Code of conduct
A code of conduct is a set of rules outlining the norms, rules, and responsibilities or proper practices of an individual party or an organisation.
Companies code of conduct
A company code of conduct is a set of rules which is commonly written for employees of a company, which protects the business and informs the employees of the company's expectations. It is appropriate for even the smallest of companies to create a document containing important information on expectations for employees. The document does not need to be complex, or have elaborate policies.
Failure of an employee to follow a company code of conduct can have negative consequences. In Morgan Stanley v. Skowron, 989 F. Supp. 2d 356 (S.D.N.Y. 2013), applying New York's faithless servant doctrine, the court held that a hedge fund's employee engaging in insider trading in violation of his company's code of conduct, which also required him to report his misconduct, must repay his employer the full $31 million his employer paid him as compensation during his period of faithlessness.[1][2][3][4]
In practice
A code of conduct can be an important part in establishing an inclusive culture, but it is not a comprehensive solution on its own. An ethical culture is created by the organization's leaders who manifest their ethics in their attitudes and behavior.[5] Studies of codes of conduct in the private sector show that their effective implementation must be part of a learning process that requires training, consistent enforcement, and continuous measurement/improvement.[6] Simply requiring members to read the code is not enough to ensure that they understand it and will remember its contents.[7] The proof of effectiveness is when employees/members feel comfortable enough to voice concerns and believe that the organization will respond with appropriate action.[8]
Accountants code of conduct
In its 2007 International Good Practice Guidance, "Defining and Developing an Effective Code of Conduct for Organizations", the International Federation of Accountants[9] provided the following working definition: "Principles, values, standards, or rules of behaviour that guide the decisions, procedures and systems of an organization in a way that (a) contributes to the welfare of its key stakeholders, and (b) respects the rights of all constituents affected by its operations."
Examples
- Banking Code[10]
- Coca-Cola Code of Conduct[11]
- Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and NGOs in Disaster Relief
- Code of Hammurabi
- Code of the United States Fighting Force
- Declaration of Geneva
- Declaration of Helsinki
- Don't be evil
- Eight Precepts
- Election Commission of India's Model Code of Conduct
- Ethic of reciprocity (Golden Rule)
- Five Pillars of Islam
- Geneva convention
- Hippocratic Oath
- ICC Cricket Code of Conduct
- International Code of Conduct against Ballistic Missile Proliferation (ICOC or Hague Code of Conduct)
- Israel Defense Forces – Code of Conduct
- Journalist's Creed
- Moral Code of the Builder of Communism
- Patimokkha
- Pirate code of the Brethren
- Psychiatrists' Ethics – Madrid Declaration on Ethical Standards for Psychiatric Practice[12]
- Psychologists' Code of Conduct[13][14]
- Recurse Center "Social Rules"
- Rule of St. Benedict
- Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) Code of Conduct 2011[15] (for solicitors in the UK)[15]
- Ten Commandments
- Ten Indian commandments
- Ten Precepts (Taoism)
- Uniform Code of Military Justice
- Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations
- Warrior code
References
- Glynn, Timothy P.; Arnow-Richman, Rachel S.; Sullivan, Charles A. (2019). Employment Law: Private Ordering and Its Limitations. Wolters Kluwer Law & Business – via Google Books.
- Jerin Matthew (December 20, 2013). "'Faithless' Ex-Morgan Stanley Fund Manager Ordered to Repay $31m to Former Employer". International Business Times UK.
- Henning, Peter J. (December 23, 2013). "The Huge Costs of Being a 'Faithless Servant'". New York Times DealBook.
- "Morgan Stanley seeks $10.2 million from convicted former trader". GreenwichTime. January 15, 2013.
- McMillan, Michael (2012-02-20). "Codes of Ethics: If You Adopt One, Will They Behave?". Enterprising Investor: Practical analysis for investment professionals. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
- Doig, Alan; Wilson, John (1998). "Business Ethics: A European Review Volume 7, Issue 3, July 1998". Business Ethics: A European Review. 7 (3): 140–149. doi:10.1111/1467-8608.00100.
- ACC. "Top Ten Tips for Developing an Effective Code of Conduct". Association of Corporate Counsel. Archived from the original on 7 September 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
- Barman, Tanya; White, Samantha (June 2014). "Implementing an effective corporate ethics policy". Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA) Magazine. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
- "International Federation of Accountants". IFAC.
- Bank codes of conduct https://theconversation.com/bank-codes-of-conduct-add-bars-to-the-window-dressing-and-make-them-legally-binding-105391
- "Coca-Cola Code of Conduct" (PDF). Coca-Cola Company. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-10-19. Retrieved 2014-04-29.
- "Madrid Declaration on Ethical Standards for Psychiatric Practice". World Psychiatric Association. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2013-02-28.
- Bquadrats - Josi Swerts. "EFPA Ethics - Board of Ethics". efpa.eu.
- "Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct". apa.org.
- "SRA Code of Conduct 2011". SRA Handbook. Solicitors Regulation Authority. Retrieved 25 October 2017.