Review of Premier Foods Code of Ethics and Its Implications - Case Study Example

Section/# Premier Foods: A Review of its of Ethics and its Implications One of the greatest difficulties any given firm faces when attempting to put together a Code of Conduct or Ethics Policy is how to decide what ethics/policies/conduct and actions will be enumerated upon. It is nearly impossible to create a succinct code of conduct while at the same time seeking to speak to all known or possible sources of ethical issues and moral standards that might arise during the course of business. Many firms make one of two pitfalls with relation to this aforementioned issue. Firstly, many firms seek to build an all encompassing framework within their code of ethics that would seek to speak to nearly all conceivable issues that might arise during the course of business with relation to ethics and ethical decision making. Obviously, such an approach is foolish in that no matter how exhaustive such a code of conduct/ethics policy might be, it will never be able to sufficiently enumerate upon each and every situation that might arise. Secondly, and far less often, a firm will only briefly discuss their ethics policy/code of conduct due to their belief that all employees and shareholders know what is expected of them and belaboring the point in an ethics policy/code of conduct is both intuitive and rather meaningless. However, quite the contrary to either one of these pitfalls, the firm whose ethics policy will be analyzed in this brief essay, has put together a concise yet overarching framework which helps its consumers, employees, and shareholders to gain a firm grasp of where the company stands on key issues of ethical and moral responsibility (Wiley et al 2011, p. 14). Although it is impossible to create a code of conduct and/or an ethics policy that adequately speaks to all factors and situations that may arise, it is the belief of this author that the way in which the Premier Foods Code of Conduct engages both the key points of brand loyalty and trust among all participants, adherence to all regional, local and federal laws, and places a supreme emphasis on the employee decision making tree helps to differentiate the firm and its application of its code of conduct from its many competitors. The firm displays what drives their business model within the very opening comments of their code of conduct. Whereas there is no correct or incorrect way to deliver the primary ethical basis for what helps to define a firm, Premier Foods lists their as a fundamental belief in and respect of “trust”. This trust is not merely an abstract concept; rather, it is the underlying cornerstone of the firm’s success. This belief in trust and desire to further its manifestations is evidenced by the fact that the code of conduct references this as the single most important factor that has helped to build the firm into the well developed and well represented food processor within its given target markets. Furthermore, rather than providing a vague concept of the term, the code of conduct goes on to elaborate on the fact that trust cannot merely be related by means of ensuring that employees trust their employer or that suppliers trust their buyer, or that the end consumer trusts its producer. In this way, the concept of trust is inexorably linked to the way in which the firm seeks to promote its business model among all the shareholders involved within the process. Although trust is oftentimes a key component of any business ethics or code of conduct, the firm in question takes such an approach with the utmost importance as it is the very first topic that is enumerated upon and demands a strict appreciation and adherence by all team-members and/or shareholders in order to effect the goals and designs that the company should attempt to engage as a function of their operations. The code goes on to build upon this concept of trust by stating that a key determinant of the trust that they expect from their employees is not merely an appreciation of the term but actionable response to wrongdoing as might be evidenced within the corporate structure at any and every level. Rather than merely glossing over the ways in which trust can and should be evidenced within the firm, the code of conduct requires and insists that employees actively alert their employer in the event of any perceived wrongdoing. As a way to ameliorate any concerns as to whether this may have a negative effect on the future employment prospects of those that chose to engage in this way, the code of conduct specifically lays out their own responsibilities with reference to protecting those that come forward with such information. Although mentioning this early on and with respect to the concept and understanding of trust is itself a good sign that the company takes this point seriously, a further sign is illustrated in the fact that the firm has contracted a private third party company to be responsible for handling any and all calls that employees might want to place to report a given situation in an anonymous way. In this way, rather than merely paying legal lip service to the fact that whistleblowers will not be retaliated against by HR or by other key corporate shareholders, the firm’s code of conduct therefore adds a degree of credence to what would otherwise be a rather vague understanding of the term “trust” as it applies to the corporate structure and key requirements of its shareholders. Although trust itself cannot be institutionalized, it is the express desire of the firm to imprint a high degree of importance on such a point as a function of ingraining this concept upon the company and engaging shareholder support. However consumer trust cannot be the single determinant for the way in which a firm seeks to operate. As such, the code of conduct lays out that adherence to all laws is a secondary determinant in seeking to retain, build, and differentiate this level of trust. Rather than merely glossing over the fact that it is the responsibility of all key shareholders to abide by the rules and laws of the local community, jurisdictions, and federal government, the code of conduct lays out a type of Boolean algebraic equation that helps to guide a more full and complete understanding of legality in both the traditional and the abstract understanding of these terms. The fact that the rubric requires and depends on the ability of the reader to engage with it in order to make it applicable within any given context is a noticeable and decisive strength that cannot and should not be ignored. In order to achieve this, the code of conduct presents the reader with a series of rhetorical questions that he/she should consider when determining of a given course of action, decision, process etc is of an entirely legal and/or ethical basis. These include: is the particular practice legal/ethical/or honest – is it consistent with existing company policies – would the practice be readily and easily explained to friends/family members – to a judge – and would the employee feel comfortable with the given practice being related in a newspaper article. This is a unique take on the way in which an employee should engage with a given topic. Many ethics policies and codes of conduct merely specify what is expected of the employee without laying out a type of rubric within which the employee can categorize information within their own mind. In this way, Premier Foods code of conduct is unique in that it actively seeks to engage with the audience/shareholder/employee with regards to the level of expectation that exists between the firm and its employees rather than merely spend multiple pages of text explaining situations and actions that are punishable by termination, docked pay, managerial review, and other punitive actions. This level of interaction helps to allow the