Corporate standards of performance imply a code of honor and ethics as an effective management tool. “The code of ethics in an academic environment differs from moral standards that can be applied within a specific culture, education, religion, or society as a whole” (Lačný et al., 2018, p. 94). The main objective of creating a code of ethics is to generate positive attitudes towards a company or a profession in society. Another equally important task of such a document is to help each employee in a team to develop the “right” behavior towards colleagues or/and clients. Corporate codes of ethics solve a host of administrative and human resource tasks, making life easier for the business owner and HR managers. They act not only to recognize professional identity and an essential element of self-regulation and self-organization of the workforce but also indicate the degree of development of civil society.
Codes of ethics have both similarities and differences, for example, the International Sociological Association (ISA) and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Codes. These documents have the following parallels: they reflect humanitarian values, psychoanalytical principles, and professional obligations; they have a clear structure with subsections representing the interests of both employees and clients; they define the area of responsibility of employees, the principles of maintaining a favorable reputation of the company. Regarding the differences, the ISA Code of Ethics is more professional and normative, while the IEEE Code is corporate and reflects ideological values. In the ISA document, the text is written in the third person, while in the IEEE – in the first person. Another difference is that the ISA code is more detailed, with an introduction and preamble and an essential indication that their code of ethics is not exhaustive. However, both codes have the common goal of preventing unethical behavior within the team in dealing with clients.
The content of the code of ethics is crucial in further defining the company’s ideology. The IEEE code commits employees “to treat all persons fairly and with respect, and to not engage in discrimination based on characteristics such as race, religion, gender, disability, age, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression” (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, 2021, chap. 2). According to the ISA Code, “as scientists, sociologists are expected to cooperate locally and transnationally on the basis of scientific correctness alone, without discrimination on the basis of scientifically irrelevant factors such as age, sex, sexual preference, ethnicity, language, religion or political affiliation” (International Sociological Association, 2021, chap. 1). The new ethics plays a significant role in today’s world: people pay attention to such aspects as tolerance, the measure of pressure and aggression in society, and respect for the opinion of others. Therefore, it is crucial to consider these details and standards in documents such as codes of ethics. Every person deserves respect and justice, different cultures give different weight to this, but they all recognize the value of the individual human being.
Nowadays, when the market is full of multiple identical offers when competition in many business niches is so high that the customer becomes confused by similar offers, it is only possible to stand out with the highest level of service. All activities in the management of a company must be aimed at customer satisfaction. That is why it is essential to implement a code of ethics – a guide for action – from any company or organization’s first days of life. Seminars, training, general meetings of the staff, where each employee is comfortably and unobtrusively inculcated with the internal culture in a friendly manner, are highly productive in implementing such a document in life. The code of corporate ethics in every company is a unique code of honor, which is the same for every employee – from the CEO to the cleaner. Its standards and supporting tools are the backbones of a morally responsible organization.
References
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. (2021). IEEE Code of Ethics. Web.
International Sociological Association. (2021). Code of Ethics. Web.
Lačný, M., Lukáčová, J., & Kovalčíková, I. (2018). Specifics of introducing a code of ethics into the academic environment. Ethics & Bioethics, 8(1-2), 91-108. Web.