ACHIEVERS COLLEGE DL PROGRAM

DIPLOMA IN BUSISNESS MANAGEMENT

PROFESSIONAL ETHICS

Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that involves systematizing, defending,

and recommending concepts of right and wrong conduct. The field of ethics, along with
aesthetics, concerns matters of value, and thus comprises the branch
of philosophy called axiology.
Ethics seeks to resolve questions of human morality by defining concepts such as good and evil,
right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime. As a field of intellectual inquiry,
moral philosophy also is related to the fields of moral psychology, descriptive ethics, and value
theory.
Benefits of ethics in business
 Build Customer Loyalty
Consumers may let a company take advantage of them once, but if they believe they have been
treated unfairly, such as by being overcharged, they will not be repeat customers. Having a loyal
customer base is one of the keys to long-range business success, since serving an existing
customer does not involve marketing costs, whereas acquiring a new one does.
 Enhance a Company's Reputation
A company’s reputation for ethical behavior can help it create a more positive image in the
marketplace, which can bring in new customers through word-of-mouth referrals. Conversely, a
reputation for unethical dealings hurts the company’s chances to obtain new customers,
particularly in this age of social networking when dissatisfied customers can quickly disseminate
information about the negative experience they had.
 Retain Good Employees
Talented individuals at all levels of an organization want to be compensated fairly for their work
and dedication. They want career advancement within the organization to be based on the quality
of the work they do and not on favoritism. They want to be part of a company whose
management team tells them the truth about what is going on, such as when layoffs or
reorganizations are being contemplated.
Companies that are fair and open in their dealings with employees have a better chance of
retaining the most talented people. For instance, employees who do not believe the compensation
methodology is fair are often not as dedicated to their jobs as they could be.
 Positive Work Environment
Employees have a responsibility to be ethical from the moment they have their first job
interview. They must be honest about their capabilities and experience. Ethical employees are
perceived as team players rather than as individuals just out for themselves. They develop
positive relationships with coworkers. Their supervisors trust them with confidential information,
and they are often given more autonomy as a result.
.
 Avoid Legal Problems
At times, a company’s management may be tempted to cut corners in pursuit of profit, such as by
not fully complying with environmental regulations or labor laws, ignoring worker safety
hazards or using substandard materials in their products. The penalties for being caught can be
severe, including legal fees and fines or sanctions by governmental agencies. The resulting
negative publicity can cause long-range damage to the company’s reputation that is even more
costly than legal fees or fines.
 promote performance in am organization
 good coordination of activities
What is Social Responsibility?
Social responsibility means that businesses, in addition to maximizing shareholder value, must
act in a manner that benefits society. Social responsibility has become increasingly important to
investors and consumers who seek investments that are not just profitable but also contribute to
the welfare of society and the environment. However, critics argue that the basic nature of
business does not consider society as a stakeholder.

Responsibility towards Consumers or Customers

 The primary expectation of consumers towards the corporations is a stable supply of
goods and services
 . So, companies must meet that expectation by delivering the right product or service with
desirable quality at the right time, right place, and fair price.
 Improving the standard of living through delivery of high quality products.
 Treating the customers equally in the different aspects of the business interaction.
 Customer satisfaction Customer satisfaction, simply put, is how the customers are
properly dealt if, for example, they have complaints and queries. Companies are obliged
to deliver prompt and courteous attention to such issues.
 They must keep a fair advertising and trading standards and not mislead the consumers
into something that is not true.
 Firms are also responsible for providing the buying public with complete product,
service, and company information to both existing and potential customers.

 Responsibility towards employees

 An organization’s first responsibility is to provide a job to employees.

  Keeping people employed and letting them have time to enjoy the fruits of their labor is
the finest thing business can do for society.

 Beyond this fundamental responsibility, employers must provide a clean, safe working
environment that is free from all forms of discrimination.

 Companies should also strive to provide job security whenever possible.

