Ethics Program for Company X - Case Study Example

Ethics Program for Company X ETHICS PROGRAM FOR COMPANY X Company X is committed to the highest possible corporate conduct standards in all its business dealings, whether locally or regionally. The company maintains an effective and efficient ethics and compliance program, which has been designed to meet all internal and external requirements guided by the code of business conduct and core values of the firm. It is Company X’s expectations that all its employees will comply with this ethics conduct, as well as the policies and requirements established in support of the company’s code. This ethics and compliance program will be reviewed periodically in order to meet changing external and business requirements. Company X’s program is a core component of how business is carried out, while it also has oversight from the ethics committee and the board of directors Public Compliance and Policy Committee. The ethics program has several essential components that are noted below. Standards and Procedures Section 1. Financial Controls, Records, and Fraud Company X’s creditors and investors are legitimately interested in the integrity of the company’s accounting and financial information and, as a result, the company is committed to keeping accurate, complete, and truthful accounting records and financial reports. Company employees must always classify and record transactions in the appropriate department and account, as well as in the proper accounting period (Weber & Wasieleski, 2013). It is unacceptable to distort any transaction’s true nature. 2. Product Safety and Quality Locally and regionally, consumers choose Company X’s brands because of their reliability and quality. Thus, employees must always ensure that our products live up to their high reputation. Ensuring safety of the product is the responsibility of all Company X’s employees, regardless of where they work. The company expects employees to report safety-related issues, as well as malfunction or defect detected in company products to management according to divisional procedures (Weber & Wasieleski, 2013). 3. Safety, Health, and Well-being of Employees Company X believes that safety, health, and well-being of all employees under its employment are critical to the company’s continued success. Therefore, all employees are expected to actively work towards prevention of accidents, while also following safe working procedures (Weber & Wasieleski, 2013). During working hours, all employees are prohibited from using alcohol, drugs, or other substances that could impair their ability to work effectively and safely. Moreover, the company prohibits threats of or actual violence in the workplace. 4. Protection of the Company’s Assets The company’s information, property, materials, equipment, and facilities have been acquired through hard work. Therefore, employees must ensure they protect the company’s assets, using them for their intended purposes and manner (Weber & Wasieleski, 2013). Employees must not use assets of the company for personal benefit or the benefit of other who are not part of the company. Theft or gross misuse of company assets may lead to termination, or even criminal prosecution. Ethics Training Program Section 1. Frequency of Trainings Ethics training will take place on an annual basis, where all employees at Company X are required to complete an ethics training program conducted by the company annually. The frequency of this training program is so that the company has the ability to tailor its program to changing business and external conditions (Benishek & Salas, 2013). Employees will be notified by the company when they are required to undergo their annual ethics training. Employees who fail to complete the ethical training as required could be subjected to internal disciplinary action as appropriate. 2. Content Included in Training Program The ethics training program will contain information on how the employees should protect the company assets, as well as the appropriate use of its assets like information and facilities. The program will also contain directions on how to ensure financial and product integrity, training employees on proper recording and classification of financial transactions, as well as how to ensure product safety and quality (Benishek & Salas, 2013). Finally, the program will also include health and safety training by promoting adherence to programs and policies aimed at ensuring the well-being of its employees. 3. Responsibility for Conducting/Facilitating Ethical Training The ethics training program will be handled by the company’s ethics manager. The ethics manager will ensure that the ethics systems are functional and that the employees are up-to-date on the changes to ethics requirement, especially in relation to changing business and external conditions. The ethics manager will be responsible for overseeing changes to the ethics communication strategy, as well as mechanisms, as appropriate (Benishek & Salas, 2013). In addition, the ethics manager will also seek to obtain guidance on ethical issues from the ethics committee, which they will integrate into the training. Employee Misconduct Section 1. Monitoring Employee Misconduct a. Procedures for Monitoring Employee Misconduct Employee misconduct monitoring in relation to the company’s code of ethics will be done through computer and call monitoring, specifically to ensure that all employees are following the company’s standard operating procedures, as well as that they are not carrying out personal business while on the job. For instance, the company will randomly listen to selected phone conversations, as well as record them for future listening. E-mail and internet usage monitoring will also aid in detecting signs of ethical misconduct. In addition, the company will review video surveillance tapes, computer logs, call logs, and corrective action reports to detect ethical misconduct incidents that may have been undetected before (Ciocchetti, 2011). b. Type of Misconduct to be Monitored Some of the types of misconduct the company will monitor include misusing company time, whether in terms of lateness or alteration of work time-sheets. In addition, the company will monitor misconduct related to use of abusive language when communicating with customers or fellow employees, while also looking for evidence of sexual harassment or bullying in the workplace. Employee theft is another instance of misconduct the company seeks to monitor, as well as the violation of internet policies at the company, which will be viewed as theft/misuse of company resources (Ciocchetti, 2011). Finally, the company will monitor employee conduct to detect instances of discrimination based on gender, age, color, or race. c. Responsibility for Ethical Misconduct Monitoring The ethics committee at the workplace, which is part of the HR department and is also responsible for the ethics training program, should be responsible for the monitoring of ethical misconduct in the workplace (Ciocchetti, 2011). The ethics manager, who heads the ethics committee, is involved in monitoring possible misconduct using the tools identified above, particularly in relation to the ethics standards and determining whether these actions constitute a violation of the code of ethics at Company X. The ethics committee is involved in oversight of Company X’s ethics initiative and supervision of the ethics manager in monitoring any misconduct, as well as providing the final word on possible misconduct. 