Learn Russian: Согласно распоряжению директора, мы следуем этим рекомендациям. - According to the director's directive, we follow these recommendations.

It is governed by the preposition согласно (according to). In modern Russian, согласно strictly requires the dative case. While you might occasionally spot it paired with the genitive case in 19th-century literature, contemporary Russian grammar dictates the dative.

Why is этим рекомендациям also in the dative case?

The verb следовать (to follow) requires its object to be in the dative case when it means "to act according to" or "to be guided by" (such as following advice, rules, or recommendations). Think of it as giving your compliance to those recommendations.

Is the comma after директора strictly necessary?

Yes. In Russian punctuation, introductory phrases that establish a condition or basis for the main action, especially those starting with formal prepositions like согласно, вопреки (contrary to), or благодаря (thanks to), are almost always separated from the main clause by a comma.

Could we use приказу instead of распоряжению here to mean "order"?

You could, but it would change the tone slightly. A приказ is a strict, highly formal, or military command. A распоряжение is an administrative directive or instruction. It is still mandatory in a workplace context, but it sounds slightly less rigid and authoritarian than a приказ.