 Enlightened firms are also empowering employees to make decisions on their own and
suggest solutions to company problems. Empowerment contributes to an employee’s self-
worth, which, in turn, increases productivity and reduces absenteeism.

 Responsibility towards society

 Business must also be responsible to society. A business provides a community with jobs,
goods, and services.
 It also pays taxes that go to support schools, hospitals, and better roads.
 Some companies have taken an additional step to demonstrate their commitment to
stakeholders and society as a whole by becoming Certified Benefit Corporations, or B
Corps for short. Verified by B Lab, a global nonprofit organization, B Corps meet the
highest standards of social and environmental performance,
 Public transparency and legal accountability and strive to use the power of business to
solve social and environmental problems.

 Meet peoples need

Theories of ethics and principles

Principles may be viewed here as „perspectives‟ (they are also the premises of a logical
argument). We may apply principles as we attempt to decide whether to act in one way or
another. In doing so we obtain different perspectives, understand what the consequences of a
particular course of action might be.
There are four primary principles in ethics:
 Autonomy is the capacity to think, decide and act on the basis of such thought and
decision, freely and independently
 Beneficence emphasizes the moral importance of doing good to others; in the context of
bioethics it refers to the promotion of what is best for the patient.
 Non-maleficence is often referred to as the opposite side of the coin to beneficence. It
states that we should not harm patients. It differs from beneficence in the scope of its
application: we have a prima facie duty not to harm anyone.
 Justice is a principle with four components: distributive justice; respect for the law;
rights and retributive justice. Distributive justice is concerned with the equitable
allocation of resources; the second refers to whether the fact that an act is or is not against
the law, is of moral relevance; rights are considered to be special advantages with
 correlative duties to provide them; retributive justice refers to making right when a wrong
has been perpetrated.
In addition we have these duties:
 Fidelity refers to meeting the patient’s reasonable expectations regarding respect,
competence, subscribing to a professional code of conduct, following policies and
procedures honoring agreements made between clinician and patient.
 Truth-telling relates to the disclosure of information in a respectful and compassionate
way.
Theories of ethics
. Four broad categories of ethical theory include
 deontology,
 utilitarianism,
 rights,
 Virtues.

