It also affects employee performance. Most people want to be ethical in their business dealings. Employees make better decisions in less time with business ethics as a guiding principle; this increases productivity and overall employee morale. …show more content…
A code of ethics should come from top management and be impressed upon all employees or organizational members. An effective code of ethics can enhance a business’ reputation.
Usually, code of ethics covers following issues : Business relationships which includes never taking unfair advantage of others through manipulation, concealment, abuse of privileged information, misrepresentation of material facts or any other unfair dealing practice, not offering or receiving gifts from clients that is of more than token value or that goes beyond the common courtesies, business communication which includes taking care to avoid exaggeration, colourful language, guesswork, legal conclusions and derogatory remarks or characterizations of people and other companies, etc.
A code of conduct is a set of rules outlining the social norms and rules and responsibilities of an individual, party or organization. The terms ‘Code of Ethics’ and ‘Code of Conduct’ are often used interchangeably but do not necessarily mean the same. The code of ethics is publicly available and addressed to anyone with an interest in the company's activities and the way it does business. It will include details of how the company plans to implement its values and vision, as well as guidance to staff on ethical standards and how to achieve them. However, a code of conduct is generally addressed to and intended for employees alone. It usually sets out …show more content…
By clearly defining the responsibilities towards society and towards the employees, some specific policies can be set that are easier for employees to follow. And then these policies need to be communicated to the employees. It is also required to make sure these policies are easily accessible, whether that means placing them on the company intranet or hanging them on the office wall.
Understanding of company’s current ethical culture is required to determine the areas in need of improvement. After that, employees need to be trained by setting up seminars, workshops, and similar ethical training programs to recognise ethical scenarios, and tackle them with discretion. These training sessions can be used to reinforce the organization’s standards of conduct, to clarify what practices are and are not permissible, and to address possible ethical dilemmas.
People who act ethically should be visibly rewarded for their behaviour. Just as importantly, unethical acts should be punished. The organization needs to provide formal mechanisms so that employees can discuss ethical dilemmas and report unethical behaviour without fear of