Developing a comprehensive code of ethics and implementation plan

Code of Ethics

Application of the Code

Structure of the Code

Statement of Values

Sources of Ethical Values

Other Important Principles

Training and Communication Plan

Implementation Plan

Plan for the Role of Leadership

Corporate Social Issues

Code of Ethics

In order to survive in the present business world, it is necessary for the organizations to comply with a set of ethical considerations, laws and regulations. In addition to that, in order to operate fluently, the organization has to raise its voice against social issues and problems so that it might be able to function fluently in the society (Staff Members of the Adventure Travel Trade Association, 2013; Staff Members of the University of California, 2011; Staff Members of the University of Houston-Victoria, 2010). The following paper develops a code of ethics for an organization. In addition to that, the paper also develops a communication and implementation plan, ethical consideration for international business, and leadership role in relation to ethics.

2. Code of Ethics

2.1. Purpose

This code of ethics is developed for the benefit of the organization and those working in it. To meet the core values and objectives of the organization and to ensure the ethical conduct of the organizations and its employees, this code of ethic is developed and implemented as per the implementation plan included therein. This statement covers all the aspects of the organization's beliefs in legal, philosophical, ethical and professional principles. (Brenkert & Beauchamp, 2010; O'Sullivan, Smith & Esposito, 2012; Staff Members of the Adventure Travel Trade Association, 2013)

2.2. Application of the Code

The ethical standards and principles identified in this code are applicable on all the employees and members and in some cases the stakeholders of the organization. It also plays a vital role in determining the stakeholders and dealing with them. As the tagline of operations of the organization infers that the stakeholders of organization represent it in all aspects, the code and the principles identified therein govern all of the stakeholders so as to depict a positive image of the organization in the society.(Brenkert & Beauchamp, 2010; O'Sullivan, Smith & Esposito, 2012; Staff Members of the Adventure Travel Trade Association, 2013)

2.3. Structure of the Code

This code is designed in the form of sections. Each section appearing in the form of a separate heading, identifies the important elements or principle se therein. All the sections revolved around the five core values identified in the statement of values. Comments and explanations are included in the code where required.(Brenkert & Beauchamp, 2010; O'Sullivan, Smith & Esposito, 2012; Staff Members of the Adventure Travel Trade Association, 2013)

2.4. Statement of Values

The organization will govern all of its operations on the basis of the following core values:

Integrity: Management, employees and other relevant people as well as the organization is to exercise integrity and honesty in all its dealings. Moreover, all the persons are expected to deal fairly in all the transactions and with everyone.

Accountability: The stakeholders, employee, management and other staff is responsible for each other, the organization and the community on the whole. They are expected to take responsibility and will be held accountable for their responsibilities. Moreover, each responsible person is expected to discharge his responsibilities in accordance with the governing principles of this code.

Respect: Mutual trust and respects are core parts of the organizational culture and this code. All the responsible persons are expected to respect each other as well as the objectives of the organization. The organization is also committed to treat every stake holder with respect and dignity.

Compliance: Every connected person and organization as a whole is expected to comply with all the legal, regulatory, ethical and professional requirements that are and will be applicable on organization from time to time.

Corporate social responsibility: Organization as a whole is committed to the society and will work collectively for the benefit of the society and community as a whole. It is one of the core principles of the organization, to share the benefits earned from the society with the society.(Brenkert & Beauchamp, 2010; O'Sullivan, Smith & Esposito, 2012; Staff Members of the Adventure Travel Trade Association, 2013)

2.4.1. Sources of Ethical Values

These values come from a wide variety of sources, the most important of which is religion. In addition to that, due to enhanced emphasis on ethics and increase in consumer awareness, regarding the ethical performance of the organizations, businesses generally follow the theory of moral unity, which indicates that the actions of an organization are governed by the broader norms of the society in which they operate.(Brenkert & Beauchamp, 2010; O'Sullivan, Smith & Esposito, 2012; Staff Members of the Adventure Travel Trade Association, 2013; Staff Members of the University of California, 2011; Staff Members of the University of Houston-Victoria, 2010)