2. Reporting Employee Misconduct a. Procedures/Measures for Reporting Employee Misconduct Company X will adhere to several principles and measures in relation to reporting of ethical misconduct. To begin with, the company will take all appropriate legal measures required to ensure that the confidentiality of personal information included in ethical misconduct reporting is maintained (Ciocchetti, 2011). The employees are also required to show good faith in their belief of misconduct when making any reports and, indeed, any reports that are made without this prerequisite could lead to personal liability and disciplinary action on the reporting agent. Finally, reports on ethical misconduct will be appropriately investigated on the basis of the alleged misconduct’s seriousness and the likelihood that the allegations are confirmable. b. Employee Reporting of Company Policy Violations Company X encourages its employees to make reports of ethical misconduct that runs counter to the company’s code of ethics. As such, an open-door policy has been implemented that allows for anonymous reporting of ethical misconduct within the management team, as well as between the management team and employees. Reporting of ethical misconduct can be carried out via customized e-mail addresses, the company’s web portal, and through complaint/suggestion boxes in the workplace where employee can access them without fear (Ciocchetti, 2011). Moreover, there will be a hotline that has 24-hour access to ensure that employees can come forward without fear. A trained operator will be available to take these calls. Ethics Audit Programs 1. Measuring Effectiveness of Ethics Program Ethics program audits should be designed to assess in-depth the company’s records so as to ensure compliance with Company X’s ethical compliance on issues like employee safety and health, financial accounting, and product safety outcomes. Aspects of the program related to structure and strategy will be audited qualitatively, including the communication plan, annual training outcomes, and methodology of training (Schwartz, 2013). In this case, employee knowledge and perception surveys will be used to assess the presence of an ethical culture, while open-ended questionnaires will be administered annually to shed light on ethical problems and required improvements. Quantitative measures will also be used to identify the rate of ethical training completion. 2. Frequency of Ethics Program Review Auditing of the ethics program will be conducted annually or, in some cases, as a response to issues identified in risk assessment procedures (Schwartz, 2013). Based on company X’s auditing resources, the ethics program audit process will occur every year, although realignments in the organization due to internal or external changes could necessitate more frequent auditing. Since operating regulations, environments, and enforcement priorities may change routinely, Company X will ensure that audits of its ethics program are carried out at least once a year without fail. The nature of Company X’s industry, most importantly, will be a major determinant on whether there is a need to conduct audits more frequently. 3. Responsibility for Conducting Ethics Program Audit Company X will provide its full support to the Ethical Compliance Internal Audit Function, which has been enforced as an independent appraisal function for the examination and assessment of the company’s ethics program. This role will be conducted by the noted function and the report given to the company’s management and ethics committee, specifically for further action by the aforementioned ethics officer. Since the ethics officer is in charge of designing and implementing the ethics training program under supervision by the ethics committee, they cannot conduct the audit (Schwartz, 2013). Objectives and outcomes of the Ethical Compliance Internal Audit Function will support Company X’s management in maintaining an ethical environment. 4. Implementation of Improvements Company X’s ethics program has been designed to achieve continuous improvements in compliance with required ethical conduct and standards. In this case, the outcomes of the audit report will be incorporated into the training program and all employees will be expected to internalize the improvements (Schwartz, 2013). The training program containing the improvements will also be updated in terms of new required standards. 5. Communication of Changes After the audit and review of the ethics program, as well as implementation of changes to the ethics program, the report will be sent to the designated ethics officer and the ethics committee. This report will contain recommendations aimed at improving the program where deficiencies are identified, after which these changes will either be accepted or rejected. The accepted changes will then be communicated using the company’s web portal, customized work e-mails, and updated in the code of ethics (Schwartz, 2013). Moreover, these changes will also be communicated during the annual training program. References Benishek, L. E., & Salas, E. (2013). Prescriptions for Building Better Ethics Training. Ethics Training in Action: An Examination of Issues, Techniques, and Development, 2(1), 1-8 Ciocchetti, C. A. (2011). The Eavesdropping Employer: A Twenty‐First Century Framework for Employee Monitoring. American Business Law Journal, 48(2), 285-369 Schwartz, M. S. (2013). Developing and sustaining an ethical corporate culture: The core elements. Business Horizons, 56(1), 39-50 Weber, J., & Wasieleski, D. M. (2013). Corporate ethics and compliance programs: A report, analysis and critique. Journal of business ethics, 112(4), 609-626 Read More