It is believed that the very first universal codes, which were a set of universal values, were sets of religious rules (for example, the Ten Commandments of the Old Testament). Later, codes began to appear that determined the behavior of individual social groups society (for example, the code of the samurai "Bushido"). "Bushido" translated from Japanese is the "Way of the Warrior" or the Samurai Code, a set of rules for the behavior of a samurai, which concerned not so much his actions on the battlefield as behavior in Everyday life(see Appendix No. 2). The need for private codes (codes of associations, professions) arose due to the fact that universal norms were not enough to regulate human behavior in specific situations. Private, professional ethics applied general moral principles to the features of this or that activity, having previously concretized them and supplemented them with the necessary.

At the moment, the most common are two types of ethical codes - professional and corporate, which regulate the relationship of people within these groups.

Professional codes regulate relations within the professional community, contain moral norms that regulate the behavior of a specialist in situations characteristic of this profession as a whole, increase the status of the professional community in society, and form confidence in the representatives of this profession. One of the first professional codes of ethics was the Hippocratic Oath - the code of physicians. The most well-known codes of ethics are those professions where the very content of the activity sets significant ethical dilemmas (psychotherapists, lawyers, realtors, journalists, etc.). The professional code reinforces the importance of belonging to a profession, and its adoption can indirectly be an initiation rite, a kind of act of "conversion to the profession" (for example, taking the Hippocratic oath and admitting doctors to medical work).

In the case when the most significant ethical dilemmas are set by the organization, the activities of employees are regulated corporate code.

It is believed that Japanese companies became the founders of corporate codes. The first "moral code of an employee of the company", called "Seven Spirits", appeared in 1930 in the Japanese company Mitsubishi Electric and combined the ideas of effective management of that time and the principles of the samurai code of Bushido. These "spirits" are: Matsushita's contribution to industry; honesty and devotion; harmony and cooperation; struggle for quality; courtesy and modesty; adaptation and susceptibility; appreciation.

After the defeat in World War II, Japan was looking for such models of government that would allow the country to get out of a difficult economic crisis.

Worked in the 50-60s. over this problem, the Keizai Doyukai voluntary association of businessmen developed management principles that began to be introduced in Japanese enterprises. It was the Japanese managerial revolution, which meant the transition from production management to "the production of man and his industrial relations", the transition from the status of employees to the status of "worker-entrepreneurs".

In the Japanese management system, a company cannot exist without clearly defined norms of corporate ethics, without a mission and a clear understanding by the employee of the role of his company in the market and in society, without an understanding of his role in the company.

In the United States, corporate ethics and corporate codes have been at the forefront of corporate governance for decades. The United States actively adopted the experience of Japanese companies. "...Corporate codes, which are a set of principles and rules of business conduct, are a central element of corporate ethics.<…>"Cards of Ethics" - a set of ethical rules and recommendations that specify the code of ethics of the corporation for each employee of the company. They also contain the name of the company's ethical advisor. This method used by Japanese companies.

Russian business began to pay attention to issues business ethics relatively recently: domestic companies began to think about creating a system of effective corporate governance in the late 90s. In the 1990s, a number of professional codes of ethics: Banker's Code of Honor (1992), Rules of Good Practice for Members of a Professional Association of Stock Market Participants (1994), Code of Honor for Members of the Russian Guild of Realtors (1994), Code professional ethics members Russian society appraisers (1994). When the direct relationship between the value of the company and its reputation in the market became clear, Russian managers it became clear that their business is evaluated not only by the amount of profit, but also by the quality of corporate governance, which is considered as an additional risk factor.

The first among Russian businessmen embodying corporate ethics into life, the oil industry began: 1998 - Sibneft and Yukos have their own corporate stands, in 2001 - at RAO UES of Russia, a year later - at LUKOIL, Gazprom and Norilsk Nickel. In 2002, with the participation of the Federal Commission on securities, Chamber of Commerce and Russian Union industrialists and entrepreneurs, a general Code of corporate governance of Russian business was adopted, which declared the transition to world standards financial reporting and protecting the rights of shareholders. Today, most Russian companies to some extent take into account the norms of this code when developing their own corporate codes.

