 |
How To Build A Business Ethics Program
Posted by randy on: 2005-11-25 12:52:27
How To Build A Business Ethics Program
By Chris Anderson
Recent corporate financial scandals have highlighted the importance of business ethics and legal compliance. Yet a recent National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) survey of 280 corporate CEOs and directors found that "only one of three directors felt that they were highly effective in ensuring legal compliance".
Ethics in Business
Most companies realize that they need to develop and implement a business ethics and compliance program.
An effective program can:
Гў?Вў Establish a code of conduct that reduces risk of criminal behavior
Гў?Вў Detect wrongdoing, foster quick investigations, minimize consequences
Гў?Вў Demonstrate companyГў??s ethical/legal philosophy during an investigation
Гў?Вў Reduce fines if company is found guilty of wrongdoing
Гў?Вў Enhance company reputation and stature
Looking at the Options
But how do you build an effective program? Companies find themselves with three options to build the program:
Гў?Вў Develop in-house from scratch
Гў?Вў Hire an external consultant
Гў?Вў Use a pre-written manual
And most of these companies learn a few lessons - sometimes the hard way.
Making a Strong Company Policy
Developing a program from scratch can be very time consuming and costly. Also, the company might not have the knowledge or understanding of the complexity involved. But hiring an external consultant is not always a cost effective option either. So whatГў??s left?
Developing Your Business Ethics Program
By using a pre-written template or manual, many companies have found it easier to develop their business ethics program. And to do this, they look for what a strong program needs.
A highly effective tool for creating, organizing and implementing a sound business ethics and compliance program should provide:
Гў?Вў Sample policies and procedures
Гў?Вў Step-by-step instructions for the development of a program
Гў?Вў A business ethics training program outline with classroom materials and a detailed session leaderГў??s guide
Гў?Вў Business ethics and compliance officer position description
Гў?Вў Templates for employee involvement
Гў?Вў Sample code of conduct
Implementing Your Business Ethics Program
If the company board has committed to a strong business ethics and compliance program, the next step is to put the manual in the hands of corporate executives responsible for implementation. Used properly under advice of legal counsel, this efficient tool will yield a solid program that the board can understand, endorse, and monitor for effectiveness.
With step-by-step guidelines and accompanying examples of policies, procedures, training program, and employee survey, an effective tool provides an excellent road map for implementing an ethics and compliance initiative.
Maintaining a Culture of Ethics
Companies should make certain that their ethics compliance manual provides fully editable MS Word files with sample policies, surveys, forms and training session outlines. Also, businesses should ensure their ethics compliance system manual is fully endorsed by The National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) as a tool to maintain a culture of integrity.
Chris Anderson is currently the managing director of Bizmanualz, Inc. and co-author of policies and procedures manuals, producing the layout, process design and implementation to increase performance. To learn how to increase your business performance, visit: Bizmanualz, Inc.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Chris_Anderson
Open community website
http://www.business-business.biz
Recommended sites
To design your custom retirement plan.
For planning an IRA rollover this is the site to review.
For professional asset allocation and the wonders it can do.
Managers selected to fit your needs.
Post new Comment
This site does not allow anonymous comments. Registered members can login to participate. Registration is free and takes only a few seconds