Ryerson CSR Institute Session: An Inside-Out Perspective regarding Anti-Corruption and Compliance Activities within Multinationals

Ryerson University’s Institute for the Study of Corporate Social Responsibility is pleased to present an online interactive zoom session, An Inside-Out Perspective regarding Anti- corruption and Compliance Activities: In conversation with Zaker Khan (details below), on Thursday January 20, from 11:00 am to 12:30 pm (Toronto time).

For government regulators, businesses, civil society organizations, and scholars, there is much to be learned from the analysis of  “within-the-firm” efforts of corporations to comply with laws and regulations as transposed into company policies, procedures, etc., complementing more conventional and well-studied “outside-in” examinations of the government-business regulatory relationship. Research reveals that there are both striking similarities and significant differences between the government-business regulatory interactions and the internal dynamics between the “internal regulation” units within corporations, and those who are subject to these internal regulations (e.g., sales personnel, R&D units, etc.).

This session is based on the research of graduate student Zaker Khan, whose Masters work focused on compliance practices implemented at Siemens Canada after its parent company, Siemens AG, and related subsidiaries were found in 2007 – 2008 to have been involved in one of the most high-profile cases of bribery and corruption in modern corporate history. The research, which included interviews with a diverse group of employees at Siemens Canada, examined the interaction of internal institutional arrangements (with a focus on Siemens Canada’s Compliance Department), rule instruments and processes directed towards internal actors (e.g., employees in general as well as specialized compliance requirements for particular groups of employees, such as sales staff) and external actors (e.g., third-party sales agents). Even though Siemens Canada was not implicated in the 2007-2008 scandal that engulfed its parent company, Siemens' subsidiaries were subject to a panoply of new compliance related decisions and actions that were implemented following the scandal. The focus of the research is on the nature of the rollout of the “new internal regulatory regime” within Siemens Canada, including the issues and challenges associated with the evolving nature of regime implementation at Siemens Canada, as well as interactions with Siemens Headquarters and non-Siemens actors.

Zaker Khan is a Research Associate at the Institute for the Study of Corporate Social Responsibility, where he studies organizational learning and governance. Moderating the session will be Dr. Kernaghan Webb, Director of the Ryerson CSR Institute and a Law and Business professor in Ryerson University's Ted Rogers School of Management who is also cross appointed to the Law Faculty. The talk is co-sponsored by the Ryerson Corporate Social Responsibility Student Association, the Ryerson Commerce and Government Association, and the Ryerson Law and Business Student Association.

Although everyone is welcome to attend the zoom session and there is no cost for patching in, to attend you must first register by clicking HERE (external link) . On Thursday, January 20 at 11 am (Toronto time) click HERE (external link)  to patch in for the zoom session. Note the 1 1 am start time.