied by sharp geopolitical rivalries to secure an edge in the control over them.

Volume 8 in the Democratic Marxism series invites readers to think more deeply and critically about digital capitalism and its limits. While most governments in the world, including South Africa, have accepted a techno-nationalist narrative and have deliberated onas the risks for the planet and humanity, the volume interrogates the effects and consequences of advances in artificial intelligence and heightened technological innovation and industrialisation on employment, democracy and the climate.

Viewing the grand social engineering of 4IR through a Marxist lens, the volume contributors engage critically with the class project of digital monopoly capitalism and its powerful totalitarian tendencies. They question the dangerous technotopian imaginary shaping this digital techno-shift, the implications of algorithmic data extractivism, the securitisation of already weak market democracies, the social consequences of digital learning, lack of regulation , and the power dynamics in the labour process.

Anchored in techno-realism, the interdisciplinary perspective captured in this volume puts forward alternatives for democratisation and a just transition in order to protect human and non-human life.

Mission in the world of work has been neglected by the churches within the UK for decades. The Kingdom at Work Project addresses this crippling failure. It sets out a new and comprehensive model of mission for the transformation of the workplace. The model is founded on a radical theology of community and related spirituality which guide and empower an innovative process of discernment and intervention. The last covers individual and collective action, dialogue, the use of symbols, prayer and worship. Mentoring, the role of chaplains and ministers in secular employment, and the responsibilities of the gathered church are key issues covered in depth. This book is the most thorough and imaginative exploration of mission in the world of work to appear for many years.

When is a gift not a gift? When it's a bribe. For many, corporate hospitality oils the wheels of commerce. But where do you draw the line? Bribes, incentives and inducements are not just a matter of used banknotes stuffed in brown envelopes. Expenses, corporate settlement of personal bills, gifts and hospitality can all be used to influence business partners, clients and contractors. Can you afford unlimited fines? Under the Bribery Act 2010, a maximum of ten years' imprisonment and an unlimited fine may be imposed for offering, promising, giving, requesting, agreeing, receiving or accepting bribes. With such strict penalties, it's astonishing that so few companies have few or no measures in place to ensure that they are not liable for prosecution. This is especially astonishing as the Ministry of Justice's Quick start guide to the Bribery Act makes it clear that "There is a full defence if you can show you had adequate procedures in place to prevent bribery." Such procedures can be found in BS 10500:2010, the British Standard for anti-bribery management systems (ABMSs). How to implement an ABMS An Introduction to Anti-Bribery Management Systems (BS 10500) explains how to implement an ABMS that meets the requirements of BS 10500, from initial gap analysis to due diligence management: * An introduction to BS 10500 * An explanation of an ABMS * Management processes within an ABMS * Implementing an ABMS * Risk assessment in due diligence * Whistleblowing and bribery investigations * Internal auditing and corrective action * Certification to BS 10500 It provides helpful guidance on the importance of clearly defining policies; logging gifts and hospitality in auditable records; ensuring a consistent approach across the organisation; controls for contractors; facilitation payments; charitable and political donations; risk assessment in due diligence; whistle-blowing and bribery investigations; and internal auditing and corrective action. Meet the stringent requirements of the Bribery Act Not only will a BS 10500-compliant ABMS help your organisation prove its probity by meeting the stringent requirements of the Bribery Act, it can also be adapted to most legal or compliance systems. An ethical approach to business is not just a legal obligation but a way to protect your reputation. About the author Alan Field, MA, LL.B (Hons), PgC, MCQI CQP, MIIRSM, AIEMA, GIFireE, GradIOSH is a Chartered Quality Professional, an IRCA Registered Lead Auditor and member of the Society of Authors. Alan has particular expertise in auditing and assessing anti-bribery management systems to BS 10500 and public-sector counter-fraud systems to ISO9001. Alan has many years' experience with quality and integrated management systems in the legal, financial, property services and project management sectors in auditing, assessment and gap analysis roles. Your company's integrity is important. An Introduction to Anti-Bribery Management Systems (BS 10500) shows you how to maintain and prove it.

Climate change and the depletion of resources will have a long-lasting effect on the globe. Thus, it is essential that businesses and organizations across the world adopt financial practices and strategies that allow them to continue their service, limit emissions, and preserve resources. However, these practices are only made more difficult to adopt within the context of a turbulent economy. In this context, it is imperative to research financial strategies to protect the environment and support business resilience. Finance for Sustainability in a Turbulent Economy provides international financial strategies to achieve sustainable business practices within a turbulent economy. It highlights the importance of maintaining environmental health in a cost-effective way. Covering topics such as environmental finance, renewable energy frameworks, and social responsibility, this premier reference source is an essential resource for environmental scientists, government officials, engineers, business executives, environmentalists, politicians, students and educators of higher education, researchers, and academicians.

