Ethics Program Essay

Submitted By scl183
Words: 560
Pages: 3

Minimum Requirements for an ethics program. In an effective ethics program, the following parts are indispensable: a code of conduct, an ethics officer, the appropriate delegation of authority, an effective ethics training program, a system for monitoring and supporting ethical compliance and continual efforts to improve the ethics program. Codes of conduct are the firs step toward a comprehensive and strong ethics program. The benefits of establishing and having employees adhere to the code of conduct are many, among which good employee guidance, assistance in reinforcing company culture and values, establishing great public image are the most obvious ones. When codes of conduct are established, ethics officers are needed to oversee the implementation of those codes. As an ethics officer, one has the responsibilities of (1) assessing the needs and risks that an organization-wide ethics program must address, (2) developing and distributing a code of conduct or ethics, (3) conducting training programs for employees, (4) establishing and maintaining a confidential service to answer employees’ questions about ethical issues, (5) making sure that the company is in compliance with government regulation, (6) monitoring and auditing ethical conduct, (7) taking action on possible violations of the company’s code, and (8) reviewing and updating the code. The delegation of authority is a further means of oversight, supervising the ethics officer’s actions. When codes of conduct, ethics officer and the delegation of authority are established, the rest of the programs are training, monitoring&supporting and improvement. Ethics training programs with multiple goals and catering to both officials and employees could reinforce the value and rules within a corporation. Sufficient monitoring and supporting systems are a safeguard to the effective implementation of the program while continual efforts made in bettering the program can ensure the program’s longevity. To describe the role of codes of ethics in identifying key risk areas for an organization.

There are a couple of roles of codes of ethics in identifying key risk areas for an organization, first off, the code of ethics established in a company can guide employees in situaitons where lines of ethical and unethical issues are blurred. Second, a code of conduct is a part