Creating a Corporate Code of Ethics Introduction

Corporations with codes of ethics, according to Meiners, Ringleb, and Edwards (1994), are cited for legal infractions by federal regulatory agencies less frequently than companies lacking such codes. Most corporate ethical codes address such issues as relations with the government, customer/supplier relationships, political contributions, conflicts of interest, accountability issues, and relationships with other stakeholders such as employees and shareholders (Meiners, et al, 1994). The vast majority of corporate ethical codes respond primarily to the law and the rule of law and not necessarily to either moral or ethical value systems independent of the law (Miller & Jentz, (2000).

It is the purpose of this project to construct a Code of Ethics for a hypothetical organization, called herein "Barton Manufacturing," a mid-sized manufacturing firm in the auto parts industrial sector. Barton Manufacturing is a publicly owned American company employing more than 3,000 workers in a unionized shop. Consequently, as Miller and Jentz (2000) have noted, the firm must respond not only to governmental regulations covering such issues as the environment, OSHA, financial accountability, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and so on, but also to its unionized workforce. Its code of conduct and ethics must therefore be comprehensive in addressing a number of different prerequisites for

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, and all financial reporting requirements Adhere strictly to all antitrust laws and the laws of contract and tort Aggressively recruit, hire, educate, and advance workers at all levels of the organization to create a culturally diverse workforce Eliminate all forms of harassment and discrimination from the workforce, particularly those that involve race, color, religion, gender, age, national origin, disability, and veteran or marital status Provide a drug-free, safe, and healthy work environment Refrain from any illegal or questionable gift-giving or provision of favors, political contributions, or other valuable items Avoid conflicts of interest in both practice and in appearance, basing all contracts on transparent accountability standards Maintain proprietary corporate information in a safe and secure manner and refrain from infringing upon the protected or proprietary information of other business entities Use corporate funds only for purposes that are legal and ethical while maintaining a system of internal accounting controls that exceed regulatory mandates. These general principles reflect on behalf of Barton Manufacturing, the overarching principles identified by Cummins Engine Company (2002, p. 1) which affirm

Category: Business - C