Moreover, ethics and ethical considerations have developed over a period of time. Occurrences of unethical instance and their repercussions have led to the strengthening of ethical considerations by formulation of laws and regulations governing the matters of ethics and morals. (Brenkert & Beauchamp, 2010; O'Sullivan, Smith & Esposito, 2012; Staff Members of the Adventure Travel Trade Association, 2013; Staff Members of the University of California, 2011; Staff Members of the University of Houston-Victoria, 2010)

a. Philosophy

Apart from religion, other sources that lead towards the development of ethical norms for an organization include philosophy. This is because philosophy has been indicating, for years, what is wrong and what is right. This, as a result, enables an individual to develop values, which can be defined as principles, standards and lasting beliefs that indicate what is right and what is wrong, to alter the behavior of the organization and make it ethically and socially responsible.(Brenkert & Beauchamp, 2010; O'Sullivan, Smith & Esposito, 2012; Staff Members of the Adventure Travel Trade Association, 2013; Staff Members of the University of California, 2011; Staff Members of the University of Houston-Victoria, 2010)

b. Cultural Experience

In addition to that, the culture to which an individual belongs also shape and alter his or her beliefs and attitudes, and lead towards the development of ethical values. These values are then transmitted from one generation to another. (Brenkert & Beauchamp, 2010; O'Sullivan, Smith & Esposito, 2012; Staff Members of the Adventure Travel Trade Association, 2013)The two major reasons that underlie the cross cultural differences in ethical values include:

Ethical Universalism: This concept indicates that human nature remains the same across different cultures and nations; as a result, the ethical values are also transcultural. In other words, the ethical values do not vary widely from one region to another. (Brenkert & Beauchamp, 2010; O'Sullivan, Smith & Esposito, 2012; Staff Members of the Adventure Travel Trade Association, 2013)

Ethical Relativism: This concept, on the other hand, indicates that even though human nature remains the same but the divergence and variety in ethical values can be created and justified on the basis of culture. It is, however, not possible to indicate that one value is superior to the other. (Brenkert & Beauchamp, 2010; O'Sullivan, Smith & Esposito, 2012; Staff Members of the Adventure Travel Trade Association, 2013)

It has also been indicated by Donaldson and Dunfee that all the human societies are governed by a deep social contract, which as a result lead towards the development of hypernorms. Hyper norms, here, can be defined as a set of moral and ethical principles that govern all the activities associated with human ethics. These hyper norms, however, are very broad, and as a result provide a large number of ethical practices with moral space, under which a number of inconsistent norms can exist if they are not contradictory to the established hyper norms.(Brenkert & Beauchamp, 2010; O'Sullivan, Smith & Esposito, 2012; Staff Members of the Adventure Travel Trade Association, 2013; Crfonline.org, 2015)

c. Laws and Regulations

The law acts as a source of ethical values by codifying and for ethical expectations and formulating ethical guidelines for the organizations. The laws enforce these legal expectations through the deployment of a wide variety of tools, which include:

Criminal prosecution of managers and corporations,

Damages,

Fines

And sentencing.

d. Other

Apart from religion, philosophy, cultural experience and laws, the following sources also play an important role in determining the ethical values of a corporation:

Leaders: The leaders play an important role in setting the ethical tone of the organization. They establish the ethical structure of the organization on the basis of their practices. It is, therefore, necessary for the leaders to ensure that their actions and day-to-day activities are in alignment with the ethical policy of the organization. In addition to that, it is also the responsibility of the leaders and managers to set ethical strategies and professional goals, which are real and attainable, so that the employees may not be pressurized to pursue unethical behavior.(Brenkert & Beauchamp, 2010; O'Sullivan, Smith & Esposito, 2012; Staff Members of the Adventure Travel Trade Association, 2013)

Culture: Every organization has a different culture and norms and practices that reflects in the dealings of an organization and its employees. Thus, it is very important to devise a code of ethics that aligns with the organizational culture or change the culture to incorporate ethical practices. It is crucial, because the organizational culture influences the behavior and if ethical principles are not a part of culture then it will be very difficult to completely follow the principles underlined in this document. (Brenkert & Beauchamp, 2010; O'Sullivan, Smith & Esposito, 2012; Staff Members of the Adventure Travel Trade Association, 2013)

Individual Personality Traits: Personality and character of the employees of the organization are also a powerful force in implementation of ethical principles and guidelines. The individuals personal traits are thus of crucial importance to the organization. (Brenkert & Beauchamp, 2010; O'Sullivan, Smith & Esposito, 2012; Staff Members of the Adventure Travel Trade Association, 2013; Crfonline.org, 2015)

