(Mt) – Ball State University how To Build a Sales Ethics Program

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Ethics Program Guide What Do Ethics Mean For Business? Every organization has an ethics program strategy, whether explicit or implied. An effective ethics program serves as a basis for policy-making as well as providing guidance in daily decisionmaking. It should define ethics goals and objectives and allow the organization to measure progress. An organization’s ethical values determine what leaders and other employees will view as important and proper. Values provide direction and consistency in decision-making in the absence of policy, procedures or precedents. There is an underlying ethical climate in every organization that reflects collective perceptions about the organization’s values, norms and expectations. Perceived congruence between those perceptions and individual (personal) values encourages employee commitment to the organization. Ultimately the ethical effectiveness of an organization rests on the decisions and actions of those its leaders. Leader behavior becomes the model for what the organization requires and expects from the total employee body. Organizations benefit from having ethical practices. Support for those practices has to come from all sectors of the organization. That support will not automatically be present in all sectors, however, it must be cultivated and nurtured if it is to grow. Ethical practices are inherently valuable in the sense that they satisfy the organization’s moral/ethical obligations. There is also a pragmatic side to the value of ethical practices. Ultimately, ethically founded organizations are more effective and more successful. Ethics guidelines offer direction and limits to decision makers who must deal with situations which are not addressed by specific policies or precedents. Ethics guidelines provide an effective supplement to individual judgment. Whether or not employees commit to organizational values and work practices is in part a function of their perceptions of ethical congruence. They need to see the agreement between what they are being asked to do for the organization and what they personally believe is right. Implementing an Ethics Program Every organization needs a set of ethics policies and procedures to describe how the ethical values are to be implemented. These policies and procedures are the means by which the organization communicates expectations and requirements to its employees. Once ethics policies and procedures are in place, the organization should develop measurements for determining if its ethical standards are being maintained and if those standards are yielding the desired results. Many companies have instituted an ethics program of one kind or another. Companies interested in developing or strengthening their ethics program may want to consider taking some or all of the following steps: 1. Identify and Renew Company Values Companies without a clear set of values may find themselves at a disadvantage when developing ethics programs. Ethics programs are most effective when perceived by employees to be “values-driven” rather than simply compliance-driven and values-based programs are most effective in reducing unethical behavior, strengthening employee commitment and making employees more willing to deliver bad news to managers. Many companies conduct regular company-wide initiatives that involve employees at all levels of responsibility in renewing company values and updating them when appropriate. Source: www.knowledgeleader.com 1 2. Secure Visible Commitment From Senior Managers Most ethics professionals agree that it is crucial to enlist senior management support if an ethics program is to be successful. Senior managers should participate in training sessions, make ethics a regular element in speeches and presentations and align their own behavior with company standards. If employees view an ethics program as merely an effort to protect the reputation of top management, the program may prove more harmful than no program at all. 3. Engage the Board of Directors Engage directors in the ethics process by instituting a board ethics committee or by placing ethics on the board agenda as a regular item for discussion. Consider special training to enable directors to carry out their ethical responsibilities confidently. Many U.S. companies have instituted board ethics committees and training in recent years, a move motivated in part by the many regulations establishing that directors may be held liable for corporate ethical transgressions. 4. Develop an Ethics Code or Code of Business Conduct Comprehensive codes are aligned with company values and all applicable laws, address the full range of ethical dilemmas employees are likely to face and are updated regularly as new challenges emerge. It is important to be clear and specific about what is required of employees, where leeway is allowed in decision making and which ethical issues are nonnegotiable. Unclear rules and unclear expectations of employees are the single most prominent obstacle to ethical behavior. 5. Build Ethics Into Mission and Vision Statements Many companies build ethical values and goals into their mission and/or vision statements. This helps senior managers and employees understand that values and ethical standards are integral to all company operations and planning and not simply an “add-on” to be considered after important decisions have been made. 6. Integrate Ethics Into all Aspects of Company Communications Leverage existing company infrastructure to demonstrate to employees that ethics is an integral part of all operations and decision making. Integrate ethics and compliance training materials into multiple delivery sources including new employee orientations, management courses, sales training, business meetings, business plans and other aspects of day-to-day activities. 7. Secure Adequate Funding and Staff Effective programs require an adequate and sustained level of financial and human resources. Some ethics officers have found it useful to make a list of other companies’ ethical lapses and the costs incurred as a result, when making the internal business case for adequate resources for an ethics program. 8. Encourage “Ethical Autonomy” Among Employees No matter how lengthy or detailed, no ethics code can cover every ethical challenge a company and its employees will face. This is especially true as business operations expand globally and as technology enlarges the scope for potential lapses. Employees with a solid understanding not only of their company’s ethics code but of the values that support that code are better able to make appropriate decisions, even when confronting a new and complex challenge. 9. Globalize Your Ethics Program Involve local employees when identifying company values and developing ethics codes to ensure that these are understood and embr by all employees. Translate ethics codes and Source: www.knowledgeleader.com 2 training materials into local languages and be certain the translations respect local sensitivities and accurately reflect desired content. Many global companies find training is most effective when delivered in the local language by a respected employee who is a national of the country or region. 10. “Cyber-Ethicize” Your Ethics Program The internet and other technologies have vastly expanded the potential for ethical transgressions, especially with regard to on-line consumer privacy, workplace surveillance and privacy and competitive intelligence. Help employees make good cyber-ethical decisions by integrating these new issues into ethics codes and training. 11. Develop Comprehensive Ethics Training Design a comprehensive program of ethics training that enables employees to become active participants in their own learning. In addition to providing lectures and videos, consider “cascading” training delivered by direct supervisors, web- or computer-based training, games, quizzes, case studies, role-plays and simulations. Design additional specialized training for employees who may face special ethical dilemmas, such as sales representatives working in countries where bribery is commonplace. 12. Create an Ethics “Help Line” Midsize and large companies often set up a help line to let employees raise ethical concerns that they don’t feel able to discuss with their supervisors. Some companies hire outside security firms to handle all calls so that employees feel more comfortable about sharing sensitive information. Help lines are not uniformly effective around the world, however. In Asia, for example, employees may be reluctant to criticize managers’ behavior, whereas in Europe, for historical reasons, many employees may have strong sensitivities to what might be perceived as “informing” on their colleagues. 13. Reward Ethical Behavior and Penalize Unethical Behavior In order to clearly demonstrate commitment to its values and ethics standards, the organization should recognize and reward those ethics-related decisions and behaviors it wishes to sustain. Most ethics programs have mechanisms for investigating potential ethical lapses and holding employees accountable for transgressions. Some companies also choose to build incentives for ethical behavior into compensation systems, often tying a percentage of bonuses to ethical performance. 14. Develop Regular Audit and Evaluation Programs Follow up training with regular evaluations to make sure employees are retaining and acting on what they have learned. For example, one company created a committee that regularly reviews its ethics program. In the course of one such evaluation, the company found its program did not address emerging cyber-ethics issues and subsequently developed specialized training in this area. Evaluation can also help document the benefits of an ethics program to senior management and thus make the case for continued resources. 15. Consider Coordinating Ethics With Other Corporate Social Responsibility Functions A number of companies are developing closer coordination between the often-isolated ethics function and social responsibility functions such as community involvement, environment and country-specific labor practices. This allows for a coherent approach to the entire range of issues. Source: www.knowledgeleader.com 3

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