Accounting and Operational Standards - Research Paper Example

Dear on the assignment I have given more importance in the coverage to operational standards. The operational procedures can be broadly classified into ‘system related’ and ‘employee related (HRD). Since HRD would be covered under Section 3: Corporate Culture and Hiring Practices, I have not elaborately discussed about it, but worded the paper suitably for integration purposes. I hope your part of the paper would fit in well with the topic ‘Business Ethics Project’ as I have prepared the paper keeping in mind the requirements with regard to ‘ethics’ relative to the topic. Another important point is that due to space constraint, I have given more emphasis on ‘Operational Standards’, than ‘Accounting Standards’, and I have justified it in the paper suitably. As it is, the length of the material comes to three pages, though is concise and not very descriptive in nature. Therefore, I didn’t want to edit it to include references which may spoil the content. Thank you for the opportunity given to associate with you in your academic efforts. With regards Writer Academia Research Business Ethics - Accounting and Operational Standards: Unethical behavior of employees The areas which are vulnerable for unethical behavior of the employees in this industry, considering the unique features or nature of the business, should be identified and concerted strategies implemented to eliminate such problems. This aspect is very important as it concerns the business ethics as well especially in the case ADT Security Services where ‘integrity, trust and security’ is the corner stone of the business, and any unethical behavior on the part of the employees has a direct bearing on the ethical values of the company. Problem Identification 1. Knowledge about circumventing the security system. 2. Misuse of data with regard to the users of the security systems. 3. Tampering with the security system in collusion with the anti social elements. 4. Divulging weak links or the weak points in the infrastructure, systems design, systems management or systems administration to the competitors. 5. Accounting controls to pinpoint the unscrupulous employees. Analysis Analysis of the problems in relation to the history of the marketing operations, in terms of customer satisfaction, system failures, complaints received, market research, product research, discontinued products lines, legal issues encountered, labor turnover related to servicing of the products, strengths and weaknesses of the competitors products, technology developments in the field, application of new technology in the development of new products, secrecy levels required to be maintained, customer profiles and needs or requirements of the customers, changes in customer behavior, brand value of the products, etc. Implementation of the strategy Having evolved a strategy, measures to be taken in implementing the strategy to eliminate unethical behavior of the employees, in the light of the analysis made already, assumes greater significance, and several factors are involved in this process. However great the strategy is, inefficiency in implementation, without proper and comprehensive planning covering all facets of the business, result in failure for obvious reasons. Accounting Standards Unethical behaviors on the part of the employees usually have financial implications only, in the case of other businesses. Misuse of funds allocated, overcharging the expenses, ingeniously diverting the company funds to personal accounts, falsification of accounts, etc. are falling under this category. These behaviors of the employees are encountered in all businesses in their operations, and there are auditing and other techniques to unearth these unethical behaviors or malpractices of the employees. The implications of such behavior usually do not reflect in other facets of the business other than financial losses to the company in general. But, the unethical behavior of the employees with regard to security system shakes up the very basics of the business. The concept of security and the trust involved in installing the security system would be clearly missed and the purpose of the business is defeated in the process. The unethical behavior of the employees would be attributed to the companies dealing in these security systems in the market place and they are held responsible for the consequences which tarnishes the image of the products and the company in public. This would also lead to legal battles which results in unwanted and unnecessary publicity. The paper seeks to discuss elaborately on operational standards. Operational Standards For the effective implementation of the strategies, the operational procedures should be streamlined and strengthened. The operational procedures can be broadly classified into ‘system related’ and ‘employee related (HRD)’. When the security system is in place, it is implied that there is a valuable or precious material, document or asset under protection, which points out the need for secrecy, honesty, integrity, alertness and vigilance for high ethical standards in the business. In view of these basic criteria, the application of principles in this business vastly differs from the other businesses. Systems related operational procedures Establishment of the system related operational procedures requires restructuring of the functional areas. 1. ‘Disconnect’ between the functional areas The company needs to adopt multi-pronged strategy to combat this evil of unethical behavior. System design, Systems management and system administration should be segregated, and ‘disconnect’ among these functions should be maintained for this purpose. Collaboration among the employees belonging to these different functions should be discouraged. A complete knowledge of the system from the stage of design to administration of the system at the clients’ place to a person makes the security vulnerable. For example, if the system management is responsible for setting up of passwords or codes in operation of the security system, the nuances of this function is nothing to do with the functions of design or administration for performance of the system at the clients place, because the password is supposed to be known only to the clients in the process. 2. Secrecy There are cases where the installation of the security system itself should be kept as a secret. Therefore, details and documentations related to the security systems sold, in such cases should be treated as ‘classified information’. The company should establish separate procedure to deal with such clients. These high end customers should also be educated to follow certain procedures with regard to its use, maintenance, complaints, etc. 3. Surveillance at critical areas Certain security systems are connected to the central monitoring systems or nodal points located at different areas (for example police stations) which is forming part of the system management. If this control point is made inactive or the connectivity disabled, the security systems in the area would become ineffective. Therefore, continuous surveillance over the control point is obvious. However, the pertinent point to be noted here is that the persons employed should be held accountable for the disruptions. The access to data which might be related to periodical changes in the system, time logs, inspection schedules, etc. should be restricted. 4. Reporting system It is very important to establish a reporting system which is consistent with the operational procedures mentioned above. For example, reporting by an employee at a junior level in a surveillance team to a senior officer or manager in ‘system administration’ even by way of marking copies should be completely eliminated. 5. Job rotation The employees in system administration would be in contact with the customers. It should be ensured that the customers and the employees understand that the relationship is only temporary. Intimate knowledge about the customers beyond certain level is not required for the efficient functioning of the employee. HRD It should be understood that the operational procedures proposed aim at precaution at all levels, considering the basic nature of the business and ethical values involved. Therefore, the profile of the job requirements on the part of the employees has special importance as discussed under Section 3: Corporate Culture and Hiring Practices. The role of HRD in operational procedures is very critical and crucial. Therefore, the HRD should be equipped with exceptional talents for this purpose, and hence, reorganization or restructuring of HRD in tune with the requirements is a prerequisite for effective implementation of the strategy. References: Lie, D. and Satyanarayanan, M., Quantifying the Strength of Security Systems, http://www.usenix.org/event/hotsec07/tech/full_papers/lie/lie_html/ The Alliance for Enterprise Security Risk Management, (200), Convergent Security Risks in Physical Security Systems and IT Infrastructures, http://www.isaca.org/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm?ContentID=43024 Ruck, J.N. and Price, G., Misuse Cases: earlier and smarter information security, Royal Holloway Series, SearchSecurity.co.UK, http://media.techtarget.com/searchSecurityUK/downloads/RHUL_Ruck_final.pdf U.S. Postal Services, (2001), 2001 Comprehensive Statement on Postal Operations, Chapter II. K 8. a. Secure Metering Systems, http://www.usps.com/history/cs01/c2k-8.htm Read More