" Mr. Killian proceeded to show that the organization's corporate culture was in fact based on a culture of integrity. This includes, he mentioned, "a culture of transparency and a culture of proper interrelationship with our partners," in the sense that the Code of Conduct, for example, was made public in governmental records and on the company's website.

Besides the actual existence of the Code of Conduct and its proliferation with the employees and shareholders, the company uses several other instruments to enforce a culture of ethics in the workplace. One of the means by which it does this is the Verizon Business Ethics Line, where every employee can call and report an internal act that breeched the Code of Conduct or the ethical regulations within the company.

We asked Mr. Killian what the organization does that might be considered philanthropic and he gave us a relevant example in this sense. Verizon Business has donated "nearly 100,000 100-minute prepaid calling cards to the USO, military hospitals and National Guard Units." Additionally, in some areas, Verizon Business employees and company members have assisted with creating care packages for some of the troops abroad.

Mr. Killian described the ethical perception at Verizon Business as closer to the concept of ethical relativism. According to him, Verizon Business tries hard to be ethical...

However, general ethical norms, such as integrity and accountability, are, in his opinion, mutually valid anywhere you go.
Mr. Killian's final opinions presented the idea that, while the Code of Conduct and the Verizon Business Ethics Line are instruments by which ethical value can be enforced within the company, many of the ethics best practices come in fact from the quality of the employees that are being hired and from the company's own ethical culture. The successful mixture of these elements ensures an ethical framework in which the organization can best perform.

Bibliography

1. Verizon Business Code of Conduct. On the Internet at http://www.verizonbusiness.com/us/about/conduct/coc.pdf.Last retrieved on October 8, 2007

2. From the Internet, at http://www.verizonbusiness.com/us/govt/cust_sol/defense/mission_ops/.Last retrieved on October 8, 2007

Verizon Business Code of Conduct. On the Internet at http://www.verizonbusiness.com/us/about/conduct/coc.pdf.Last retrieved on October 8, 2007

From the interview

From the Internet, at http://www.verizonbusiness.com/us/govt/cust_sol/defense/mission_ops/.Last retrieved on October 8, 2007