Code of Ethics - Creating, Implementing - Essay Example

? of Ethics Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 Creating a of Ethics 3 Implementing a code of ethics 6 Auditing an Ethic Program 9 Core Elements of a Code of Ethics 11 Rationale and Findings 11 Recommendations and Reflections 12 References 13 Introduction Every organization that aims to achieve its objective in global market must have proper code of ethics. They articulate ideals which an organization aspires to achieve, as well as behavioral expectations of the overall work force within an organization. This is incorporated in professionalism evident in role the organization plays. These are formal documented rules that establish behavioral expectations for an organization and employees within that particular organization (Ferrell et al., 2010). Most organizations consist of people from different cultures and societies with different belies and traditions. It is the code of ethics that acts as a catalyst and gives guidelines of what is expected of everyone as an individual and as an organizational group. All outlined codes of ethics guide on making wise decisions within the organization. It is done by both management and employees especially when faced with difficult situations that might compromise an individual integrity or values and at the same time go against goals of organization (Singhapakdi et al., 1996). This particular paper is aimed at articulating on how codes of conduct are formed, implemented and audited within an organizational structure for their perfection and the direct impact it has on goal attainment. Creating a Code of Ethics In creating the code of ethics, one should understand four values that are considered most important in any organizational formation. It is these four values that act as a foundation of formulating the code of ethics and they include: responsibility, respect, fairness and honesty. It should also be understood that each section has both the aspirational standards and mandatory standards. Aspirational standards prescribe the standards that are upheld by a particular organization (Reidenbach & Robin, 1990). These standards are in accordance with the professional outlook that is expected of an organization and they are not optional. Mandatory standards, on the other hand, establish organizational requirements by prohibiting or limiting particular behaviors within an organization. Employees within an organization that do not act in accordance with these standards are most likely to be subjected to disciplinary actions so as to institute the Code of Ethics policies within that organization (Ferrell et al., 2010). Responsibility as one of the pillars to the foundation of code of ethics refers to one’s duty to: take ownership for the decisions made or failed to make, the cause of action taken or failed to be taken and the consequences that are followed after. Responsibilities under aspiration are the decisions and actions one takes for the best interests of organization and its environment. It is accepting only those assignments that are in correspondence to one’s background, experience and qualification including the skills achieved within the organizational (Singhapakdi et al., 1996). An individual is expected to be able to fulfill the undertaken commitment, in case of errors, one is liable for the mistakes and is required that appropriate corrections be made immediately. Responsibility extends to an employee being in a position to uphold the code and ensure all around are accountable for every policy stipulated in the code of ethics. On the other hand, responsibility under mandatory focuses on regulations and all legal requirements with an organization; people should take ownership to uphold set policies, regulations, rules and the laws that govern their work, profession and any other activities undertaken within an organization. Unethical or illegal conducts within organizations should be reported to the management of the organization to make the individual be accountable for their activities or responsibilities and action to be taken where possible (Reidenbach & Robin, 1990). Respect as a second pillar of code of ethics refers to one’s duty to show high regards for self and others together with the resources entrusted to them. Respect within an organization facilitates trust, confidence and excellence in performance by initiating cooperation within an organizational framework. Aspirational standards consider and reflect on the norms and customs of individual people and how each should relate to the other without considering one’s actions as disrespectful. This also entails listening to one’s points of views with a particular aim of understanding them, conducting oneself in a professional way and handling arising issues or disagreement in a more professional and diplomatic way. In terms of mandatory standards, respect should enhance good and in faith negotiation, respect for other people’s property rights and avoidance of behaving in abusive manner towards other people. Respect should also enhance organizational goal attainment rather than an individual exercise of influence on decisions making for personal benefits (Singhapakdi et al., 1996). Fairness as the third pillar of code of ethics is one’s ability to make decisions and act impartially and objectively. It encourages one to act freely from personal interest, prejudice and favoritism to serve organizational goals. On terms of aspirational standards, fairness demonstrates transparency in decision making, reminds one the organizational objectives and hence rechecks one’s impartiality. Fairness facilitates equal access to resources within an organizational framework as well as equal opportunities to individuals. On the mandatory standards fairness is more interested in the conflict of interest situations. This is one’s ability to refrain from decision making process in the case of conflict of interest; lack of discrimination of others addresses nonprofessional issues such as race, gender, and religion, among others (Singhapakdi et al., 1996). Lastly there is honesty as the last foundation pillar of creation of code of ethics and it is related to one’s ability to understand and act in a truthful manner to both the people within an organization and the organization itself as a whole. Aspirational standards project honesty as the need to understand the truth and giving