2. The Code is a normative document of corporate culture

Functions of the corporate code

There are three main functions that a corporate code can perform: reputational, managerial and corporate culture development (intra-organizational).

reputation function of the Code is to build trust in the company from the outside (by the public). Thus, the code enhances investment attractiveness company, and the presence of such a document in the company is becoming a global standard for doing business in our time. Codes in this section can demonstrate the company's desire to comply with corporate governance standards, establish higher standards of corporate governance, declare additional obligations of the company to protect the rights of shareholders, etc.

managerial function of the code is to regulate behavior in difficult ethical situations, to unify the requirements for all segments of the external and internal public and to introduce a taboo on certain actions, regardless of their economic attractiveness, if they run counter to accepted corporate norms and principles. The implementation of this function is perhaps the most important point when carrying out measures to improve the efficiency of personnel activities.

Corporate culture development function . The Code of Corporate Ethics is an integral part of the corporate culture and an important factor in its development. It declares the values ​​of the company to all employees, focuses on common corporate goals and thereby enhances the collective identity.

Types of codes

Usually codes contain two parts: ideological(mission, goals, values; vision; company strategy; corporate identity; principles of public relations; rituals, legends) and normative(standards of work behavior).

The ideal option is a combination of all three functions of the code. But this is not always possible, especially in large diversified holding companies. There are a number of situations traditionally fixed in international practice codes of ethics (relations with clients, contractors; description of situations related to possible abuses, etc.), in this case the code describes the standards of conduct, but at the same time it has a significant volume and complex content. It is difficult to address such a document to all groups of employees. At the same time, the development of the company's corporate culture requires a single code for all employees - it sets a common understanding of the mission and values ​​of the company by all employees. In such a situation, two options are used - declarative and expanded.

Declarative a version of the code of ethics is, in fact, only an ideological part without regulating the behavior of employees. Moreover, it is understood that in specific situations, employees themselves must be guided by how they behave, based on basic ethical standards. That is why the declarative version of the code primarily solves the problems of developing corporate culture. "Credo", or a declarative version of the ethical code, has been used to present ethical principles since the beginning of the 20th century. These codes include Credo (declaration of values) "Johnson and Johnson" (1944), Code "Seven spirits (principles)" of conduct for employees of "Matsushita Electric" (1933). They describe the general principles of employee behavior at the declaration level.

Since the 1980s, it has become widespread deployed version of the code with detailed regulation of the ethics of employee behavior. They fixed the specific regulation of the behavior of employees in certain areas where the risk of violations was high or difficult ethical situations arose. These regulations were described in the form of a policy in relation to customers, consumers, the state, political activity, conflicts of interest, labor safety. At the same time, due to the large volume and complexity of the content of such codes, their selective addressing was revealed. In most companies, such codes are developed for top and middle management and are not a universal document that unites all employees; in this case, such codes practically lose their intraorganizational function.

6.5 Corporate holidays.

7. Conclusion.

8. Appendix (basic principles of the Company's personnel activity)" .

And below is the version of the content of the code proposed by Mark Fedin (from his article "Corporate culture through the regulation of employees' activities", the address of the article

Relations with customers, suppliers

ChapterII. Rules of business conduct in the Company

Relationships with colleagues

Relationships between leaders and subordinates

Relations with business partners of the company

Holding meetings and conferences

telephone communication

Electronic communications

Introduction of colleagues and partners

business clothes

Electronic passes

Daily regime

Business trips

The Company is prohibited

How to find us

Where to have lunch?