Machines and computers are becoming increasingly sophisticated and self-sustaining. As we integrate such technologies into our daily lives, questions concerning moral integrity and best practices arise. A changing world requires renegotiating our current set of standards. Without best practices to guide interaction and use with these complex machines, interaction with them will turn disastrous. Machine Law, Ethics, and Morality in the Age of Artificial Intelligence is a collection of innovative research that presents holistic and transdisciplinary approaches to the field of machine ethics and morality and offers up-to-date and state-of-the-art perspectives on the advancement of definitions, terms, policies, philosophies, and relevant determinants related to human-machine ethics. The book encompasses theory and practice sections for each topical component of important areas of human-machine ethics both in existence today and prospective for the future. While highlighting a broad range of topics including facial recognition, health and medicine, and privacy and security, this book is ideally designed for ethicists, philosophers, scientists, lawyers, politicians, government lawmakers, researchers, academicians, and students. It is of special interest to decision- and policy-makers concerned with the identification and adoption of human-machine ethics initiatives, leading to needed policy adoption and reform for human-machine entities, their technologies, and their societal and legal obligations.

In Power and Regionalism in Latin America: The Politics of MERCOSUR, Laura Gomez-Mera examines the erratic patterns of regional economic cooperation in the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR), a political-economic agreement among Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and, recently, Venezuela that comprises the world's fourth-largest regional trade bloc. Despite a promising start in the early 1990s, MERCOSUR has had a tumultuous and conflict-ridden history. Yet it has survived, expanding in membership and institutional scope. What explains its survival, given a seemingly contradictory mix of conflict and cooperation? Through detailed empirical analyses of several key trade disputes between the bloc's two main partners, Argentina and Brazil, Gomez-Mera proposes an explanation that emphasizes the tension between and interplay of two sets of factors: power asymmetries within and beyond the region, and domestic-level politics. Member states share a common interest in preserving MERCOSUR as a vehicle for increasing the region's leverage in external negotiations. Gomez-Mera argues that while external vulnerability and overlapping power asymmetries have provided strong and consistent incentives for regional cooperation in the Southern Cone, the impact of these systemic forces on regional outcomes also has been crucially mediated by domestic political dynamics in the bloc's two main partners, Argentina and Brazil. Contrary to conventional wisdom, however, the unequal distribution of power within the bloc has had a positive effect on the sustainability of cooperation. Despite Brazil's reluctance to adopt a more active leadership role in the process of integration, its offensive strategic interests in the region have contributed to the durability of institutionalized collaboration. However, as Gomez-Mera demonstrates, the tension between Brazil's global and regional power aspirations has also added significantly to the bloc's ineffectiveness.

The public space of democracies is constructed in a context that is marked by the digital transformation of the economy and society. This construction is carried out primarily through deliberation. Deliberation informs and guides both individual and collective action. To shed light on the concept of deliberation, it is important to consider the rationality of choice; but what type of rationality is this? References to economic reason are at once widespread, crucial and controversial. This book therefore deals with arguments used by individuals based on the notions of preferential choice and rational behavior, and also criticizes them. These arguments are examined in the context of the major themes of public debate that help to construct the contemporary public space: "populism", social insurance, social responsibility and environmental issues. Economic Reason and Political Reason underlines the importance of the pragmatist shift of the 2000s and revisits, through the lens of this new approach, the great utilitarian and Rawlsian normative constructs that dominated normative political economics at the end of the 20th century. Alternative approaches, based on the concept of deliberative democracy, are proposed and discussed.

Undeniably, the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is not new, but there is a huge difference between understanding the concept of CSR in developed and developing nations. In developing countries, firms have little interest in adopting CSR as a strategy in their business goals. The best practices, techniques, and empirical studies conducted around the globe must be discussed in detail in order to encourage the incorporation of the best CSR strategies for regionally diverse businesses. Global Corporate Social Responsibility Initiatives for Reluctant Businesses is a critical reference source that covers the scope of global corporate social responsibility, which has continued to increase in the last couple of decades. The book includes core aspects of corporate social responsibility philosophy and practices in different European, North American, and Asian countries. This authored book helps readers to understand the corporate social responsibility practices in different countries and also provides a holistic picture of global CSR and emerging trends with the support of empirical studies. Covering topics including internationalization, Islamic CSR, green public procurement, CSR strategy, and sustainability, this book is essential for managers, executives, human resources managers, policymakers, academicians, researchers, students, and practitioners.