MBA 402 Assessment 2 Answers Template

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Code of Ethics refers to how the principles of a company guides the operations. The
common problems that falls under company’s ethics includes employer-employee
relations, discriminations in the workplace, environmental issues, bribery and social
responsibility (Hayes, 2023).The main reason behind Company’s Code of Conduct and
Ethics is to determine wrongdoing and to promote honest and ethical conduct so as to
ensure greatest possible extent that the company’s business is conducted in legal and
ethical manner (Rainmaker Systems, 2020). On the other hand, ECA Code of Ethics is
designed for early childhood education and care environments that studies present
pedagogical research and practice, providing rules about the ethical responsibilities of
early childhood professionals (ECA, 2023). Thus, Firstseeds needs both Code of Ethics
along with ECA Code of Ethics as Code of Ethics helps to maintain employee’s relations
with each other without any discriminations in the working environment. Also, Code of
Ethics states laws related to environmental issues and social responsibilities as well which
is important for any organizations to consider. An industry code of practice is a set of
guidelines set by an industry association or regulatory body to govern the conduct and
practices of all the organizations within that industry. The main aim of the Industry Code of
Practice is to promote best practices, ensure consistency and uphold industry-specific
standards (ACCC, 2022). On the contrary, a company Code of Conduct is specific to an
individual organization. It outlines the expected standards of behaviour and conduct of
employees, contractors and stakeholders within the company. It generally reflects the
company’s values, mission and ethical principles and also helps to guide the employees in
making best decisions and behaving in an ethical and responsible manner. The Code of
Conduct covers a wide range of issues related to professional integrity, conflicts of
interest, employee relations, confidentiality and compliance with laws and regulations
(Valamis, 2022).
As for AAMI Insurance which refers to General Insurance Code of Practice rather than
company-specific Code of Conduct as it is related with all the insurance company residing
all over Australia that must follow the ethics provided by the General Insurance Code of
Practice. General Insurance Code of Practice is to be followed by all the insurance
company residing in Australia so AAMI is not only the individual company residing in
Australia dealing with insurance. As we can take example of banks in Australia where all
the banks must follow the rules set by Australian Banking Association which monitors each
activity of banks whether they are conducting their operations following the rules set or
not. So, bank have to follow the rules set by the association otherwise they will not be able
to operate banking operations in Australia. Also there is Australian Competition and
Consumer Commission (ACCC) for the industry to follow the Code of Conduct and
Masters Builders South Australia for construction companies. So, if a company is related
to a group of organizations working for the same cause then it must obey the rules set by

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a higher governing body so that rules are made same for everyone to be followed.

One simple test that can help the employees of Firstseeds make ethically sound
workplace choices is to ask the following questions before making a decision:
1. Is this decision legal?
2. Does this decision comply with my organization’s code of conduct or ethical
standards?
3. How could I fell if my decision was reported on the news or shared publicly?
4. Could my decision harm others or violate their rights?
5. Would I want others to make this same decision if they were in my position?

The sunlight test can be used by us to check whether we would do the same thing even if
we knew those actions could end up on the front of the newspaper tomorrow? The test is
useful as a guard against moral temptations – where we take a stand for ourselves to gain
a great deal for doing something unethical. For example, we have the chance to lie to the
employer about a lunch we just took. It should be with a client but at the last minute the
client cancels the lunch for some reason. At the very same restaurant we end up with
some friends and spend couple of hours. If there is less chance of getting caught, what
would we do? Do we tell the boss we were at a lunch with the client and charge the bill to
the company or be honest and accept the mistake for taking a longer break with friends?
In this case sunlight test can be used by taking the belief that we won’t get caught doing
the wrong thing and be able to examine whether a well-informed but unbiased third party
would believe what we were doing is okay. It’s a great way to guarantee that we are being
motivated by what we think is good or right, and not by self-interest (Middleton, 2016).

Yes, there can be instances of sexist behaviour in the nursery/early learning industry.

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While it is true that many staff in this industry are female, it does not deny the possibility of
sexism. Sexism refers to discrimination based on a person’s gender. As Reay (2001)
writes studies have shown that certain subjects and activities tend to be associated with
specific genders like girls may be encouraged to engage in nurturing and domestic
activities while boys may be allowed to involve in more active and competitive activities.
According to Davies (2003), nursery/early learning industry has been mostly dominated by
female staff, continuing gender stereotypes and limiting oppurtunities for male educators .
This gender imbalance can lead to biases in hiring, promotion and decision-making
processes. Sexist and ageist jokes are considered inappropriate due to several reasons,
including their negative impact on the particular individuals and the overall working
environment. They undermines the principles of equality and can lead to feelings of
rejection, discomfort and distress among targeted individuals (Williams J. C., 2020).
Workplaces that tolerate the sexist and ageist jokes often experience decreased
employee morale and productivity. It creates a toxic atmosphere hampering the teamwork
and job satisfcation (Rudman, 2004).
Some of the typical contents for a company diversity policy are discussed below:
Diversity and Inclusion Policy: It is a fundamental policy critical to employee
management. The policy must state the organization’s commitment to ensuring an
equitable, diverse and inclusive workplace.
Recruitment and Selection Policy: The policy should show the detail steps the
organization is taking to ensure an unbiased recruitment and selection process. The
process should include clearly defined and inclusive job descriptions.
Flexible Working Policy: As the COVID-19 pandemic occurred, it has led to flexible
working around the world. The ‘new way of working’ is here to stay and many employees
will now simply expect a degree of flexibility in their working patterns.
Code of Conduct: The policy should essentially set out how the company expects its
employees should behave in the workplace. This includes standards of professionalism
expected such as dress code, corruption and anti-briebery, employee benefits and open
and honest communication from all.
Dignity at work/ Bullying, Harrasment and Discrimination Policy: These policies must
be cyrstal clear in setting out the organization’s values and its requirements under the
Equality Act 2010 (Wilson, 2023).

