Assignment
Because of the increased scrutiny on the actions of corporations and those who act on behalf of organizations, there has been increased attention placed on the ethical actions within organizations. Many organizations have responded to this increased scrutiny by establishing formal ethics programs to address what are appropriate actions for those working for the company.
Given Scenario:
You are the ethics officer at a new company, Company X, and you have been charged with the task of creating an ethics program as a part of the new employee handbook. Your program should include a standards and procedures section, an ethics training section, a section regarding employee misconduct, and a plan for evaluating and improving the ethics program after implementation.
Task:
Develop an ethics program, as can be found in an employee handbook or employee guidelines, (suggested length of 5-7 pages) for the given company in which you do the following:
A. Develop an applicable standards and procedures section that includes a minimum of four elements of acceptable or unacceptable behavior found in a code of ethics.
Note: This section should clearly describe specific actions, conduct, and/or behaviors that would be acceptable (or unacceptable) for your employees. A dress code policy is a good example of standards and procedures.
B. Describe the type of training program that you will provide for your organization.
1. Develop a section that identifies a minimum of three specific components for an ethics training program.
Note: Components to consider include the frequency of trainings, specific content included in training program (e.g., workplace safety), duration of the training program, who will conduct/facilitate trainings, and how trainings will be delivered or presented to employees.
C. Develop a section that explains the processes for each of the following:
1. Monitoring employee misconduct
a. Identify measures or procedures to be used
b. What type of misconduct will you be looking for and how will you look for it
c. Who will be doing the monitoring
2. Reporting employee misconduct
a. Identify measures or procedures you will use
b. How might an employee report a co-worker who is violating company policy
D. Develop a section that explains your plan to audit the ethics program after implementation by addressing each of the following:
What tools are used to measure the effectiveness of your ethics program?
What is the frequency of review?
Who will conduct the review?
How will improvements be implemented?
How will changes be communicated?
E. When you use sources, include all in-text citations and references in APA format.