 Deontology
 The deontological class of ethical theories states that people should adhere to their
obligations and duties when engaged in decision making when ethics are in play. This
means that a person will follow his or her obligations to another individual or society
because upholding one’s duty is what is considered ethically correct. For instance, a
deontologist will always keep his promises to a friend and will follow the law. A person
who adheres to deontological theory will produce very consistent decisions since they
will be based on the individual’s set duties. Deontology contains many positive attributes,
but it also contains flaws. One flaw is that there is no rationale or logical basis for
deciding an individual’s duties. For instance, a businessperson may decide that it is
his/her duty to always be on time to meetings. Although this appears to be something
good, we do not know why the person chose to make this his duty. Ask students what
reasons they might provide for this behavior. Sometimes, a person’s duties are in conflict.
For instance, if the business person who must be on time to meetings is running late, how
is he/she supposed to drive? Is speeding breaking his/her duty to society to uphold the
law, or is the businessperson supposed to arrive at the meeting late, not fulfilling the duty
to be on time? Ask students how they would rectify the conflicting obligations to arrive at
an a clear ethically-correct resolution. Also ask students to bring into play the
consideration of the welfare of others as a result of the business person’s decision.
 Utilitarianism -Utilitarian ethical theories are based on one’s ability to predict the
consequences of an action. To a utilitarian, the choice that yields the greatest benefit to
the most people is the one that is ethically correct. There are two types of
utilitarianism,
 Act utilitarianism and rule utilitarianism. Act utilitarianism subscribes precisely to the
definition of utilitarianism—a person performs the acts that benefit the most people,
regardless of personal feelings or the societal constraints such as laws.
  Rule utilitarianism takes into account the law and is concerned with fairness. A rule
utilitarian seeks to benefit the most people but through the fairest and most just means
available. Therefore, added benefits of rule utilitarianism are that it values justice and
includes beneficence at the same time. Both act and rule utilitarianism have
disadvantages. Although people can use their life experiences to attempt to predict
outcomes, no one can be certain that his/her predictions will be accurate. Uncertainty can
lead to unexpected results making the utilitarian decision maker appear unethical as time
passes, as the choice made did not benefit the most people as predicted. Another
assumption that a utilitarian decision maker must make concerns his/her ability to
compare the various types of consequences against each other on a similar scale. But,
comparing material gains, such as money, against intangible gains, such as happiness, is
very difficult since their qualities differ to such a large extent. An act utilitarian decision
maker is concerned with achieving the maximum good.
 . Rights theory- In ethical theories based on rights, the rights established by a society are
protected and given the highest priority. Rights are considered to be ethically correct and
valid since a large population endorses them. Individuals may also bestow rights upon
others if they have the ability and resources to do so. For example, a person may say that
her friend may borrow her laptop for the afternoon. The friend who was given the ability
to borrow the laptop now has a right to the laptop in the afternoon. A major complication
of this theory on a larger scale is that one must decipher what the characteristics of a right
are in a society. The society has to determine what rights it wants to uphold and give to
its citizens. In order for a society to determine what rights it wants to enact, it must
decide what the society’s goals and ethical priorities are. Therefore, in order for the rights
theory to be useful, it must be used in conjunction with another ethical theory that will
consistently explain the goals of the society. For example in America people have the
right to choose their religion because this right is upheld in the Constitution. One of the
goals of the Founding Fathers’ of America was to uphold this right to freedom of
religion.
 Virtue -The virtue ethical theory judges a person by his/her character rather than by an
action that may deviate from his/her normal behavior. It takes the person’s morals,
reputation, and motivation into account when rating an unusual and irregular behavior
that is considered unethical.
Types of ethics

Metaethics
The term "meta" means after or beyond, and, consequently, the notion of metaethics involves a
removed, or bird's eye view of the entire project of ethics. We may define metaethics as the study
of the origin and meaning of ethical concepts. When compared to normative ethics and applied
ethics, the field of metaethics is the least precisely defined area of moral philosophy. it covers
issues from moral semantics to moral epistemology.
2. Normative ethics
Normative ethics involves arriving at moral standards that regulate right and wrong conduct. In a
sense, it is a search for an ideal litmus test of proper behavior. The golden rule is a classic
example of a normative principle: we should do to others what we would want others to do to us.
Since i do not want my neighbor to steal my car, then it is wrong for me to steal her car. Since i
would want people to feed me if i was starving, then i should help feed starving people. Using
this same reasoning, i can theoretically determine whether any possible action is right or wrong.
So, based on the golden rule, it would also be wrong for me to lie to, harass, victimize, assault, or
kill others. The golden rule is an example of a normative theory that establishes a single
principle against which we judge all actions. Other normative theories focus on a set of
foundational principles, or a set of good character traits.
The key assumption in normative ethics is that there is only one ultimate criterion of moral
conduct, whether it is a single rule or a set of principles.
3. Applied ethics
Applied ethics is the branch of ethics which consists of the analysis of specific, controversial
moral issues such as abortion, animal rights, or euthanasia. In recent years applied ethical issues
have been subdivided into convenient groups such as medical ethics, business
ethics, environmental ethics, and sexual ethics. Generally speaking, two features are necessary
for an issue to be considered an "applied ethical issue." first, the issue needs to be controversial
in the sense that there are significant groups of people both for and against the issue at hand. The
issue of drive-by shooting, for example, is not an applied ethical issue, since everyone agrees that
this practice is grossly immoral. by contrast, the issue of gun control would be an applied ethical
issue since there are significant groups of people both for and against gun control.

