Code of Ethics for Focus Traders, Inc Research Paper

March 4, 2021 by Essay Writer

Business introduction

A fictitious organization by the name of Focus Traders has been used for the purpose of this assignment. Focus traders is a chain of stores that was established in the US about two decades ago. The company, which has opened stores in many states across the country, specializes in a variety of products and services.

Apart from the normal retail products that are sold in hypermarket stores across the country, the company is also known for electronic and toy products, among other key products. Services aligned to the company include consultancy and moving services.

Presently, Focus has a workforce of about 5500 employees serving in all its stores allover the country. Among other impressive things, Focus Traders is known for their respect on employees. The company views its employees as the strongest force behind their success, and therefore, as their most valuable asset in business.

For that reason, the management of Focus Traders is committed to ensuring that the working conditions in the company are safe and impressive for all its workers in various organizations.

More importantly, it is also in the responsibility of the management body to ensure that business clients and stakeholders are treated with due respect and dignity in all interactive grounds.

As it would be observed, the company’s code of conduct has proved to be beneficial to the business stakeholders, clients, and the society at large.

Mission Statement

Focus is committed to become a leading global supplier and provider of essential human products and services. As a focused company, we recognize that nothing can surpass the integration of sound management practices into every aspect of our business, to make life easier and better for modern and future generations.

Definition of Key terms as used in this publication

Core values

This refers to the fundamental principles or beliefs that would dictate the action or behavior of an individual or organization (Schwartz, 2002). Core values are important, for they play a key role in helping people differentiate between the right and the wrong in various contexts under which they are placed.

Passion

This is a kind of strong, uncontrollable emotion or attitude towards something. For the purpose of this case, this is whereby employers put more effort into their obligations than it is required of them, so as to reach better results or improved performances.

Commitment

This is the act of fully engaging in a particular activity in order to realize a specific goal. In other words, this refers to the extra effort or determination which people apply in fulfilling their work obligations.

Contribution

This is a person’s participation towards realization or fulfillment of a particular goal.

Accountable

This refers to the act of being responsible towards a certain obligation or duty.

Guiding Principles/Core Values

In Focus Traders, our operations are guided by a set of principles or values that plays a significant role in defining our organizational culture and character, as it is manifested through various core units. Following are some of the guiding business principles that would make it simple for our clients to do business with us.

Living by the customers’ standards and expectations
Commitment to high achievements
Being a leader in business matters
Commitment to environmental sustainability
Passion for partnership, customer service, and technology
Working together as a team
Active participation and contribution
Commitment to excellence
Effective listening and communication
Treating customers and business colleagues with courtesy and dignity
Sharing skills and knowledge
Making things easy for clients to ensure for successful business cooperation
Accountable for business commitment and quality to clients

Code of Ethics

The main purpose of our Code of Ethics is to guide the employees through the expected standards of conduct within the business environment.

The company’s ethical standards provide a detailed summary of the business practices and the regulatory requirements that are meant to guide the organization in all its business operations.

Different units of the organization are able to acknowledge their individual as well as collective efforts through the guidance provided by our Code, in a manner which is likely enable them to handle their business obligations with integrity as they pursue their mission of making the company realize its full potential in business.

Following is a summary of the general Ethics which our employees should observe and live by in their daily commitments to the company:

Honesty and Respect

The staff members of Focus Traders are expected to uphold good relationships among themselves, as it is observed by the organization. This can be achieved through striving to be honest and respectful to each other in all applicable terms.

Healthy and Safety

Focus Traders is much aware of the value of integrating healthy and safety practices into all aspects of their vast business operations. In this regard, our workers are expected to follow and uphold standards that would create safe and healthy working conditions and standards for themselves and their colleagues.

Respect for the Environment and the Atmosphere

Respecting and conserving the environment and the natural resources is among the top priorities exercised by our organization. In this regard, all our staff members would be expected to comply with regulations enforcing the conservation of land and the atmosphere.