Form QC

As already mentioned, the consumers of the information set out in the Code can be not only employees of the company, but also the external public. In the case when internal consumers are also differentiated, divided into separate groups, when it is necessary to submit information selectively, several different copies of the document can be made. These copies will contain both a general set of rules and regulations, and separate procedures, instructions, etc. intended for a particular division or branch. These copies of the code can be different not only in content, but also in form, for example, some groups of employees will need a paper version, moreover, one that can be read at home, someone will be offered a booklet with excellent printing, and some groups of employees will prefer to see the code in an electronic version, for example, in the format of a PowerPoint presentation.

The author of the study sees it reasonable to offer the printed paper version for familiarization in a calm atmosphere to new employees. The version of the code in the form of a full-color booklet in a beautiful folder is suitable for storage as a standard in the director's office, in the reception room, in departments with managers. Access to this kind of code should also be free for the outside public. The code drawn up in this way should also command special respect from the employees of the company. The Code in presentation format is extremely convenient for use by a part of employees who have access to personal computers. The presentation file can be placed on the company's internal website or on the server, then employees can access the document at any time without leaving their PC.

The author of the study for the holding "Safe Technologies" proposed a paper version, a booklet version and a presentation in PowerPoint. The booklet has the ability to withdraw sheets (booklet on detachable rings), which allows you to quickly make changes to the code, if any.

Code Enforcement System

When the corporate code has already been created, it is necessary to start popularizing it among employees and start creating a system for its implementation. If the code of corporate ethics defines ethical principles, norms and rules of conduct prescribed for execution by company employees, then the execution system supports and encourages employee behavior in accordance with accepted ethical norms and rules, prevents deviations of employee behavior from specified ethical standards, helps to identify facts ethical violations and respond accordingly.

The introduction of ethical standards in a directive manner is ineffective. In order for them to become individual life rules, they must be inscribed in the everyday relations of a person and the world around him. The voluntary adoption of these standards is based on the actual needs of a person, which form the motives for the implementation of ethical standards. Possible ethical motives are : fear of punishment or fear of condemnation; group affiliation: professional and corporate (fear of exclusion from the ranks of the community for failure to comply with professional ethical standards); observance of ethical norms according to a person's personal ideas about morality.

Individual moral attitudes are too sensitive an area for direct intervention through directive levers. Therefore, as a rule, the code does not provide for legal liability for its non-compliance. It is recommended to adopt the code voluntarily, and if desired and if there is an appropriate procedure, each employee can make their wishes to the text and the execution system. For new members of the community, the document is already a given that must be accepted.

Option to introduce code as local normative act is also possible. To do this, options for specific violations are more carefully prescribed, and a system for their detection, prevention and a system of penalties is being created. Focusing on the control of ethical behavior at the same time reduces intrinsic motivation to comply with rules and regulations. Where social control is difficult (violations with a low risk of exposure), the likelihood of violations remains high.

When implementing ethical standards in a recommendatory manner, it is worth focusing on translation principles these norms. In this case, the resource of the organization becomes a voluntary initiative, universal ethical responsibility and respect for the personal ethical standards of employees. The principles of translation of ethical norms that allow implementing this approach are:

1. Dialogic and maximum transparency of the entire process of development and implementation of the corporate code.

2. Voluntary acceptance of ethical principles and norms by the employees of the organization.

3. Equality of all employees in the implementation of ethical standards. Particular attention should be paid to the actions of managers at all levels: top management should set the standard for ethical behavior.

In this option, the main way to regulate business ethics in an organization becomes freedom to adopt ethical standards. Freedom of acceptance provides for the possibility of rejecting the proposed ethical standards, the opportunity to work in the organization, even if the employee does not fully share the corporate ethical standards. At the same time, it is obvious that he will have fewer opportunities for promotion and development in the organization. But the choice, to leave him because of this or to stay, he makes himself.

With regard directly to the process building a runtime system code , then the structure of this system consists of the following elements:

promotion of ethical standards of conduct;

· education;

information, collection and analysis of information;

· response to existing ethical problems and violations of ethical norms, encouragement of positive ethical behavior.

