CODE OF ETHICS

Codes of ethics govern decision-making when confronted with ethcal

dilemmas or questionable issues.
 It is often referred as the value statement of a company designed to assist
professionals in running a business fairly and with integrity.
 It works similar to the Constitution with general principles to direct
behavior as well as outlining a set of principles that influence decision-
making.
Codes of ethics are commonly used in the business and professional
perspective to guarantee the public that corporations and members of regulated
professionals are acting in a socially and professionally satisfactory manner.
 Possible termination or dismissal from the organization may be the result in
breaking code of ethics.
 A code of ethics is imperative because it openly outlines the rules for
behavior and offers the basis for a preventive cautioning.
 Examples of Code of ethics that may assist companies
when creating policies on ethical that must be practiced
inside the organization
1. Employee code of Conduct- A business code of ethics is a framework of policie founded on laws and values that
a copany requires all employees to follow to.
2. Confidentiality and Privacy Policies- A lot of companies these days have been targets or has become victims of
hackers who steal customer’s personal information or propriety data.
3. Professional appearance policies- A dress code or dress policy can also be made as requirement.
4. Promoting green practices- Promoting green and being environment friendly is a sound business practice.
5. Obeying the law- Complying and abiding the law is mandatory ethical practice. Certainly, employees must
follow the law althroughout their stay in workplace to protect their company’s image.
6. Caring consideration policies- Business must not allow their consumer to feel that they are just after profit.
 Key components of Code of ethics in
Business
When creating a company’s code of ethics, the legal, compliance, value-based and violation of code of ethics
components are important in defining and running a company successfully.
1. Legal issues- besides expressing to all employees that they must follow the law, this needs to be documented. In
any business organization, employees should follow local and national laws.
2. Compliance and regulations- Most industries follow certain legal requirements. They are expected to shoulder
fines and penalties, and face potential legal action once there is failure to conform to the rules.
3. Value-based Components- The codes of ethics normally embraces the six universal moral values that companies
expect of their employees. The value consist of being TRUSTWORTHY, RESPECTFUL, RESPONSIBLE,
FAIR CARING, and GOOD CITIZENS.
4. Violation of the Code of ethics- it is important to address also in the code of ethics the action to take in cases of
violation. The process of possible disciplinary actions resulting from a specific violation must be clearly stated.
Must be fair and justifiable.