accurate information within an organization in a timely manner and by creating an honesty facilitating environment for its people. On the part of the mandatory standards, honesty articulates that one does not practice behaviors that deceive or misleads others or the organizational objectives (Rest et al., 1997). The above four elements are the foundation pillars of creating code of ethics in an given organizational framework that guides individual’s personal conducts within that particular organization. These particular elements define the accepted behaviors within an organization and at the same time establish a framework for professional behavior and responsibilities within an organization. These elements are also important for the code of ethics since they can act as a support for the legal process in any case that there is need to be (Rest et al., 1997). Implementing a code of ethics To implement a code of ethics within an organization, the elements contained in the code of ethics should be well understood and followed to book. To enhance this, there should be well defined disciplinary actions to be initiated in case of bridge of code of ethics within an organization. To implement these codes within an organization, it is required that one understands the legal compliance (Ferrell et al., 2010). This is the organizational or individual compliance with all applicable laws and regulations within the organizational industry. There should be freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining within an organization. All its employees should be allowed to join and organize trade unions of their choice that will collectively bargain on their behalf with the management of the organization. The management on its side should respect this resolution and promote this agenda by not victimizing those that have joined trade unions (Zehir et al., 2003). Also, the organizational management should not in any way interfere with the employee’s union’s organization. In the case that freedom of associations is restricted by law, then workers’ representatives should be allowed and recognized by the management and those involved should not be victimized, discriminated or intimidated (Shaub et al., 1993). There should be prohibition of discrimination in hiring of personnel; remuneration should be as per the work, training, promotion, retirement or termination. Discrimination based on gender, age, religion, race, caste, birth, social background, disability, ethnic and national origin, membership in unions, sexual orientation, political affiliation, family responsibilities, and marital status, among others, should not be allowed or tolerated within the organization. Codes of ethics could also be implemented through compensation. Here wages or salaries that are to be paid for regular or overtime working hours should meet the required legal standards and there should not be any illegal, unfair, or unauthorized deduction of one’s wages or salary under any circumstance (Rest et al., 1997). If stipulated by national law and even if so, it must be through collective bargaining. In case of any overtime, it should also be reimbursed at a premium rate as stipulated by the national law or prevailing industrial standards. On top of that, the code of ethics can also be implemented through managing employee’s working hours. The employee’s working hours should be in line with national laws and the industrial standards on the working hours and the recognized national public holidays (Zehir et al., 2003). Although most working hours are stipulated by the national laws, generally they should not exceed 48 hours and overtime working hours should not exceed 12 hours in a week. It should be noted that the overtime hours are only worked on voluntary basis and are to be paid at a premium rate unless it is to meet a short term business demand and even in that case, the negotiation is done through collective bargaining. Normally an employee is always entitled to one free day after six consecutive working days unless in the situation where the national law allows exceeding of this particular limit and also in the situation that an agreement has been reached through collective bargaining by the management and on behalf of employees (Shafer et al., 2001). Implementation can also be done through workplace health and safety. The organization should provide safe and healthy working environment that are accident free to its employees. They should take necessary steps to avoid future or potential accidents that are likely to happen within the working environment. The organization should also provide clear set regulations and procedures that must be followed regarding occupational health and safety. This includes personal protective equipment and procedures to follow in the case of an accident. In case of an imminent danger, the personnel have the right to remove themselves without seeking the management’s permission (Snape et al., 2008). Code of ethics can be implemented through prohibition of child labor. Child labor is forbidden by all nations and as defined by the United Nations Conventions. All seek of child exploitation is forbidden and the young one’s rights must be protected in the event that children work in the circumstances that best suit the definition of child labor. These policies may include young workers being subjected to compulsory education laws, working only after school hours and not to be subjected to working at night hours. The young’s working hours should not exceed a total of 8 hours per day. Another form of implementation can be through prohibition of forced and compulsory labor and disciplinary measures (Shaub et al., 1993). All human violations are forbidden, such as forced labor, detention of identity documents or lodging deposits within organizations (Shafer et al., 2001). No company is allowed in any way to withhold one’s identity or salary, benefits, properties or documents in order to cohere one to forcefully work for the organization. On top of that, all organizations should treat its employees with dignity and respect and at the same time the company should not use corporal punishment, mental or physical coercion and verbal abuse in the event of an employee’s wrongdoing. Environment and safety issues should be implemented; this includes waste management standard procedures that should meet stipulated legal requirements (Robin et al., 