Ethics Program, Coursework Example

XYZ Management Consulting Services

In light of the fact that increased scrutiny on corporate actions and those who represent the corporation have been the norm, XYZ Management Consulting Services (“the Firm”) has implemented a new ethics program that includes a Standards and Procedures Code of Ethics (Pilot, 2008), an Ethics Training Plan, a Conduct Monitoring Reporting System, and an Ethics Program Review and Improvement Plan.

Standards and Procedures

Code of Ethics

Policy

It is the policy of the Firm to provide each employee with this Code of Ethics that will serve as a resource of information for the purpose of influencing appropriate business conduct among all employees. Each employee is expected to become familiar with this Code of Ethics and adhere to its contents, intended to guide employees’ behavior and business conduct to uphold the highest standards of integrity and responsibility. Following are the precepts of this Code of Ethics for XYZ Management Consulting Services.

Every employee of this firm will receive a copy of the Code of Ethics and is expected to abide by its contents. Each employee will be asked to submit a signed copy, verifying receipt and intent of compliance with the Code of Ethics. We are confident that every employee is concerned about the welfare of our firm now and into the future. Therefore, we are happy to present to you this guide for business conduct and hope that you will adopt its principles and adhere to them.

Trust and Credibility

XYZ Management Consulting Services has built a reputation on trust and credibility by giving quality service and consistent commitment to high standards of honesty and integrity to all of our clients, employees, shareholders and the public. This has been essential to the success of this organization. We will strive to maintain credibility and to keep the trust of our clients, employees and shareholders through our ongoing efforts of being honest and conducting business with integrity and concern.

We encourage every employee to keep these principles in mind with conducting business or while displaying any behavior, in public or on the job, that may be communicated as associated with the Firm.

The Tone from the Top, Down

The Firm’s executive and management team is committed to setting a tone of high standards by leading by example. Management is responsible for and will be held accountable for demonstrating the precepts contained in this Code of Ethics. Management will be diligent in addressing issues that may be of an ethical nature and also any concerns from employees, shareholders, clients or the public.

Compliance

As part of adherence to this Code of Ethics, the Firm is committed to upholding all laws and regulatory compliance statutes when doing business, and all employees must do the same.

Conflicts of Interest

The Firm will be diligent in remaining knowledgeable of any information which may cause a conflict of interest in any area, to prevent the same. Employees of the Firm are also responsible for the same.

Accepting Gifts

Employees of the Firm will be trained and must adhere to the strict policy of not accepting gifts or courtesies from clients over a predetermined value. This is payola and is illegal and unethical and is prohibited. In addition, employees must offer gifts and courtesies under the same rule.

Accurate Disclosure

The Firm will be diligent in accurately disclosing all pertinent financial reports in a timely manner. All employees responsible for preparing and distributing such reports are also obligated to remain diligent and truthful in reporting, without falsification of any kind.

Additionally, the Firm’s recordkeeping practices will be accurate and in full compliance with the rules and regulations of the Accounting Standards authority.

Accountability

Each employee is to be held accountable for his or her actions as it relates to this Code of Ethics. Also each employee will be committed to adhering to the precepts outlined herein. The Firm takes these precepts seriously and any violations of such will be cause for disciplinary action which may include termination of employment with the Firm. Additionally, the proper use of company resources is also an area in which each employee is accountable. There shall be no misuse of company time, materials, funds, equipment or information.

Confidentiality

Each employee is responsible for the complete confidentiality of all company, client and business partner information. Proprietary information is also a protected company confidentiality that must not be disclosed to the competition or suppliers or vendors, now or in the future, unless it is for a specific and authorized business purpose.

Compliance

Every employee confirms by the signing of a copy of this Code of Ethics to promise to uphold its precepts to the best of his or her ability, and to remain in compliance with the same.

Ethics Training Plan

The XYZ Consulting Services Ethics Training Program plan consists of the following components: (1) Teaching ethical judgment philosophies to employees, (2) Providing training on industry- and profession-specific ethical issues, (3) Informing employees of the Firm’s expectations on organizational ethics requirements, (4) Training employees on how to recognize their own personal ethical tendencies, (5) Helping employees analyze realistic views of ethical situations and decisions, and (6) Reinforcing ethics training mechanisms and principles with practice and role playing (Knouse & Giacalone, 1997).

This is the plan for how ethics training for the Firm will commence and this will be mandatory for all employees to attend the training sessions. Additionally, all new hires will attend ethics training. Also, ethics training refreshers will be mandatory for all employees to complete every year.

Conduct Monitoring and Reporting System

As a check and balance for ensuring compliance with the Firm’s Code of Ethics, the Firm has implemented a conduct reporting system to identify any non-compliance issues that may arise.

The purpose of this reporting system is to give employees a means of conveying information about any observed or experienced behavior that is deemed to be inappropriate, threatening or otherwise disruptive and in non-compliance with the statutes set forth in the Firm’s Code of Ethics. All misconduct incidences will be monitored, audited and reported.

Violations can be reported to the employee’s immediate supervisor or by contacting the security team either by phone (555-555-5555) or email ([email protected]).

Ethics Program Review and Improvement Plan

As with any endeavor, it is a fact that all aspects of it will not be perfect. For this reason, the Firm has put in place a means for setting aside room for further improvement with this ethics program. Each year, the Firm will send out a survey to each employee to get an assessment of how each employee feels the ethics program is working and also to identify any issues not brought up through the ethics program procedures during the year.

The improvement plan also includes delegating an Ethics Program Improvement team to take on the responsibility of managing the improvement process throughout the year and to make sure every employee has the pertinent information to complete assessments related to the ethics program improvement initiative.

Also, management will continue to monitor and track information about any ethics issues, concerns, suggestions or updates throughout the year. At year end, reports will be compiled to ascertain where the program may need to be improved over time.

Conclusion

XYZ Consulting Services receives most of its funding from government sources and this means that we will be closely monitored and scrutinized in our dealings with our clients. By establishing this formal ethics program, we are taking the right steps to ensure that we are well-equipped to handle any compliance issues and are as equally ready to fix any issues and remain in compliance with regulatory standards. It is imperative that XYZ Consulting Services do its due diligence to ensure compliance and adherence to the rules and regulations set forth in this ethics program. Our success and future growth depends on it.

References

Knouse, S. B., & Giacalone, R. A. (1997, June). The Six Components of Successful Ethics Training. Business and Society Review.

Pilot. (2008, December 15). Sample Code of Ethics and Business Conduct. Retrieved from Pilot Pen: https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:cFIp7YED9dIJ:www.pilotpen.us/CodeofEthics.pdf+&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEEShkJVg9iBxl1Zruji7yfZ1U_oYOUQ_Cqj95TH0n1BiwpPQWVAcKjrx9A4DxKcNvqPPF3EmYqv69tBwmM78niHvGblZzRdgY5dkDtYpuTDaNuTOxeqM9UO86Ta5LKpbiyfiCbX01