Assessment and Alteration of Company Code of Ethics - Report Example

Assessment and Alteration of Company of Ethics By You Your Here Here Assessment and Alteration of Company of Ethics Introduction Regarding issues of conflict of interest, the company ethics code defines this as any situation, personal or private, which interferes with the interests of the business. This includes situations in which family members of employees receive improper benefits, such as passing trade secrets. Regarding sexual harassment, the code of ethics does not address this issue other than to demand that employees continuously consider the rights of others, which creates the opportunity for modification of the existing ethics policies. In relation to hiring and firing policies, the ethics code demands strict compliance to both internal and governmental regulations and ensures that due process is performed in the event of disciplinary reviews. This report will identify a system of inquiry by which compliance to the code of ethics can be measured and further offer a serious of change initiatives needed to update and streamline the existing code of ethics. Decision-Making for Ethics Issues Conflict of interest issues are rather heavily addressed in the existing code of ethics, further including issues of passing insider information or the sale of trade secrets in exchange for competitor reimbursement. From a decision-making perspective, it is important to identify the nature of the business, including dealings with external vendors or customers, to determine how far-reaching the code of ethics should be (Klein, 2002). For instance, since this organization works routinely with a wide variety of suppliers and distributors, the opportunity for off-site ethics violations in relation to conflict of interest are potentially large. Internally, it would be important to identify which specific departments have the broadest range of responsibilities, analyze their ability to access crucial company funds or information, and then develop an appropriate conflict of interest code which includes all members of staff. In relation to the sexual harassment issues at the company, there is a significant need to redesign the code of ethics to specifically define what constitutes sexual harassment, as this is missing from the existing document. It must be considered that this creates the potential opportunity for misconceptions or misunderstandings pertaining to the legal issues surrounding sexual harassment, also causing significant risk to the business for not clarifying its stand on sexual harassment issues. Many companies have been caught with their proverbial pants down and forced to pay large financial payouts when sued by sexually harassed workers in court for not clarifying their harassment and procedural policies on this issue (Vagra, 2002). Hence, realizing that sexual harassment can affect everyone in the organization, including both men and women, these policies should be expressed to include the entire organizational staff. Hiring and firing practices, as outlined in the existing code of ethics, offer the promise of internal due process to assess the disciplinary allegations, but offers nothing of substance regarding the hiring practices of the firm. Many managers in the organization maintain responsibility for hiring employees in different departments, thus a careful analysis of management expectations should be conducted prior to adding a new code regarding these practices. It must be determined as to whether management has been properly trained on the most up-to-date hiring practices and assess their knowledge of current hiring laws. Once the company has assessed the risk and determined that the staff is competent to hire (or terminate) effectively, the new code of ethics can be constructed and implemented. Constructing the System of Inquiry In order to determine whether staff members are complying with the obligations and demands of the company’s code of ethics, a rather new and innovative system of inquiry requires development. Developing this system required a competent review of the organizational structure, identifying the most appropriate means to distribute and communicate the information. According to Cross & Gregonis (2003), auditing measures to include observational research, random records auditing, and interview schedules are effective methods to identify whether ethics violations have occurred. Using this definition as inspiration, Tables 1 illustrates the internal system of inquiry template which will be utilized for this firm. TABLE 1 Interview Schedule 1. Have you witnessed unethical behavior recently from colleagues or managers? 2. Are there elements missing from our company code of ethics that you feel should be addressed? 3. Have any competitors or external suppliers offered you something in exchange for private company information? Additional questions, as determined by the new Ethics Champion Team, will be added as supplements to the new system of inquiry for ethics violations The system of inquiry will be utilized by all members of senior and junior management as a tool to discover whether ethics violations have occurred and assess whether real-world business issues are occurring which require adaptation to the existing code of ethics. It will protect the company from the risk of failing to provide adequate corporate literature in the event of a legal or ethics issue as well as protecting the rights of employees. The different auditing tools will be distributed to senior and junior management via the corporate Intranet, which will allow for immediate printing of the auditing documents, ensuring the information is always available. Depending on the nature of the specific task assigned to the management staff, either the observational template or interview schedules will be used; only senior management will have access to records auditing for security purposes. Scheduling a timescale by which to utilize the system of inquiry tools is not pre-determined as it will be unique to each individual department at the company. Random auditing will occur when work schedules of senior leadership are able to devote several days to audit practices. Junior management will have access to observational and interview tools consistently. Problem-Solving: Implementing the System of Inquiry During the course of identifying whether conflicts of interest have occurred or whether the business’ needs have been jeopardized by employee behaviors, the appropriate process of disciplinary action must be determined for the violator. This