© 2013 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. 1 Part Four: Implementing Business Ethics in a Global Economy Chapter 8: Developing an Effective Ethics Program Chapter 8: Developing an Effective Ethics Program

Corporations as Moral Agents Corporations increasingly are viewed as moral agents accountable to stakeholders  Companies cannot think through ethical issues like people do–laws and regulations are necessary to provide formal structural restraints and guidance on ethical issues  Individuals have a responsibility as moral agents © 2013 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. 2

3 Root Causes of Misconduct

The Need for Organizational Ethics Programs It can be nearly impossible to know all laws related to ethics  Becoming sensitized to ethical issues can help  Organizations can become bad barrels  Opportunities for misconduct Understanding factors that influence ethical decision making can help companies encourage ethical behavior Employees are not legal experts and need guidance © 2013 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. 4

The Need for Corporate Ethics Programs Organizations should develop an organizational ethics program by establishing, communicating, and monitoring uniform ethical values and legal requirements  A strong ethics program includes  Written code of conduct  Ethics officer to oversee the program  Care in the delegation of authority  Formal ethics training  Auditing, monitoring, enforcement, and revision of program standards © 2013 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. 5

An Effective Ethics Program Misconduct leads to low employee trust and high turnover  Ethics programs help employees to understand organizational values and comply with policies and codes of conduct  Cannot assume that employees will know how to behave in an organization © 2013 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. 6

An Ethics Program Can Help Avoid Legal Problems The FSGO encourages companies to assess key risks and create programs to address them  An ethics program can help a firm avoid civil liability  The company bears the burden of proving that it has an effective ethics program A program developed in the absence of misconduct will be more effective than one imposed as a reaction to scandal © 2013 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. 7

8 Minimum Requirements for Ethics and Compliance Programs

© 2013 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. 9 Percentage of Boards Concerned About Personal Liability for Fraud, Bribery, and Corruption

Compliance Versus Values Orientation  Compliance orientation  Requires that employees identify with and commit to specified conduct  Uses legal terms, statutes, and contracts to teach employees the rules and penalties for noncompliance  Values orientation  Focuses more on abstract ideals, such as respect and responsibility  Is most effective at creating ethical reasoning– employees learn to make values-based decisions © 2013 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. 10

Codes of Conduct Formal statements that describe what an organization expects of its employees  Codes of ethics  Most comprehensive  General statements that serve as principles and the basis for the rules of conduct  Statement of values  Serves the general public and addresses stakeholder interests © 2013 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. 11

© 2013 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. 12 Benefits of Having an Ethics Code

© 2013 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. 13 Developing and Implementing a Code of Ethics/Conduct

Corporate Codes of Ethics Often contain six core values 1.Trustworthiness 2.Respect 3.Responsibility 4.Fairness 5.Caring 6.Citizenship © 2013 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. 14

Ethics Officers Are responsible for oversight of the ethics/compliance program  Assess needs and risks  Develop and distribute the code  Conduct training programs for employees  Establish audits and control systems to ensure government compliance  Review and modify the program to improve effectiveness © 2013 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. 15

Ethics Training and Communication Must start with a theoretical foundation, code of ethics, procedure for airing ethical concerns, line and staff involvements, and executive priorities on ethics  Ethics training can  Educate employees about policies and expectations, laws and regulations, and general standards  Make employees aware of resources, support systems, and personnel  Empower employees © 2013 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. 16

© 2013 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. 17 Goals of Successful Ethics Training Programs

Systems to Monitor and Enforce Ethical Standards Employee input helps to monitor training effectiveness  An effective ethics program uses many resources to monitor ethical conduct and measure program effectiveness  Observing employees  Internal audits  Surveys  Reporting systems  Investigations  Independent audits Employees do not report misconduct when they fear retaliation or think they will not make a difference © 2013 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. 18

Continuous Improvement Implementation requires designing activities to achieve organizational objectives using available resources and existing constraints  Translates a plan for action into operational terms  Establishes a means for monitoring, controlling, and improving the program Depends partly on how an organization structures resources and activities to achieve ethical objectives © 2013 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. 19

© 2013 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. 20 Employees Reporting That Their Company Has a Comprehensive Ethics Program (According to Organizational Size)

Common Mistakes in Designing/Implementing an Ethics Program  Not understanding the goals of the program  Not setting realistic and measurable program objectives  Senior management’s failure to take ownership of the program  Developing program materials that do not address average employee needs  Designing a program without interactive components © 2013 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. 21