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Ethical values
Organisations often set themselves ethical as well as operational
or business values which they aspire to observe in carrying
out their business. Ethical Values are those such as respect,
honesty, openness and responsibility; whereas business values
often focus on efficiency, service, quality, growth and profit.
Ethical values guide ideas of acceptable and desirable behaviour
above and beyond compliance with laws and regulations.
An ethics policy
- sets out an organisation's ethical values, standards and
commitments to stakeholders that will underpin the way that
it does business
- confirms leadership commitment to the above
- describes how this will be achieved and monitored through
an ethics programme
- identifies the main ethical issues faced by the organisation/sector
- identifies other policies and documents that support and
detail aspects of the ethics policy - such as a code of
ethics, a speak up policy, a bullying and harassment policy,
a gifts and hospitality policy, an environment policy etc.
Click here
for a sample list of related policies.
It usually takes the form of a public declaration on values
and ethics and can often be found on corporate websites.
Ethics programme
This consists of the activities and resources used to support,
implement and embed the ethics policy, thus ensuring that
business practices and decisions are in line with ethical
values. An effective ethics programme will be made up of the
following elements:
A code of ethics
A central element of the ethics programme will be a code of
ethics. Its main purpose is to provide guidance to staff.
Unlike a code of conduct which is generally "do this
or else" in tone, a code of ethics will usually be predominantly
aspirational and supportive and and guide staff to make decisions
based on principles. The code illustrates how a company's
values translate into concrete policies and procedures. You
can find more about developing a code of ethics here
>>
The main aims of an ethics policy, code and programme
- Values - to embed a set of ethical values into
the organisations goals and strategies and the way it seeks
to do what it does
- Ethical behaviour - to provide guidance and support
to staff for making decisions and carrying out their work
in a way that is compatible with the organisation's ethical
values and standards
- Corporate Culture - to consolidate and strengthen
a culture of integrity and openness so as to facilitate
a sustainable business
- Risk - to minimise operational and integrity risks
- Reputation - to enhance trust among stakeholders
so as to facilitate business success
- Sustainability - to minimise the organisation's
negative impacts on and maximise its positive contribution
to the social, economic and environmental wellbeing of wider
society
Making an ethics policy work
Most large businesses have a code of ethics (c. 85% of the
FTSE100), yet ethical lapses continue.
To realise the aims described above it is not sufficient
to draw up an ethics policy and post it on the intranet. An
effective ethics code and programme are required. Ways of
achieving these are described in the sections on developing
a code of business ethics and making
it work.
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