REASON AS AUTHORITY
Reason is the capacity of consciously making sense of things, establishing and verifying facts,
applying logic, and adapting or justifying practices, institutions, and beliefs based on new or
existing information.[1] It is closely associated with such characteristically human activities
as philosophy, science, language, mathematics, and art, and is normally considered to be a
distinguishing ability possessed by humans.[2] Reason, or an aspect of it[weasel words], is sometimes
referred to as rationality.
Reasoning is associated with thinking, cognition, and intellect. The field of logic studies ways in
which human’s reason formally through argument.[3] Reasoning may be subdivided into forms
of logical reasoning (forms associated with the strict sense): deductive reasoning, inductive
reasoning, abductive reasoning; and other modes of reasoning considered more informal, such
as intuitive reasoning and verbal reasoning. Along these lines, a distinction is often drawn
between logical, discursive reasoning (reason proper), and intuitive reasoning,[4] in which the
reasoning process through intuition—however valid—may tend toward the personal and the
subjectively opaque
Purpose of reason in ethics
 Generate and sustain trust;
 demonstrate respect,
 responsibility,
 Fairness and caring; and are consistent with good citizenship.
These behaviors provide a foundation for making better decisions by setting the ground
rules for our behavior
Ethical decision-making refers to the process of evaluating and choosing among alternatives in
a manner consistent with ethical principles. In making ethical decisions, it is necessary to
perceive and eliminate unethical options and select the best ethical alternative.

The process of making ethical decisions requires:

 Commitment: The desire to do the right thing regardless of the cost

 Consciousness: The awareness to act consistently and apply moral convictions to daily
behavior
 Competency: The ability to collect and evaluate information, develop alternatives, and
foresee potential consequences and risks
Good decisions are both ethical and effective:

 Ethical decisions generate and sustain trust; demonstrate respect, responsibility, fairness
and caring; and are consistent with good citizenship. These behaviors provide a foundation
for making better decisions by setting the ground rules for our behavior.
 Effective decisions are effective if they accomplish what we want accomplished and if they
advance our purposes. A choice that produces unintended and undesirable results is
ineffective. The key to making effective decisions is to think about choices in terms of their
ability to accomplish our most important goals. This means we have to understand the
difference between immediate and short-term goals and longer-range goals.