2.5. Other Important Principles

Along with the core values and principles identified in section 2.4 of the code, the organization and all the connected persons will also comply with the following ethical considerations in its / their day-to-day dealings:

Conflict of Interest: The organization will define a complete procedure for identifying and resolving the conflict of interest. For the matter a committee will be established by the Board. The sole objective of the committee is to devise methods and policy to identify and resolve conflicts of interest on time. Moreover, the management and all other staff members are responsible to report any incidence of conflict of interest immediately the responsible committee.(Brenkert & Beauchamp, 2010; O'Sullivan, Smith & Esposito, 2012; Staff Members of the Adventure Travel Trade Association, 2013)

Governance: Leadership and good governance are vital to effective implementation and continuous monitoring of the principles set out in the code. The board of directors of the organization are the highest authority for the purpose of this code and they will ensure its compliance and monitor the performance. (Brenkert & Beauchamp, 2010; O'Sullivan, Smith & Esposito, 2012; Staff Members of the Adventure Travel Trade Association, 2013)

Confidentiality: All the connected and concerned individuals employed in the organization are expected to should take all necessary steps to protect the data and confidential information of the organizations or the organization's stakeholders, which is in the custody of the organization and connected persons.(Brenkert & Beauchamp, 2010; O'Sullivan, Smith & Esposito, 2012; Staff Members of the Adventure Travel Trade Association, 2013)

Internal controls: The Board will assign responsible individuals the task of designing effective internal controls and testing them so as to ensure that all the dealings of the organization and its connected persons are conducted as per the ethical considerations.(Brenkert & Beauchamp, 2010; O'Sullivan, Smith & Esposito, 2012; Staff Members of the Adventure Travel Trade Association, 2013)

2.6. Training and Communication Plan

This is the responsibility of the board to nominate three members to form a committee responsible for the training of all the employees, staff members and other connected people about this code of ethics. For that matter the committee will devise a proper formal training program that will, among other things, educate all the relevant individuals with the requirements of this code. The trainings will also aim at developing a sense of ethics and morality in them. The committee will report monthly to the board and list down the percentage of trained staff. Moreover, the Board will, immediately after approval, circulate this code of ethics to all the relevant individuals. Effective communication of all the changes in the code and proper trainings of the staff are crucial for the implementation of ethical considerations in the organization's dealings. (Brenkert & Beauchamp, 2010; O'Sullivan, Smith & Esposito, 2012; Staff Members of the Adventure Travel Trade Association, 2013)

2.7. Implementation Plan

Immediately after the approval of the code by the Board, the Board will release an implementation plan and timeline of the code and share it with all the relevant individuals. Among other things the plan will include that the core principles and consideration of the code are to be implemented and practiced immediately. However, the Board may define timelines for the formation of committees required by the code and setting their core responsibilities. Moreover, the employees will be regularly tested, either directly or indirectly, about their knowledge and understanding of the code. Any person who finds any difficulty in comprehending the meaning behind any identified principle can contact the board or any committee nominated by the board in this matter. (Brenkert & Beauchamp, 2010; O'Sullivan, Smith & Esposito, 2012; Staff Members of the Adventure Travel Trade Association, 2013)

2.8. Plan for the Role of Leadership

As defined earlier, the overall responsibility for implementation, monitoring and control of the code is of the board. However, the board will delegate various committees to carry out the functions and responsibilities identified in the code. For that matter the committees will have effective and capable representatives from various departments that the board thinks necessary. The board will nominate the following committees necessarily:

Conflict of interest resolution committee,

Training and development committee,

Implementation, monitoring and control committee

As indicated by the names the committees will have clear roles and responsibilities. (Brenkert & Beauchamp, 2010; O'Sullivan, Smith & Esposito, 2012; Staff Members of the Adventure Travel Trade Association, 2013)

Another crucial role played by the leaders and manager is guiding and setting footsteps for others to follow. Management will ensure that they are the first to comply with nay requirement of the code and will make a path (clear and fair) for others to follow. (Brenkert & Beauchamp, 2010; O'Sullivan, Smith & Esposito, 2012; Staff Members of the Adventure Travel Trade Association, 2013)