As if The Da Vinci Code needed more publicity!

Opus Dei has put out a press release accusing Sony Corporation of breaching its own code of conduct.

The press release, under the headline "Sony's Other Code" says:

"The Sony Group "Code of Conduct," approved by the highest authorities of the corporation on May 28, 2003, contains the following:
'Recognizing that conduct that is socially acceptable in one culture or region may be viewed differently in another, Personnel (of Sony) are required to give careful consideration to cultural and regional differences in performing their duties.(section 1.3)
'No Personnel may make racial or religious slurs, jokes or any other comments or conduct in the workplace, that create a hostile work environment' (section 2.4)
"With respect to publicity, Sony commits itself not to engage in false publicity that misleads or slanders others (section 3.4).'

Now, I can't accept that a film making the historically debatable claim that there was some conspiracy to hide the true origins of Christianity amounts to vilification. I hated the book and the film stinks but that's not because it offended religious sensibilities.

It's a point also taken up by Chris MacDonald in his Business Ethics blog:

"It's pretty clear that the Code requires Sony employees to be sensitive to other people's values. Does that requirement preclude distributing a movie that the members of a particular religion (or perhaps a range of religions) object to? Is that how we should read Sony's Code? That depends in part on whether the "sensitivity" is synonymous with avoiding all Insult. It also depends in part upon the observer's views on what sorts of values & beliefs ought to be protected from criticism. To a committed, principled atheist, a negative portrayal of a religious group (or of a religion, or of all religions) might be a positive good. Some people believe that religion ought to be mocked. I'm not about to promote that idea, but it's worth noting that a movie (a work of fiction, let's recall) that makes a bad-guy out of a powerful institution is quite different from a movie that, let's say, demonstrates insensitivity by making villains out of a disempowered or threatened minority."

Still, the attack does point to why companies need to tread carefully when they put together codes of conduct and ethics. You never know what issues it might raise, and when it might return to bite you.

At the same time, however, Sony's done a pretty good job putting together a campaign that has neutralised Christian critics. I raised the question of whether that amounts to good business or shameless manipulation in my Management Line blog.