Pick One Question 1 Stanford Should Co Codes At A
Question 1: Should company codes, at all levels, be more principles based or more rules based?
Question 2: What are the steps for developing and maintaining ethical corporate culture? Which step is the most important, in your opinion?
Brooks, L., & Dunn, P. (2018). Business and
Professional Ethics for Directors, Executives & Accountants: 8th Edition.
Centage Learning. Boston, MA.
Pick one question 1 or 2 then discuss it. and response each posted # 1 to 3 down below
Posted 1
Question 1: Should company codes, at all levels, be more principles-based or more rules-based?
Company codes should have some principles that will express the ethical culture of the company, and promote the concepts and the moral of the company. The principles are the foundation where all rules will be established and mentioned in a clear and concrete way.
The few principles of the code give support to multiples rules that will guide the behavior of the employees. The code should be based on very clear rules written in such a way that all employees don’t have any doubt about how to proceed in situations that demand high ethical standards as Brooks & Dunn (2017) says: “Unless employees are told in writing how they are expected to behave, managers, executive, and directors are vulnerable to charges that they failed to provide adequate guidance to their workers” (p273. That said, employees need to know what it is considered ethical to do and what it is not. For example, before accepting a gift from a vendor or a customer the employee should have a clear knowledge if the ethical code considers this kind of gift ethical or not ethical. Of course, it will depend on the value of the gift. Probably there is no problem to receive an ordinary plastic pen from a vendor but if the gift is a car, it is completely different. This is why the code should be based on rules to clarify aspects like this.
Posted 2
Hello Professor and Class,
What I have taken from this week’s reading is a company has corporate codes of conduct that represent the values of the company. The codes according to (Brooks, Dunn, 2017) can be many things to a business, like a structure for ethical values, a guide to behavior, can be a way the company communicates with each other, and is especially important to today’s business controls. I think the codes are principles that the company would like their employees to follow while they work for the company. Employees must know how they are expected to behave, there must be principles or rules set up for all employees. From top to bottom everyone must follow the same principles or rules to avoid misunderstanding. Leaders must be the best example of the principles a company has created for their business, so lower-level employees have a great understanding what is expected.
I think having more principles in place is a good thing, principles are values that are in place from the leaders of the company. The principles tell everyone what the owners of the company want the people who work for them to act. Not all employees like to follow rules, they can be strict and only provide instructions for 1 position in a company, most positions cannot be controlled by the same rules. But with principles they can be organized through out the whole company, whether someone is driving a fork truck or entering data into a spread sheet. Rules are not for everything; employees should practice the principles of a company while they follow curtain rules, set up for positions at the company. Who likes following rules anyway? Let us stick with principles and leave the rules for the kids (Brooks, Dunn, 2017).
Posted 3
Question 1: Should company codes, at all levels, be more principles based or more rules based?
In my opinion, company codes of conduct should be more principles based. A principles based ethical code has more flexibility than a rules based code. There are many different situations that can arise in business that may not fit neatly within the circumstances prescribed in a particular rule. Principles based codes allow for more interpretation to determine if ethical standards and provisions of a code are being adhered to. Principles based codes can be applied more broadly and can adapt better to an ever-changing business environment. They also focus more on the spirit of the ethical standards and encourage the use of professional judgment. It is important to note, however, that a solid code of ethics will likely be a mixture of the two. Combining the both principles and rules based codes strike an appropriate balance which encourages adherence, fosters an ethical culture, and increases the effectiveness of a company’s code of conduct.