Through the process of promotion and education, the knowledge and understanding of ethical standards by the employees of the organization is ensured, and information and response provide support for the application of these standards in daily activities. Let's look at these elements in more detail.

Purpose of activities for the implementation corporate code - make it an understandable tool. And it is necessary to teach employees how to handle it as a management tool, that is, it is important not only to familiarize employees with the book or presentation "Corporate Code", but to teach them how to use it to resolve difficult ethical situations. An explanation of the expediency of introducing the code, the importance of ethical standards, both for the enterprise and for the employee, takes place in the form of a preliminary and accompanying internal PR campaign.

Discussing the content of the code is best done in the form of a company-wide dialogue. At the same time, it is important to take into account the proposals of employees that do not contradict the interests of the organization. During the dialogue, it is necessary to explain to employees what the code is, what it is for, how it works, examples of its application, and ways to resolve difficult ethical situations. This can be done, for example, in the form of an interactive seminar informing about the code, as well as the system for its implementation.

Another optimal form of implementation is transmission through management, especially the first persons (management in this case not only talks about the importance of implementing the code, but also executes it exemplarily). Managers of the organization become "conductors of ethics", demonstrating behavioral models of ethical behavior.

A key element of ethical enforcement is the ability to identify and respond to facts of ethical violations. For this purpose, responsible persons are appointed, in functional responsibilities which includes receiving questions from employees, analyzing ethical situations, responding to them. This role can be performed, for example, by personnel management specialists, PR managers, corporate culture consultants. The functions of consulting and control can be included in the duties of already working specialists and be performed part-time or be separated up to the allocation of a separate staff unit (for example, an ethical commissioner).

Maintaining the relevance of the topic of ethical regulation in the company contributes to the constant information support this activity, ranging from publicly bringing to the attention of employees the consequences of unethical behavior up to the creation of a permanent column in the company's printed (electronic) communications. In such a column, it is possible to publish both a discussion of specific situations and, for example, philosophical essays on moral and ethical topics that contribute to an even deeper understanding of the role of ethics in professional life.

Of course, the promotion of the corporate code is also facilitated by non-financial incentives to its implementation: increasing the overall score when evaluating employees for the absence of ethical violations, introducing an informal nomination "ethical employee".

So, ideally, the code should be important resource And guide to action. Basic prohibitions should be present and outline the most fundamental areas of behavior, but make up a smaller part of the ethical code. The recommended behavior should be set out as a model to be followed. The corporate code should expand the area of ​​personal responsibility and encourage initiative. Clarity, transparency and intelligibility of the corporate code make it an effective tool in the management of the organization. A personal example of top management, following the principles of corporate ethics, is able to prove to each employee that the corporate code is not a stillborn document, but an integral part of the corporate culture, to comply with which means being part of the team. Exactly open dialogue between the organization and employees about common values ​​and development goals, rules and norms of interaction becomes the most important condition for the formation of a strong internal corporate culture.

Send a request with a topic right now to find out about the possibility of receiving a consultation.

Posted On May 22, 2018

Corporate codes.

Introduction ………………………………………………………………………………2

1. The history of the emergence of corporate codes………………………3

2. The concept and components of corporate ethics. ………………………..6

3. Main tasks and functions of the corporate code. ……………………..eleven

Conclusion ………………………………………………………………..………14

Bibliography. ……………………………………………………………….15

Introduction

In recent years, in many major Russian companies codes of corporate ethics. Is it a fashion, a nod to Western investors, or is the owner really trying to improve the efficiency of company management with the help of the code?

A new employee who has come to the company has minimal information about it, and even after receiving more complete information, over time, it may need to clarify certain points. Numerous internal documents(job descriptions, orders, regulations and schemes) are not able to form in newcomers a holistic view of the enterprise, mandatory rules and norms of behavior, work standards.
You can combine, structure and make information convenient for perception and effective assimilation using the corporate code (handbook) or the corporate book of the company.