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Corruption refers to the misuse of power for personal gain or misuse of the public
resources for private purposes. It involves alternation of rules, bribery, nepotism,
favouritism and other illicit practices. Corruption mainly occurs in government institutions,
businesses or public service sectors (International, 2021). For example: government
officials demanding bribes from construction companies in exchange for awarding
lucrative contracts. Fraud on the other hand, involves intentional misrepresentation of
information for personal or financial gain. It includes various illegal activities such as false
accounting, forgery, identity theft, tax evasion, money laundering and deceptive business
practices. It can occur in both public and private sectors (Longley, 2022). For example,
knowingly lying about one’s age to obtain a driver’s license, criminal history to get a job or
go abroad or income to get a loan.
In my opinion, fraud and corruption should be handled separately under different code
section. Corruption is the misuse of their power by the high level government officials
mainly while fraud can be done by any individual by representing false information. So,
they are different in many aspects and I think they must be handled differently.

A whistleblower is a person who comes forward and exposes his/her knowledge on any
wrongdoing like waste, fraud or misconduct which he/she thinks is happening in the whole
organisation or in a specific department. A whistleblower could be an employee,
contractor, or a supplier who becomes aware of any illegal activities. A whistleblower can
file a lawsuit or register a complaint with higher authorities which will trigger a criminal
investigation against the company or any individual department. There are laws made for
the protection of whistleblowers from losing their job or getting mistreated. There are two
types of whistleblowers: internal and external. Those who report the misconduct, fraud or
indiscipline inside the organization are internal whistleblowers whereas those who report
the wrongdoings to people outside the organization such as media, higher government
officials or police are external whistleblowers. (Williams K. , 2021).
The purpose of whistleblower protections in a Code of Conduct is to create an
environment that encourages employees to report any suspected violations of laws,
regulations or company policies without fear of the consequences (Management, 2019).
They are described as follows:
Non-Retaliation Policy: There is no tolerance to any adverse action taken against
employees who report concerns in good faith.
Confidentiality: Identity and reports of the whistleblower is confidential unless disclosure
is required by law or necessary for the investigation.
Reporting Mechanisms: Employees are encouraged to report any concerns via various
medium like dedicated hotline, email, or in-person reporting to ensure confidentiality to the
extent permitted by law.
Investigation Process: Reports are investigated conducting prompt and impartial
investigations into reported concerns.
False Reporting: If a person is found to have knowingly made false or malicious reports
will be subject to disciplinary action including termination of employment.
Legal Protection: Applicable laws and regulations regarding whistleblower protections
are followed.
Retention of Records: Whistleblower reports, investigations and outcomes are
maintained in a secure manner (Management, 2019).

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Firstseeds also could take some practical measures to encourage whistleblowers to report
wrongdoing within the organization by establishing confidential reporting channels,
providing legal protections for whistleblowers, raising awareness and training and also
may be they can also offer some incentives or rewards.

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References
ACCC. (2022, 12 23). Industry Codes. Retrieved from ACCC:
https://www.accc.gov.au/business/industry-codes
Davies, B. (2003). Shards of glass: Children reading and writing beyond gendered
identities. Stenhouse Publishers.
ECA. (2023). Code of Ethics. Retrieved from earlychildhoodaustralia:
www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/our-publications/eca-code-ethics/
Hayes, A. (2023, 03 28). Code of Ethics. Retrieved from investopedia:
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/code-of-ethics.asp
Institute, L. I. (2021). Discrimination. Retrieved from Cornell Law School:
https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/discrimination
International, T. (2021). What is corruption? Retrieved from transparency:
https://www.transparency.org/en/what-is-corruption
Longley, R. (2022, 12 01). Definition and Examples of Fraud. Retrieved from ThoughtCo.:
https://www.thoughtco.com/fraud-definition-and-examples-4175237
Management, S. f. (2019, 10 10). Whistleblower Protections in the Code of Conduct.
Retrieved from shrm:
https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/tools-and-samples/policies/pages/
whistleblower-policy.aspx#:~:text=Any%20whistleblower%20who%20believes
%20they,that%20is%20alleged%20and%20investigated.
Middleton, K. (2016, 09 08). Ethics Explainer: The Sulight Test. Retrieved from ethics:
https://ethics.org.au/ethics-explainer-the-sunlight-test/
Rainmaker Systems, I. (2020). CODE OF BUSINESS CONDUCT AND ETHICS.
Retrieved from rmkr:
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1094007/000119312504044901/
dex14.htm
Reay, D. (2001). Finding or losing yourself?: Working‐class relationships to education.
Journal of Education Policy, 16(4), 333-346.
Rudman, L. A. (2004). Reactions to counterstereotypic behavior: The role of backlash in
cultural stereotype maintenance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,,
87(2), 157–176.
Valamis. (2022, 12 28). Code of Conduct. Retrieved from VALAMIS:
https://www.valamis.com/hub/code-of-conduct
Williams, J. C. (2020). What works for women at work: Four patterns working women need
to know. New York: NYU Press.
Williams, J. C. (2020). What works for women at work: Four patterns working women need
to know. New York: NYU Press.
Williams, K. (2021, 09 11). What Is a Whistleblower and What Does Being a
Whistleblower Mean? Retrieved from study: https://study.com/learn/lesson/what-is-
a-whistleblower-ethics-law-examples-of-the-whistleblower-protection-act.html
Wilson, R. (2023). Diversity & Inclusion Policy: The 10 policies your organisation needs.
Retrieved from ewgroup: https://theewgroup.com/blog/10-diversity-policies-you-
need/