Standards and Procedures sample essay

Standards and Procedures sample essay

Behavior

Always conduct yourself in a professional manner. (Inappropriate words or insinuations will not be tolerated) Act in the best interests of our clients. (Always safeguard our client’s information that is not public knowledge.) Foster cultural diversity; treat others with dignity and respect. (Refrain from criticizing and putting down fellow employees and customers.) Take ownership of own work and promote opportunity.

Follow dress code – wear appropriate business casual attire. (Body tattoos and piercings will be covered at all times. Please see company dress code booklet for further description of dress code) Practice integrity and honesty in all areas of business.

Avoid parting in any activity that could have a negative effect on the company’s image. Participate in any mandated professional education courses. (Company courses will be assigned as needed and employees will be provided with a deadline to complete courses.) Put a Philanthropic mission above your personal gain.

Disclose any possible conflicts of interest to management which may or may not result in reassignment or termination. (Refrain from partaking in employment in related companies, or engaging in interoffice dating) Encourage other employees to embrace the code of ethics and report any knowledge of others not adhering to code of ethics. ( Any information provided to management will remain confidential, retaliation toward the informant is prohibited) Accuracy and completeness

Keep accurate records, files and books of activities.

Maintain company standard of 99 percent quality accuracy of work. ( Monthly summary of quality will be provided based on review of employees work by their direct supervisor) Maintain company standard of required production. (Please see production requirements which are based on employees job description) Work scheduled time; refrain from partaking in unapproved overtime. (Regular tardiness and unexcused absences will not be tolerated under any circumstances and will be grounds for suspension or termination.) Following state laws and regulations

Do not engage in any form of Price Fixing, Anti-Trust or Anti Competition. Acceptance of gifts and gratuities is prohibited. Adhere to all state required breaks and timekeeping requirements. Refrain from parting in any activities that might be considered discriminating towards any race gender or religious preferences. Adhere to state sexual harassment laws.

Ethics Training Plan
Design and Development

Manuals will be created which display company’s ethical standards. (WBT) Web Based Training courses will be created to provide employees knowledge of the company’s ethical standards in a fun interactive way. Training program will include possible ethical situations an employee might find themselves in and how to react in an ethical manner. (WBE) Web Based Exams will be created to ensure employees grasp all concepts. PowerPoint presentations will be created and updated often to present possible ethical situations and what the proper way to react would be. Webinars will be created several times a year reminding employees how important it is to abide by companies ethical standards. Slogans, banners and flyers will be created, displaying company’s ethical standards. Monthly company articles will be created displaying the importance of following ethical guidelines.

Implementation

For employees that are initially hired – they will undergo Ethics (WBT) Web-Based Training Program. They will be provided an Ethics manual to go over and sign stating they read and understand all materiel and agree to abide by company’s code of ethics. They will be handed a pamphlet in which to revert back to if they should have any ethical questions on any ethical situations. Finally before beginning their on the job training they will need to pass a web-based exam in which they will prove they have grasped the all of companies ethical concepts. For management – Because implementation of an ethics program begins with management, it is very important that managers be properly trained to provide our companies employees with proper ethical training. Therefore all managers will be required to also partake in a (WBT) Web Based Training program specifically created for managers of our company who need to understand how important it is that employees lead by example.

Managers will be provided with their own ethics manual for which they may revert back to in if they should have any ethical questions on any ethical situations. Managers will be required to attend yearly in person training courses on how to encourage proper ethical behavior amongst their employees. Finally all Managers will be required to take yearly managers ethics training exam in which they will prove they have grasped all of company’s ethical concepts. For all employees – All employees will required to undergo Yearly (WBT) Web Based Training programs in order to refresh themselves on the company’s ethical standards and to familiarize themselves with updated material.

Ethics proficiency testing will always follow WBT’s in order to ensure all ethical concepts have been grasped. Management will hold monthly group meetings in which they will present power point presentations displaying possible ethical situations and how to respond in a proper ethical manner. Webinars will be released to all employees several times a year encouraging employees to follow proper ethical standards and reminding them where all information can be found on companies ethical standards. Company will advertise through slogans, banners and flyers reminding employees to follow company’s ethical standards.

Evaluation

Managers will be required to monitor each employee’s ethical behavior and take immediate action when unethical behavior is exhibited. Employees displaying any type of unethical behavior will be closely monitored and will be provided with first a verbal warning, then a written warning followed by termination of employment depending on severity of the situation. Employees exhibiting great Ethical behavior are to be recognized for doing so with a yearly compensation bonus if company should have a strong yearly profit.

Monitoring System

Monitor

Appoint an ethics and compliance officer to do an overview of ethics program. Measure awareness and perceptions of ethics program, procedures and review company’s culture. Create and implement an employee satisfaction and recommendation survey for company’s ethics program. Observe employees behaviors.

Review companies activities.

Listening to or review recorded customer service intake calls

Audit

Secure commitment of upper management and board of directors. Establish a committee to oversee the ethics audit. Define what is being audited; include any areas that are important to an ethical audit. Have documentation with listed measurements of how company is complying with required ethical procedures. Do a yearly analysis of company’s measurements. Evaluate the company’s goals and objectives; outline the company’s ethical main concerns. Ensure audit processes include the outlooks of all the major stakeholders. Evaluate the compliance program design, arrangement and procedures. Examine whether current practices meet legal requirements and company policies and standards. Have all report results verified by an outside source.

Provide a report of the final findings to the audit committee and after the report is accepted, it can then be distributed to managers and to the stakeholders.

Reporting Misconduct

Reassure employees that any reports of misconduct will be kept confidential and that no retaliation will occur. Provide employee with privacy by conducting conversations in a private area. Probe employee for a further explanation of the misconduct and ask if there are any others whom can collaborate their report. Reassure employee that you will follow-up on this report and provide them with a reasonable timeframe in which you will follow up with them.

Review and Improve Plan

Review

Compare and examine all yearly audits to one another to see if the program is improving. Identify affective and ineffective ethical procedures.

Verify the company has a code of ethics that is effective in preventing misconduct. Verify the company’s standards and procedures are being dispersed effectively to its employees. Ensure top management has a system in place to detect ethical issues. Ensure standards and procedures are realistically proficient in identifying and preventing misconduct. Compare and exam all employees for ethical and unethical behavior.

Improve

Perform an examination on how company can reduce the risks of misconduct and implement new strategies. Take action against any potential risks that were identified in audit process. If it is determined that that ethical performance is not acceptable, Restructure how certain choices within the company are made. Reward employees who comply with ethics program and punish employees who do not comply. Update codes and ethics yearly in order to ensure that the program is up to date with current laws and regulations.

References

Ferrell, O. C., Fraedrich, J., & Ferrell, L. (2009). Business ethics, ethical decision making and cases. (7e, 2009 update ed.). Mason: South-Western Cengage Learning.

Nick Ciancio (July 2007). The seven pillars of an effective ethics and compliance program. Retrieved from: http://www.globalcompliance.com/pdf/the-seven-pillars-of-an-effective-ethics-and compliance-program.pdf.

Marsha Glick (July 17, 2000). Twelve steps for designing effective training programs. Retrieved from: http://www.techrepublic.com/article/twelve-steps-for-designing-effective-training-programs/5032124.

Mark Lamendola (July 1, 1998). Ten Tips For An Effective Training Program. Retrieved from: http://ecmweb.com/content/ten-tips-effective-training-program.