The content of the corporate code depends on the size of the company, its structure, the number of employees and, in fact, the number of rules and regulations. Thus, the content of the corporate code of a large company may differ significantly from the points of a similar document of an organization with 50–70 employees. A more complex, multi-level structure of the enterprise, the presence of separate subcultures in regional branches and, as a result, numerous procedures and instructions, suggests the need for a more voluminous code than with a simpler management system for a small company.

Purpose of work: To consider corporate codes.

To implement the task, the following tasks are set:

1. Study the history of corporate codes

2. Define the concept and components of corporate ethics

3. Consider the main tasks and functions of the corporate code.

1. The history of the emergence of corporate codes.

The first corporate codes of ethics appeared in the United States at the beginning of the 20th century. Initially, these were short statements of the main ideas, for example: "The company adheres to the standards of the American free enterprise system," as well as lists of some norms for treating customers and competitors.

The next stage in the development of corporate codes came in the early 1950s, when, after a series of notorious lawsuits against large companies, certain provisions of the antitrust laws adopted in the United States in 1890, 1914 and 1936 began to be included in the codes. In the codes of companies of this time you can find detailed instructions how to comply with antitrust laws that prohibit the imposition of pricing policy other firms and collusion with competitors.

According to research by scientists, the most typical issues developed in corporate codes provided for the punishment of their employees for the following violations: offering a bribe and agreeing to accept it, advising to give or accept a bribe, accepting expensive gifts, making decisions or participating in decisions that meet personal interests, intransigence in conflicts of interest, personal behavior damaging the company's reputation, conducting illegal political activities, unjustifiably overpricing or underpricing, direct or indirect use of inside information about the company's affairs, unethical behavior. In the service sector, most often faced with the problem of gifts and various kinds of "concessions".

The American Managers Association has published a set of ethical codes for various firms with an assessment of their effectiveness. Studies have shown that codes consisting of general provisions(for example, "do not steal"), bring little benefit and are easily forgotten by those to whom they are addressed. Codes should reflect as fully as possible the real situation and the specifics of the organization in which they are adopted.

According to the results of the research, it turned out that the content of most American codes can be represented by three main provisions:

1) employees must be loyal to their organization, put its good above personal;

2) in private life, employees do not have the right to take actions that are potentially dangerous for the company;

3) Employees must behave in a respectful and ethical manner towards customers.

The codes provide the most detailed coverage of problems that may arise in relations with clients, partners, investors and competitors, as well as conflicts of interest.

Today, almost all large corporations (97%) and half of small US firms have detailed sets of rules governing relationships with customers, partners, government and society. Codes differ significantly both in content and scope.

Many codes, especially in large corporations, have lost their meaning, as they were focused only on the needs of the company itself. They talked a lot about the responsibility to the company and the loyalty of employees to it, and very little about the obligations of the company to its employees and the whole society. Studies show that most American codes are written in an authoritarian spirit, which convinces employees that the criterion of truth is the level wages and rank in the management hierarchy. Only 40 of the 155 US codes studied set out the firm's obligations to its employees.

This feature of American corporate codes becomes even more obvious if we compare their content with the provisions of similar documents adopted in other countries. Outside of America, corporate codes have received little distribution so far. A 1997 study of 200 corporations around the world showed that only 30% of non-US companies have their own codes. In Canada, their number is 50%. in the United Kingdom - 42%. Of the 189 British, French and West German companies surveyed, 41% adopted the codes.

In general, European codes are much more focused on employee relations issues than American ones. This theme is found in all European and only 55% of American codes.

If in the USA 42% of codes refer to social problems and environmental issues, then in Western Europe - 65%. We can say that the American business ethics is more turned to clients, contractors and partners, and the European - to employees and society as a whole.

2. The concept and components of corporate ethics.

The quality of corporate governance today is the most sensitive issue for many Russian companies. Some of them have already developed and published their corporate governance codes for the public. These companies undertake to respect the rights of shareholders and investors, undertake to be open to creditors, partners and customers.