1996). Lastly, an organization can implement codes of ethics through management systems. Anti-bribery and anti-corruption policies should be implemented and practiced within an organization. For efficiency implementation of the code of ethics, after implementation of the above codes, an organization should establish more efficient ways of enforcing the codes such as stipulated consequences for violating the codes including fines and garnished wages among others. The third step towards implementation is the printing and circulation of the codes among the employees within the organization (Robin et al., 1996). This should then be followed by a few days of allowance which, after opinions are provided, should be accepted to make any necessary changes in the codes. After this process, the codes should be vetted and changes made where possible after which they are to be sent back for approval from the head of the organization. After approval of the codes of ethics, they should be included in any agreement or hiring contracts that the organization is involved in. This is to make new members within the organization to be aware of the existing codes and to sign as a way to abide by them. Lastly, the copies of the codes of ethics should be distributed to all members of the organization as well as its business partners. It should also be included in the annual reports or to the public in the case of an organization with a public face (Shafer, 2002). Auditing an Ethic Program The main aim of auditing an ethic program is to ascertain if the existing program encourages employees to report any ethical misconduct, encourage learning about codes of ethics, and provide and maintain an acceptable ethical culture. The auditing of an ethical program is rested upon several bodies within an organization with governance and leadership being the highest figure. The highest oversight of the ethic program is vested in the board of directors who delegate responsibility and authority to oversee and maintain the ethic program to the compliance officer (Shafer, 2002). The compliance officer has access to all organizational information and reports directly to the vice president, legal affairs and to the board through periodic status update to keep the members informed and provide strategic guidance to the ethics program (Reinstein et al., 2006). The compliance officer is responsible for managing day to day operations of the program and hence, in turn, develops plans to identify and manage risks related to ethical program. People are also vested with the responsibility of auditing ethics since it is a commitment of doing business with high standards of integrity. Each person has the responsibility to align their actions and behaviors in accordance to the organization’s values (Shafer, 2002). People within an organization are expected to be people of integrity and hence an organization should not deal with people perceived to be environmentally unfriendly. Written standards act as a guideline to audit of the ethic program in a way since they are commitment of agreement between employees and the management or other business partners. This obligates all employees to comply with the ethics program and each year the employees will still certify that they do understand, agree and abide by the requirements of the codes of ethics. This way, emerging risks will be identified and addressed through the auditing plan. This will also help determine if ethic elements have been satisfied and if education and training sessions are still necessary (Reddy, 2006). Core Elements of a Code of Ethics Codes of ethics are well defined programs that entail core elements including personal responsibility in which all employees of an organization are able to accept personal responsibility for the code of ethics. Employees must perform their duties with honesty, diligence, integrity, care, diligence and impartiality. All employees should take their time to read and understand the code of ethics and the consequences related to noncompliance. The employees should aim for high ethical standards to win the public trust and confidence; the employees should avoid waste and misuse of the public resources, among others. Another element of codes of ethics is the compliance with the law. All employees are expected to be in compliance with the law; those that commit offences that are not in accordance with the law should face disciplinary actions immediately. In the case that an employee faces criminal proceedings, he or she should inform the management as soon as possible. If there are complaints against the organization and its employees, it has to build confidence in its integrity and that of its employees. Complaints should be investigated promptly and keenly. Lastly there is the internally initiated allegation that involves the management instructing junior employees to be involved in unethical dealings. These cases should immediately be reported to the senior management and the allegations should be investigated (Reddy, 2006). Rationale and Findings Codes of ethics are seen as essential elements within an organizational framework since they give guidelines on what is expected of everyone within an organization. The codes of ethics within an organization may include wearing of badges by employees of an organization so the public may have a right to know whoever is serving them and for safety precautions. All employees should consider their safety and that of their colleagues as a priority when undertaking duties (Reinstein et al., 2006). Relation with the public is also another example of codes of ethics where employees are expected to serve customer with honesty, professionalism and courtesy, among others. Lastly, there are promotional activities on behalf of other organizations. Employees should deal with customers in a professional way and avoid biasness (Ferrell et al., 2010). Recommendations and Reflections As discussed above, code of ethics is seen as an essential aspect for efficient management and running of organizations. The codes are there to safeguard both the employees’ interest as well as the organizational interest; hence they should be well stipulated and implemented effectively. Like in the above examples, the code of ethics should clearly stipulate the dos and the don’ts and to include the repercussions for overstepping the codes. 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