Social Performance
Corporate ethics is an applied ethical form examining ethical principles and moral issues arising in a business environment. It covers all aspects of conduct in the business and relates to the conduct of individuals and the organization at large. It takes the descriptive and normative dimensions with careers and corporate practices falling under normative and studies trying to understand the behaviors of the business employing a descriptive method. Governments direct business behavior in the right and beneficial directions by the use of laws and regulation. People in the same set of business ventures rarely come together not for merriment and diversion but for scheme against the public (Paul and Elder, 2006).
Briefly describe your company and then benchmark the codes of conduct used by similar companies in the industry. Critique the codes of conduct of at least three (3) similar companies in order to write codes for your company.
Bp is a company that specializes in the installation of solar powered streetlights contracted in the lighting of streets due to the increased insecurity resulting from poor lighting in most areas. Valmont industries specializes in producing lighting materials and according to Mogens Bay, ethics is the driver of an organization. The company tries to embrace a family mode of operation in the industry where each one in the organization treats as an equal. Ethics is how you treat your fellow employees and not only making decisions ethically (Bay). Employees need to be treated with compassion but the compassion has to be limited to achieve the set goals, as some duties need an override of ethics for them to be achieved.
Advanced lighting technologies observe the importance and significance of ethics within its corporate governance program. Rules regarding persons and peer responsibility embody the ethics code as well as their responsibilities to the company, stakeholders, and public. The company requires individuals to demonstrate honest at all times by avoiding personal or professional conflicts. Provision of accurate, complete, relevant, and timely information to the constituents (public, stakeholders) is a requirement. A company should preserve some information from the eyes of the public and competitors, as an insight to every happening in the company is critical to the growth and achievement of its set goals. The company requires all its employees to comply with rules and regulations of the land (federal, state, provincial, and local government).
General Electronics embraces ethics and compliance as a benchmark for its operations. Employees have freedom to associate with their managers directly, anonymously report to an ombudsman through different channels, and take their concerns directly to the Human Resource manager (Mackie, 2000).
Analyze ways ethical challenges affect your business and create a code of conduct for your company. Provide a rationale on how these specific codes enhance your company’s ethics program.
Ethics create an enabling environment for a corporation to carry its daily operations in an organized manner. They provide a framework from which an organization maintains a cordial relationship with its employees and stakeholders as it dictates the dos and don’ts in the organization. They make the core values of an organization the driving force in decision-making. They enable employees communicate readily and comfortably on issues typically sensitive and difficult to discuss (Kidder, 2001).
Organizations ought to grow beyond the view that ethics as a necessity to safeguarding their reputation hence avoiding bad public image. Bp strives to embrace all the above to provide an enabling environment for successful execution and delivery of service.
After reviewing the Federal Sentencing Guidelines for Organizations, explain how these guidelines influence the ethics program you created.
To attain an effective compliant and ethics program, Bp strives to diligently detect and prevent criminal conduct. It also works to promote an organizational culture encouraging ethics and a commitment to enforcement and compliance. For effectiveness in prevention and detection of criminal conduct, the compliance and ethics program require reasonable design, enforcement, and implementation (Paul and Elder, 2006). The sentencing guidelines require Bp’s governing authority to be knowledgeable on operations and content of the program and to sensibly exercise oversight in implementation and effectiveness of the program. The sentencing guidelines require delegation of day-to-day operations of the organization to individuals in the organization to monitor the ethics program.
The guidelines further require the organization from period to period practically communicate its standards and procedures together with other aspects of the program to the governing authority, high-level personnel, substantial authority personnel, its employees, and its agents if deemed appropriate.
The program is after the detection of criminal conduct and is required to respond by taking reasonable steps to prevent further similar conducts. It is achievable through making necessary modifications to the program.
Anticipate where the challenges or setbacks may be in the adoption and enforcement of the codes of conduct for your company. Explain how you will address these challenges and anticipated setbacks.
Companies experience a lot many huddles in the implementation of the ethics code and Bp expects a rough road towards attaining an ethical environment within the organization and its environs. As ethics are laws, regulators cannot control compliance to them but can only enforce consequences to violation and ingenuity “don’t get caught” behavior crops in. commitment to comply becomes a decision based on integrity (Paul and Elder, 2006).
Some ethical values greatly contradict with some people’s believes and traditional and this imparts major huddle in enforcement of the ethics in an organization. During the implementation, all the interests of the affected parties put into consideration giving rise to contradictions.
Given the influences of changing economic, political, social, cultural, and technological forces on business and society, explain how you can ensure that your codes of conduct will remain relevant in the years ahead.
Time does change at an alarming speed and the best overall ethical program is one that is dynamic. Bp will ensure an environment that keeps trends up to date so that the program updates at the slightest change in values.
A projection ahead for expected changes in the market, society and business will enable the technical team in ethics evaluate the possibility of a need to change the ethics and provides a clear cut route to doing so (Kilcullen, & Kooistra, 1999).
References
Mackie, J. L. (2000). Ethics: Inventing Right and Wrong. London: Penguin.
Paul, R., Elder, L. (2006). The Miniature Guide to Understanding the Foundations of Ethical Reasoning. New York: Foundation for Critical Thinking Free Press.
Kidder, R.M. (2001). Ethics is not optional. Association Management. Retrieved 05 Mar. 05 2013 from http://proquest.umi.com.eres.regent.edu/Kilcullen, M., & Kooistra, J. O. (1999). At least do no harm: Sources on the changing role of business ethics and corporate social responsibility. Reference Services Review, 27(2), 158-178.
