Culture and Ethics - Case Studies

Corporate Responsibility - Making It Personal

In 2006 we developed and launched our "Corporate Responsibility – Making it Personal" training programme – as an integral part of our PwC Management Diploma, and also an element in our MD+ programme. Drawing on our specialist knowledge in corporate governance, ethics, philosophy, sustainable development, corporate responsibility and corporate reporting the programme uses a new conceptual model – our "CR ecosystem" to help our people understand how organisations can behave ethically within the complex environments in which they operate. Feedback from the course has been extremely positive:

"This was one of the most challenging, thought provoking and interesting courses I have attended in a very long time. I have taken away so many things from this course! Professionally, it has made me more aware of PwC's commitment to corporate responsibility and to different facets within the firm which I was completely ignorant of (i.e. advising on corporate responsibility issues). Also it has made me more aware of the challenges that many of my clients face – this gives me a different perspective which I believe rounds me as an effective consultant. Personally, this course has really entrenched my understanding and appreciation of how this issue touches our lives in the most fundamental ways."

Ulysses

Our leadership development programme – Ulysses – has been running for five years. During this time 80 high achieving partners from around the world have each spent two months working with local people at grassroots level in developing countries.

“The aim of the programme is to develop a network of future leaders who are capable of working across cultures and are committed to the principles of responsible leadership and sustainable business practices” explains Kellie Roberts, the UK Ulysses programme manager.

In 2006 three UK Partners participated – Duncan McNab, who worked with a local charity in Peru called Ciuidad Saludable (Healthy City), Adrian Yeeles working with a UN run organisation called the Alliance of Mayors and Municipal Leaders on HIV/AIDS in Cameroon, and Zubin Randeera who worked in Ghana with BasicNeeds, a charity working to ensure that mentally ill people can access the treatment they need.

Adrian Yeeles comments seem to sum up the experiences for all three partners:

“My experiences have given me a much broader perspective on what’s important in life, and as a result I'm more relaxed in my outlook, I've also learned that to be a really effective leader you have to be authentic so you can understand exactly where you are coming from. Then you can listen to other people with an open mind, which inevitably leads to better quality dialogue and better quality decision making.”

Code Of Conduct

At PwC we have a global Code of Conduct for all of our people. We continue to make efforts to ensure that the code is understood and embedded throughout our business. One of the resources we use to do this is our global website dedicated to raising awareness of the code. Here the code is introduced as follows:

"The reputation of PwC is anchored in the professionalism, ethics and excellence of service our people have striven to demonstrate and embrace every day of our 150-year history. But times change, and today we find ourselves functioning in a very different and challenging business climate – one that requires us to visibly reinforce our commitment to high standards and our passion for quality and integrity in all we do."

The Code is a set of principles intended to guide us in the conduct of PwC business and aid us in ensuring that our culture of ethics and integrity is sustained around the world. By combining our own good judgement and experience with the practical guidelines in the Code, we aim to continue earning the trust of all our stakeholders.