Damage to reputation through inappropriate conduct is a significant risk today for all businesses. It is crucial that this risk is well managed if success over the long term is to be achieved. Organisations must not only promote positive values and discourage poor behaviours but also become more resilient by embedding good business ethics and a healthy culture throughout their operations. But how is this best achieved?

In The Business Ethics Twin-Track: Combining controls and culture to minimise reputational risk Steve Giles provides a roadmap for directors and managers. The key is an approach that combines ethical hardware and software. He shows how the ethical toolbox – value statements, development programmes, whistle-blowing hotlines etc. – should be used to manage and reinforce behaviours which align with the organisation's stated values. The addition of ethical software is crucial and he demonstrates the importance of leadership, governance and top-level commitment in order to create a strong culture in which business is conducted in ways which reinforce those values day after day.

The Business Ethics Twin-Track is a practical business book. It is unique because, rather than focusing on theory, it offers guidance on implementing cultural change through the mechanism of a hypothetical consultancy project. The ideas in the book, together with practical recommendations, are discussed and developed through a series of eight workshops on behalf of a fictional client, each one culminating in a list of key takeaways for management action.

The advice offered is complemented by extracts from interviews with prominent business men and women, providing insights and commentary based on their experience of the areas under discussion.

This practical focus, underpinned by numerous real-world examples, makes The Business Ethics Twin-Track the must-have guide for directors and managers when addressing this vital aspect of performance today.