requires collaborative effort on behalf of junior and senior leadership to establish a schedule of disciplinary actions which are balanced to the severity of the violation. Hence, when auditing takes place which locates such violations, additions to the code of ethics must be constructed to establish a firm policy and protect the interests of the firm and provide a fair disciplinary process. This is similarly true for sexual harassment violators or those in management who receive allegations of unfair hiring and firing practices. The observational research is designed to sharpen the wits of the management team, making them more aware of their workplace surroundings to identify whether employees are engaged in hushed conversations with outside vendors or otherwise suspicious activities. This will also establish a larger managerial presence in the routine operations of employees, making them more apt to work in a responsible manner. The interview template consists of key questions regarding whether employees have witnessed unethical behavior from managers or colleagues, as research indicates that many employees are afraid to report these issues due to worry over being incorrect about their perceptions (Mathis & Jackson, 2005). However, the company would rather assess potential ethics violations based on employee perceptions and observations rather than being caught off guard in a legal situation. The interview schedule will also build trust between leadership and the employees, as highly-visible management focus on ethics-related issues will indicate to the staff that the company is dedicated to providing an ethical workplace to protect employees. Random records auditing should occur as needed, or at least three times per year. This will require electronic authorization to access historical payroll accounts, purchasing agreements, accounting information, and (if necessary) inter-office correspondence (email and intranet). Such discrepancies in finance are often found by external auditors who perform yearly audits, however with such a vast variety of employees having electronic access to critical data systems, a more in-depth internal investigation is required by management who is familiar with the company’s data and financial systems. Making the Code Changes As previously reported, the sexual harassment ethics policy must be established and added to the existing code of ethics, as none currently exists. This report believes that by identifying the specific elements of what constitutes sexual harassment, as well as addressing a zero tolerance stand against the issue, it will actually create a more productive environment. Research indicates that when employees feel that policies are ambiguous or widely undefined, their perceptions of security are diminished (Mathis & Jackson). Thus, from a psychological perspective, adding a segment to highlight sexual harassment issues is emotionally beneficial to the subordinate staff. Regarding fair hiring and firing practices, code changes should be implemented to identify issues of fair employment policies, such as acceptable behavior during the pre-employment screening and interview process. Such changes would illustrate the company’s firm commitment to diversity while also assuring that employees are protected against biased managerial performance assessments. This report believes that whenever employees are granted employment protections, their loyalty to the firm increases, based on research data (Gomez-Mejia, Balkin & Cardy, 2005). Ensuring that these changes are successfully implemented requires a firm commitment on behalf of both junior and senior leadership to collaborate in improving the system of inquiry for ethics auditing and publicly supporting the firm’s commitment to excellence in business ethics. As such, it has been determined that the assignment of an Ethics Champion Team should be established, consisting of two employees, one member of junior management, and one senior manager to take ownership of policy corrections or system of inquiry assignments. This will provide a diverse cross-section of ideas which will enhance the procedures of ethics auditing. The potential effects of the aforementioned ethics code changes will likely include enhanced social and professional relationships between employees and the management team, driven by increased visibility within the department and periodic interview schedules. This will likely create a workforce that is driven toward a common purpose and remains focused on compliance to ethics-related issues in everyday job function. In addition, the company will maintain an image as a leader amongst competition in relation to excellence in ethics, perhaps granting the firm positive public relations exposure to increase the public’s perception of corporate social responsibility. This would not only benefit the company, but also enhance relationships with suppliers and customers, providing opportunities for better compensation and reward packages when ethical performance continues. Conclusion The new system of inquiry for determining whether the code of ethics is being followed was developed as a risk management tool and one by which the company can remain unified in working toward mutually-respectful office relationships. The observational research approach builds increased managerial competence and further diminishes opportunities for employees to act in covert behaviors against the firm and is one of the strongest components of the new system of inquiry. This Chief Ethics Officer will be distributing the new system of inquiry to all appropriate members of the junior and senior management staff, pending CEO approval of the new proposed system. Currently, there are no existing investigations into alleged unethical behaviors with anyone in the firm, and, with great managerial and subordinate collaboration, the new code of ethics and the system of inquiry will be an unparalleled business success and will serve as a benchmark to other companies in relation to ethical management. References Cross, Melanie & Gregonis, P.L. (2003). Tools for Practical Business Success. Harper Collins: 211-213. Gomez-Mejia, L.R., Balkin, D. & Cardy, R. (2005). Management: People, Performance, Change. 2nd ed. McGraw Hill Irwin: 79-81. Klein, James A. (2002). Contemporary Corporate Ethics: A 21st Century Perspective. 2nd ed. Thomson Wadsworth: 105, 108-109. Mathis, J. & Jackson, R. (2005). Human Resource Management. 10th ed. Thomson South-Western, United States: 287. Vagra, Anwar. (2002). Managing Human Resources. McGraw Hill Irwin: 88. Read More