GUIDELINES FOR MANAGING ETHICS IN THE WORKPLACE

The focus on core values and sound ethics, the hallmark of ethical management, is being
recognized as an important way to ensure the long-term effectiveness of governance
structures and procedures, and avoid the need for whistle- blowing. Employers who
understands the importance of workplace ethics, provide their workforce with an effective
framework and guiding principles to identify and address ethical issues as they arise.
(1) Codes of Conduct and Ethics : A code of ethics specifies the ethical rules of operation in

an organization. Codes of conduct specify actions in the workplace and codes of ethics
are general guides to decisions about those actions, Examples of topics typically
addressed by codes of conduct include: preferred style of dress, avoiding illegal drugs,
following instructions of superiors, being reliable and prompt, maintaining confidentiality,
not accepting personal gifts and so on Codes are insufficient if intended only to ensure
that policies are legal. All staff must see the ethics program being driven by top
management.
(2) Establish Open Communication : Instead of just creating and distributing an ethics policy,
it is important that take the time to explain the reasons for the policy and review the
guidelines and conduct formal or informal training to further sensitise employees to
potential ethical issues. Many of the ethical problems arising in a business are not clearcut,
but involve "grey areas," where the proper course of action may be ambiguous and
uncertain. It is necessary to create a work environment where employees understand
that it is acceptable to have an ethical dilemma, and give workers the resources to help
resolve such situations.
(3) Make ethics decisions in groups, and make these decisions public. This usually produces
better quality decisions by including diverse interests and perspectives, and increases
the credibility of the decision process and outcome by reducing suspicion of unfair bias.
(4) Integrate ethics management with other management practices. When developing the
values statement during strategic planning, include ethical values preferred in the
workplace. When developing personnel policies, reflect on what ethical values you'd like
to be most prominent in the organization's culture and then design policies to produce
these behaviours.
(5) Use of cross-functional teams when developing and implementing the ethics
management program. It’s vital that the organization’s employees feel a sense of
participation and ownership in the program if they are to adhere to its ethical values.
Therefore, include employees in developing and operating the program.
(6) Appointing an ombudsperson: The ombudsperson is responsible to help coordinate
development of the policies and procedures to institutionalise moral values in the
workplace. This establishes a point of contact where employees can go to ask questions
in confidence about the work situations they confront and seek advice.
(7) Creating an atmosphere of trust is also critical in encouraging employees to report ethical
violations they observe This function might best be provided by an outside consultant,
e.g., lawyer, clergyperson, counsellor etc. Or, provide a “tip” box in which personnel can
report suspected unethical activities, and do so safely on an anonymous basis.
(8) Regularly update policies and procedures to produce behaviours preferred from the code

of conduct, job descriptions, performance appraisal forms, management-by-objectives
expectations, standard forms, checklists, budget report formats, and other relevant
control instruments to ensure conformance to the code of conduct. There are numerous
examples of how organizations manage values through use of policies and procedures.
For example, we are most familiar with the value of social responsibility. To instil
behaviours aligned with this value, organizations often institute policies such as recycling
waste, donating to charities or paying employees to participate in community events. In
another example, a high value on responsiveness to customers might be implemented by
instituting policies to return phone calls or to repair defective equipment within a certain
period of time.
(9) Include a grievance policy for employees to use to resolve disagreements with
supervisors and staff.
(10) Set an example from the top: Executives and managers not only need to endorse strict
standards of conduct, but should also ensure that they follow it themselves. They must
stress to employees that dishonest or unethical conduct will not be tolerated, and that
they are expected to report any wrongdoing they encounter; showing through actions as
well as words that the company relies on, rather than discriminates against, those who
come forward concerning ethical breaches.