AUTHORITIES OF MORAL JUDGMENT

Moral judgments refer to judgments that have moral content; they are used to evaluate
situations, courses of action, persons, behavior, etc. The basis of moral judgments is a topic of
some philosophical dispute. Some hold that moral judgments are based in intuition or feeling,
often in connection with the emotions
Measure of moral action
Moral action involves taking the necessary steps to transform the intent to do the right thing into
reality.
This includes
 moral ownership- mediates the relationship between perceived organizational support
and employee ethical behavior
 moral efficacy- . Self-efficacy is defined as the belief that one can carry out a task or set
of behaviors successfully
 moral courage.- concept, and track progress on a set of desired behaviors in response to
curricular interventions.
 Moral Self-Image
 We measured MSI by presenting nine traits perceived as prototypical of the ideally-moral
person (Aquino and Reed, 2002). Using a nine-point Likert Scale (1 = much less than the
X person I want to be; 9 = much more than the X person I want to be), we asked people to
indicate where they were relative to their ideal self on each trait; see Supplementary
Material.
 Moral Identity
 Moral identity is defined as having a self-conception organized around a set of moral
traits. Moral identity possesses two dimensions, internalization and symbolization.
Internalization is the importance people place on possessing these traits, and symbolism
is the importance they place on demonstrating these traits to others (e.g., through
membership in clubs or the clothes they wear). For example, an internalization item is,
“It would make me feel good to be a person who has these characteristics,” whereas
a symbolization item is, “I am actively involved in activities that communicate to others
that I have these characteristics.” Using the Aquino and Reed (2002) 10-item scale (1
= completely disagree; 7 = completely agree), we measured both dimensions and had
divergent predictions for each. Previous research has demonstrated that past moral
actions affect the symbolic but not the internalized moral identity (Jordan et al., 2011)
and that, instead, the internalized moral identity affects how people behaviorally respond
to immoral events (Mulder and Aquino, 2013). Thus, we hypothesized that while one's
MSI would not be affected by the importance one places on possessing moral traits
(internalization), it would be (positively) affected by the extent to which one
demonstrates the moral self to others (symbolization), as such public demonstrations
would boost people's conceptions of their moral selves.
 Generalized Self-Esteem
 Generalized self-esteem is defined as a person's global feelings of self-worth and -
acceptance. We measured self-esteem using Rosenberg's (1965) 10-item measure. Items
included, “On a whole, I am satisfied with myself,” and “At times, I think I am no good
at all (reverse-scored)” (1 = strongly disagree; 5 = strongly agree). Although, self-esteem
is considered a stable construct and MSI is considered a malleable construct, we
predicted a positive relationship between MSI and generalized self-esteem, given that
temporary self-appraisals have been found to be predictive of global self-esteem,
particularly when these self-appraisals are a part of the self that the person considers
central or core (see Kernis et al., 1993; Pelham, 1995).
 Moral Disengagement
 Moral disengagement is defined as, “an individual's propensity to evoke cognitions which
restructure one's actions to appear less harmful, minimize one's understanding of
responsibility for one's actions, or attenuate the perceptions of the distress one causes to
others” In other words, moral disengagement is a person's ability to rationalize his or her
immoral behavior in a way that helps reduce the negative feelings that would otherwise
result.
 Religiosity
 Religiosity is defined as the extent to which a person holds various religious beliefs..
Intuitively religiosity may be related to the perception of oneself as moral; indeed,
religiosity and people's desire to symbolize their moral self to others have been found to
be positively correlated (Aquino and Reed, 2002). Thus, we hypothesized a positive
relationship between religiosity and MSI.
  Negative Reciprocity Norm
 The negative reciprocity norm is the belief that it is appropriate to retaliate against an
immoral or unjust act leveled against oneself, which included, “If someone says
something nasty to you, you should say something nasty back” and “If someone treats
you badly, you should treat that person badly in return”
 Sympathy
 Sympathy is the ability to show concern for the needs and welfare of others.
 Positive and Negative Affect
 Gender and Age
 While there is some evidence that women reason differently and perhaps more complexly
about moral issues than men there is no evidence to suggest that women think of
themselves as any more or less moral then men. Similarly, there is evidence that moral
behavior changes from adolescence into adulthood but is fairly stable in adulthood the
age category of our samples. Thus, we predicted null relationships between MSI and both
the demographic variables of age and gender.

ETHICS AT WORK
ETHICAL DILEMA IN BUSINESS
An ethical dilemma is a problem where a person has to choose between a moral and an
immoral act. Employees must deal with pressures to perform and help the company succeed as
well as deal with personal temptations to take the easy way out
Ethical behavior is acting in ways that are consistent with how the business world views moral
principles and values.
The four major factors that can cause ethical problems in the workplace are:
 lack of integrity,
 organizational relationship problems,
 conflicts of interest,
 Misleading advertising.
Unethical issues in business
 Unethical Leadership. Having a personal issue with your boss is one thing, but reporting to a
person who is behaving unethically is another. ...
 Toxic Workplace Culture. ...
 Discrimination and Harassment. ...
 Unrealistic and Conflicting Goals. ...
 Questionable Use of Company Technology/misuse.
 Employees theft
 Use of filthy language

WORK ENVIROMENT
Working environment is a broad term and means all your surroundings when working. Your
physical working environment is, for example, your work tools as well as air, noise and light.
But your working environment also includes the psychological aspects of how your work is
organized and your wellbeing at work.
Here are ten key reasons why creating a workplace and an office environment that people love is
critical for your business:

1. Happiness has a multiplying effect

Happiness is contagious and, when encouraged, can spread throughout an entire company.
Employees who take joy in their work make excellent role models for their fellow workers and
encourage them to also take joy in their work.