Fair Information Practices

Workers should not disclose information or data regarding the internal structure, business activities, and financial situations of the company to outsiders.

Protection of Intellectual Property

Workers should respect and honor the rights of intellectual property. This would entail safeguarding customer details and transfer of technology in a manner that would ensure that the intellectual property rights are fully protected.

No Improper Advantage

Focus prohibits corruption of employees and the giving or receiving of incitements of any kind, whether dealing with clients or business stakeholders.

Focus employees should restrain from any activities meant to obtain undue advantage from clients or customers, such as bribes or incitements of any nature in exchange of services.

Regulatory Compliance

All Company employees are expected to respect and adhere to the regulations that govern the management of business in the country (Chonko and Hunt, 2012). All our workers are responsible for understanding the regulations as they do apply to their jobs in the company.

Responsible Accountability and Leadership

As a focused and successful organization, we are committed in undertaking our business operations in a responsible manner, so as to maintain respect and confidence in all our stakeholders and clients.

In this regard, our staff members are expected to act with integrity and try being responsive to all our partners and customers.

Employees Covered by the Code

A Company’s Code of Ethics applies to all employees in the organization, ranging from the principal executive officer to the lowest player in the entire work force (De Chernatony et al., 2010).

In this regard, all employees and members of the Board are expected to respect and adhere to the spirit and letter of the Code, failure to which severe disciplinary actions can be imposed.

All persons who may be assigned any duty in the company, either temporarily or permanently are expected to live by the standards of the Code in connection with their responsibilities.

Training and Education

Focus Trader’s employees would be taken through regular educational seminars within various departments to ensure for full compliance of the Code of Ethics, among other pertinent business values.

These training lessons would be carried out on managers and workers, with the aim of informing them about the kind of behavior expected of them in their work, as well giving informed advice on the implementation of the code.

The company to ensure that new staffs joining the organization are taken through a number of lessons during their orientation, in order to familiarize them with the company’s Code of Conduct.

This is an effective way of enforcing the Code to the staff, since it gives them a perfect understanding of what is expected of them in their respective capacities.

As it would be the case with other business organizations, the Code of Ethics for Focus Traders is liable for changes, and in that case, training is essential in keeping the workforce updated with any amendments made on the existing Ethics.

Implementation/communication

Apart from the regular training, communication of the code in the company will be done in a formal style, through publications that would be issued to new employees joining the company.

The business standards of ethics will also be displayed openly on walls in all the stores, where the staff members could see them easily. This actually serves as a constant reminder on the performance, expectations, and practices of employees, stakeholders, and clients.

Enforcement and Reporting of the Code

Focus Traders will always rely on the services of a management system that would be established by the management board to ensure full compliance of the Code, as well as the other applicable regulations and laws governing various units of the organization.

This objective will be reached upon through a number of approaches which include the following elements.

Organization Commitment

This entails a responsibility statement that affirms the workers’ commitment to compliance with the Code to be expressed in an understandable language in all the work sites.

Legal and Consumer Requirements

This is a process that would enable the staff to identify and understand the requirements of the code and any additional requirements imposed by the applicable regulations and laws.

Performance Objectives and measures of Implementation

This would incorporate written performance objectives and implementation approaches or plans, matched with the assessment of the employees’ performance against the fundamentals of the Code.

Worker Participation and Feedback

This is a constant process of obtaining feedback from the workers on procedures related to the Code in order to be able to foster any possible amendments on the principles.

Documentation and Records

Use of records and other relevant documentation to ensure that compliance of the Company’s Code of Ethics is observed by all workers and stakeholders, whereby the appropriate confidentiality measures are followed.

Corrective Action Process

This would be a process to impose any corrective measures to those who breach the Code in the most appropriate ways, depending on the levels of their deficiencies. Serious cases of failing to honor the code or any other regulatory laws could result to termination of one’s services to the company.