employee a degree of independence from the actual text of the code of conduct. In this way, the code develops a strong level of tacit communication which helps the reader/shareholder to not only identify with the goals and needs that the code of conduct relates but also to seek to incorporate the logic and information presented to their own unique/personal interpretation of a given situation or subset of situations. Such a reminder of legality also ties directly back in with the importance that the firm has placed on trust as has been evidenced within the first component of the code of conduct which this analysis has sought to convey. Rather than relying on a rigid set of determinants which are necessitated to be followed implicitly, the code of conduct allows for an important level of personal responsibility which many codes of conduct/ethical policies are inherently lacking. By allowing a degree of trust to exist between the employer and the employee without having to stipulate every wrong action and its subsequent punishment, the policy is able to build on a powerful form of ethos that is created between shareholder and the company. This concept of inclusion and incorporation of the code of conduct with respect to the individual employee is also strongly evidenced within the final section of the code of conduct. Rather than merely stating that such a code of conduct and ethical conveyance should not be considered exhaustive, the code of conduct goes on to elaborate upon a flow chart of ways in which the employee should approach any and all varieties of issues that might come up within the constraints of their employment. What is unique about such a flow chart is the fact that it provides a catch all that allows the reader to consider the various levels of inference that have already been presented and attempt to rely on both their common sense and the new data that has been related in order to come to an informed decision regarding the best path forward from such a point (Allen 2011, p. 39). Naturally, the means of engaging shareholders with key issues and concerns is also listed as this is one of the fastest ways for an employee to bring a wrong or immoral practice to the attention of his/her superiors (Pearson et al 2012, p. 25). Although this particular code of ethics is not unique in applying such an accountability system that requires and demands employees to voice such concerns, it is unique in the fact that it is one of the few that starts out the code of ethics by stating that if something does not feel right or it would not be something that the employee would feel comfortable with speaking to the media, a judge, or a family member about, it is highly likely that such a practice is in and of itself borderline immoral and should be considered as a possible weak spot in the companies operational framework. By incorporating such a high degree of transparency and accountability, the firm is attempting to engage all shareholders in the process of ethical responsibility; rather than merely a few key individuals within certain departments of human resources or quality control divisions. Adding to the logical strength of the previous sections of the ethics code, the piece ends with a decision tree that allows employees to chart a path ahead for any number of situations that have not been specifically covered within the other sections that have thus far been presented. This is a noted strength of this particular ethics plan due to the fact that many ethics plans rely on the ability of the words contained within their pages to define what the firm stands for. Although the words within this particular ethics policy are well done, the framers have understood that key limitations nonetheless exist and it is necessary to build what this author would like to refer to as a “decision tree” in order to ensure that any other key concerns that have not been specifically addressed within the plan or within the rhetorical questions asked would be covered. In this way, although the plan has been expertly written to entail a high degree of complexity and key advice for how to handle certain situations, the plan is ultimately related back into the hands of the individual shareholder. This delegation back to the shareholder is an invaluable tool that helps to set this code of ethics apart from many other firms that employ lesser practices. As can be seen in the opening of the ethics code, it is the responsibility of the shareholder to ensure the company maintains a high degree of integrity with regards to its business actions. The plan goes on to relate how it is additionally the responsibility of the shareholder to speak out and seek to correct key flaws that might be exhibited. As the plan goes into more depth and complexity it eventually ends by providing the reader with the conclusion to such a path of logic in that upon being given such instructions of key ethical considerations that the company prizes, the ability of the company to continue to exhibit a high level of ethical consideration is placed back upon the employee by means of the ethics “decision tree” referenced in Figure 1.0 below (Premier Foods 2012, p.9). Figure 1.0 In conclusion, the key points that identify this particular code of conduct/ethics plan have been aptly demonstrated. Firstly, the level of trust and shareholder participation is immediately demonstrated as the primary determinant factor that guides the firm and continues to allow it to have the high degree of success it has experienced. Furthermore, as has been exhibited, such trust is only available to be realized when all shareholders involved, (to include suppliers, employees, management, consumers as well as other key shareholders that this report has not specifically enumerated upon) can all identify with such an underlying metric. Similarly, as a means to accomplish this, the analysis of the code of conduct/ethics plan has demonstrated that the firm believes that adherence to all laws – state local and federal – is a must in order to maintain and continue to build upon the high level of trust that has thus far defined their operation. Lastly, as has been demonstrated, the ultimate burden of support of these ethics and codes of conduct lies within the individual employee as he/she is responsible for ensuring the continued livelihood of the firm and all those that it employs. As a means to accomplish each of these three distinct areas, the firm requires the shareholder support of each and every layer of its component parts. Naturally, as was noted in the code of conduct, it is the understanding of the firm that the process itself cannot be something that is managed from the top down; rather, it is a process that must be organized and run from the bottom up. In this way, the code of ethics means to interact with and integrate with the shareholder in order to engage a sense of purpose and support for this plan as a defining hallmark of the company and its vision for future and current operations and success. References Allen, C 2011, 'Improving the Code of Professional Conduct', Journal Of Accountancy, 211, 6, pp. 38-43, Business Source Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 19 November 2012. Pearson, G, Becker, E, & Sydnes, L 2012, 'Why codes of conduct matter', Chemistry In Australia, pp. 24-32, Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 19 November 2012. Premier Foods. (2012). Code of Conduct. Available: http://www.premierfoods.co.uk/shadomx/apps/fms/fmsdownload.cfm?file_uuid=2144FC2E-1851-505D-DFA9-73C71235E7DD&siteName=premierfoods. Last accessed 28th November 2012. Willey, L, & Burke, D 2011, 'A Constructivist Approach to Business Ethics: Developing a Student Code of Professional Conduct', Journal Of Legal Studies Education, 28, 1, pp. 1-38, Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 19 November 2012. Read More