2. Happy employees are successful employees

Employees who genuinely enjoy their work are more productive, happier, and more successful.
This increases self-confidence and inspires greater performance and greater success for both
employee and employer.

3. Happy employees have the right attitude

Unhappy employees have a negative attitude that can permeate their work and stifle job
performance and creativity. Happy employees, on the other hand, have a positive can-do attitude
that allows them to succeed.

4. Reducing stress increases productivity

Stressed-out employees are distracted employees. This can have a devastating effect on
productivity. Eliminating stress and worry can lead to an instant productivity boost.

5. A positive work environment encourages risk-taking

Business is not about playing it safe. Business is about taking the right risk for the right rewards.
Happy employees are more likely to take calculated risks, while unhappy employees are more
likely to play it safe.
6. Happy employees support each other

Positive, fully engaged employees are more willing to support fellow workers and to provide
positive support and encouragement for group projects. And happy employees are more likely to
ask for support if it is needed.

7. Happy employees are not afraid to make mistakes

A supportive work environment encourages your team to learn from their mistakes rather than
fear them. Mistakes can be a powerful learning tool that can lead to unforeseen success. Workers
who are afraid to make mistakes will miss important learning opportunities.

8. Leaders lead by example

Managers who take real joy in their jobs - and encourage their workers to enjoy their work -
inspire confidence, dedication and loyalty. Leaders who set positive examples are a critical
component of the success of any business.

9. Happiness inspires creativity

Innovation is the lifeblood of any business, and happy employees are inspired, creative
employees who will create the solutions your business needs to succeed.

10. People like to work with happy people

Finding joy in your work can yield enormous benefits by improving relationships between both
employees and employer. Happy workers are more willing to work together for the common
good, more likely to encourage company loyalty, and more like to encourage the strong team
building that is vital to your company's success.

Creating a work environment that is fun and happy is not easy. The more you try the bigger
dividends it will pay.

IMPORTANCE OF WORK ENVIROMENT

 Enhance personal Communication skill

 Promote Team Spirit-Team spirit is the core of a collaborative, positive work
environment. Team spirit builds off of strong interpersonal communication,
and strengthens the business because everyone works towards a common
goal and feels a strong sense of belonging.
 Great energy -can be created by an, attractive, comfortable physical
environment. This energy ultimately enhances productivity and success.
 Windows allow natural sunlight and Vitamin D into an office, which are
essential to contributing to a good mood. Similarly, windows allow an
 employee to look out and envision a new idea, which enhances creativity in
the office.
 A clean work environment without much clutter allows employees to focus
on their goals.
 Open work environment that is not closed off by cubicles fosters group
communication and helps build relationships between employees.

Ways to Create a Healthy Workplace Environment

A happy (and healthy!) employee is a productive employee. People who enjoy their jobs are
more likely to engage thoroughly with their work. As an employee, it is always in your best
interest to keep your staff happy; otherwise, resentment could start to impact on the quality of
their work or they may even consider leaving.

Here are some ways that you could create a healthy workplace environment:

Promote wellness: You can encourage health and wellness of your employees by having a
weekly exercise program such as a yoga session before the start of their work day or an aerobics
class after work. This not only encourages a healthy lifestyle among your team but also give
them the opportunity to get to know their workmates better.

Engage with different personalities: Every workplace has a combination of characters, and
what works to motivate a particular employee, may not necessarily help others. Get to know your
employees and find out whether a hands-on approach or more independence will help them.

Fair employee policy: This should apply to all employees regardless of their position or
designation in the company. If a supervisor constantly misses deadlines, you should take it as
seriously as you would with a junior employee. If your policy changes, ensure everyone knows
about it.

Eat healthy: Healthy eating is not about strict dietary restrictions, staying unrealistically thin, or
depriving yourself of the foods you love. It is about feeling great, having more energy,
improving your outlook and your mood. Another great way to create a healthy workplace
environment is by eating healthy, and no – skipping lunch break because employees are busy is
not a good excuse. Try catering a healthy lunch meal such as salads or sandwiches. You could
also provide a bowl of fruits for snacks.

