ETHICS CODE GROUP PROJECT#1

Your group project is to draft an ethics code for your business.   Your business team will be responsible to review and apply the attached guidelines in writing the code for your business. There are samples for ethics codes of various companies noted below.  You can refer to them for guidance but you cannot copy them.

Does it sound like it should be easy to write an ethics code for a business? Think about it. First, what rules should be included? Is the business one subject to heavy governmental regulation and therefore, subject to unique ethical and legal duties?  Are there certain core rules dealing with such things as conflict of interest, self-dealing and theft of business property that should be universally included in every business ethical code?

What about language and application?  In the law, the requirements of due process require that every rule or law provide an ordinary person with notice of the conduct that is circumscribed by the rule.  No rule can cover every factual situation so how does a business team draft a rule that can be applied in different factual situations and at the same time provide adequate specificity, not be too general, in order to give a person notice of the particular conduct that the rule covers.

What about explanations or interpretations of the rule? Often a rule makes more sense when there is some kind of explanatory section that explains the application of the rule.

What role does corporate culture play in drafting business rules? Corporate culture is the product of individual personalities, preferences and predispositions.  It forms the "petri dish" in which behaviors are formulated and acted out.

ASSIGNMENT

Each group will form a business and select a business activity such as manufacturing, service provider, or money managers, etc. The team will research and determine the regulations that apply to their particular business operation and any other special legal duties applicable to that particular business.  Those rules will be included in the code. The team will meet and draft three ethics rule and an advisory comment section for each rule, explaining the purpose and application of the rule.  Each rule and accompanying comment should be no more than 1-2 pages.  The comment must refer to materials in the case studies and readings. Additional references are acceptable. The teams will compile their codes and present them to the class.

Guidance for Writing a Code of Ethics

by Chris MacDonald, Ph.D.

  These suggestions are in no particular order.

1. What will be the purpose of your new code? Is it to regulate behaviour? To inspire?
2. Different kinds of documents serve different purposes. Is your new document intended to guide people or to set out requirements? Is it really a Code of Ethics that you need? You might consider creating a Statement of Values, a Policy, a Mission Statement, a Code of Conduct...
3. A code of ethics should be tailored to the needs and values of your organization.
4. Many ethics codes have two components. First, an aspirational section, often in the preamble, that outlines what the organization aspires to, or the ideals it hopes to live up to. Second, an ethics code will typically list some rules or principles, which members of the organization will be expected to adhere to.
5. Will your new ethics document include some sort of enforcement? If so, what kind?
6. Often the principles or values listed in an ethics document will be listed in rough order of importance to the organization. The ordering need not be strict, but generally the value or principle listed first will have a natural prominence.
7. Think carefully about the process by which you create your new code. Who will be involved? A small working group? Or all the people affected by the code? How will you distil the needs of your organization and the beliefs of your members into a document? The process may matter as much as the final product.
8. How will your new code be implemented? How will it be publicized, both inside and outside of your organization? What steps, if any, will be taken to ensure that the values embodied in your code get implemented in organizational policies and practices?
9. How / when will your code be reviewed / revised?