Team building activities: Team building activities not only bond employees closer but also
motivate them, creating a positive workplace environment. These activities help improve internal
communication and productivity, boosting morale at the workplace and in helping employees get
to know each other better. Read our blog on Team Building Ideas for Great Staff Engagement to
get some ideas.

Break time: Another great way to create a healthy workplace environment is by encouraging
your employees to take a quick 5-minute break from their desk. Regular breaks will assist to
relieve muscle fatigue, eyestrain and to restore the level of concentration. There are a couple of
apps that you can permanently install on your employees’ desktop, which reminds them take to a
break and stretch. Try some of these free apps such as Eyeleo or PC Work Break.

Clean and comfortable office: Working in a clean and comfortable office can have tremendous
effects on the interactions among colleagues. Even if your office does not get the sunlight, try to
make an effort to provide a relaxing atmosphere with comfortable furniture, working equipment
and add a few work lights to make it brighter.

In Summary

 Workplace culture
 Physical environment and occupational health & safety
 Health and lifestyle practice
 Supportive workplace environment

STANDARDS OF WORK BEHAVIOUR

Setting Standards

Standards of Behavior are a set of official guidelines meant to govern employees’ actions,
speech, attitudes and more. How do Standards of Behavior differ from typical organizational
policies and Codes of Conduct? Instead of being phrased in terms of corporate goals, desired
outcomes, and general dos and don’ts, standards describe specific desired behaviors.

All members of staff have a duty to carry out their work to the best of their ability and to abide
by the terms and conditions of their employment.

Standards of behaviour means the minimum standards of conduct and performance that the
organization will accept from members of staff. Whilst it is not possible to set out in detail the
standards expected from members of staff in every respect

The following instances are unacceptable and may lead to disciplinary action.

Misconduct

The following forms of unacceptable behaviour may lead to disciplinary action short of
summary dismissal, although a repeated instance of such behaviour following a final written
warning may result in dismissal. „

 negligence „
 poor timekeeping or attendance „
 unauthorized absence „
 abusive or offensive language
  insubordination
 refusal to obey reasonable instructions
 Failure to devote reasonable care and attention to work.

The list is not exhaustive Gross Misconduct

Any act of gross misconduct may lead to summary dismissal that is dismissal without notice or
payment in lieu of notice.

Gross misconduct is conduct or behaviour which is such as to destroy the essential trust and
confidence between employer and employee, and thus render the employee unsuitable for
continued employment. The following are some examples of behaviour that may constitute gross
misconduct.

 unauthorized use or removal of organization property

 theft, or fraud (including falsification of records and false claims for pay)
 fighting, assault, or threats of violence „
 deliberate damage to property
 being at work while under the influence of alcohol or other drugs
 gross negligence likely to cause serious loss, damage or injury
 serious acts of insubordination
 serious breaches of Health and Safety Rules
 Sexual or racial misconduct, abuse or harassment.

A Sampling of Standards

Here are just a few examples of standards used at [various health care organizations]. (As
you’ll see, there isn’t a set format for standards. Some resemble policies; others read like
personal pledges.):

 Maintain a high level of competency and the credentials required to provide the highest level of
care possible.
 Never interrupt a presentation, demonstrate respect to all speakers, regardless of situation.
 Keep public areas neat and clean—if the trash needs to be emptied, empty it.
 Use adult conversations to resolve issues—go directly to the coworker involved.
 Welcome, mentor and receive new team members with energy and “I will wear my ID badge
where it can easily be seen.
 Act like an owner. Treat company resources as if they were your own—spend [company] money
as if it were your own and do not be frivolous or excessive.
 When on-site at an organization, always turn off cell phone and do not use partner’s time for
other business.
 Do not embarrass or criticize partners or coworkers in the presence of others.