It is quite difficult to ensure high standards of corporate governance in practice. Therefore, the adoption of one's own code of corporate conduct is one of the ways to ensure the information openness and publicity of the company, for which compliance with high standards of corporate behavior is a means of increasing the attractiveness of the company.

The Corporate Code shortens the way for the company to enter the national and international markets, to foreign investments, to quotes of the company's shares on foreign exchanges. Therefore, sooner or later, shareholders must insist on the appearance of such a code. If the charter joint-stock company is a kind of constitution, the code is a declaration. It contains the rules of internal behavior for the subjects of a joint-stock company and the rules of relations with external partners. Moments that the charter does not provide for in terms of their “genre” are fixed in the code. And in order to detail it, they are developing additional “procedural” provisions, a kind of by-laws.

The corporate code, as a rule, consists of sections:

1. Message from the leaders of the company;

2. Mission of the organization and corporate myths: strategic mission

Philosophical mission Mission-slogan. History of creation and activity of the company. Outstanding cases, precedents of behavior, corporate heroes

3. Organizational structure companies, main personalities;

4. Goals and objectives of the organization, basic goods and services;

5. Responsibility.

Responsibility of the company's personnel to customers, contractors, shareholders. Responsibility of the company to the staff of the organization

6. Domestic politics companies: Personnel policy. Social politics. Relationships in the team. Duties of employees. Leadership responsibilities. Hiring organization. Policy in the field of remuneration of employees of the company. Social package provided to company employees. Relationship with the leader. Appearance and speech of employees. Attitude towards customers, partners, competitors. Customer service. Dealing with complaints and claims. Ethical problems arising in the analysis of complaints of claims. Position relative to competitors

7. Requirements for personnel. The level of professionalism. Loyalty. Organizational value systems. Norms of personnel behavior, standards and regulations.

So, each company defines its own tasks, for the solution of which it intends to use such a tool as a code of corporate ethics. But the creation of the code, of course, is not limited to writing the text of the document. There is a specificity in the execution of such documents: it is impossible to force the execution of the code of ethics. Therefore, in order for it to really work, even at the stage of its creation, it is necessary to provide procedures that include, if possible, all employees of the company in the process of developing a document. Only if every employee accepts a code of corporate ethics will it be actually implemented.

The concept of "ethics" was coined by the ancient Greek scientist Aristotle. Ethics helps to understand what should be done and what should not. In our time, ethical attitudes and moral standards are an integral part of life. In a professional environment, there are also written and unwritten rules that determine the appearance of employees, work style, relationships with partners, and document flow rules. All this together constitutes corporate ethics. And in order to comply with it (in any aspect), you need such qualities as responsiveness, attentiveness, goodwill, the ability to perceive criticism, and decency.

System and principles of corporate ethics

Ethics is a set of rules and norms of behavior in a particular area of ​​human communication. Corporate ethics are the rules of conduct that are established by a certain company and ensure the normal activities of both individual employees and the entire organization as a whole.
Corporate ethics can be represented as a system with two main elements, where the first is the moral and ethical values ​​of the organization and its development priorities, and the second is the norms of behavior of employees in formal and informal situations. In the system of relationships, the subjects of corporate ethics are the owners, managers and employees of the organization. The introduction of the rules of corporate ethics allows a person to feel himself not just a cog in a production machine, but a full member of the team.
The principles of ethics of corporate relations are a generalized expression of moral requirements developed by society and defining the norms of behavior of participants business relations. Let's list these principles.
Specifics. The lack of clearly defined rules inevitably leads to a lack of commitment to the enterprise, which negatively affects the work of employees, and therefore profits.
Unity. For example, concern for the common interests of the organization and each employee individually, compliance with business communication, creating and maintaining a business image and impeccable reputation of the organization, maintaining the confidentiality of information.
Respect and tolerance. Employees of the organization must respect those with whom they interact, show tolerance for other people's opinions, politeness, and be correct.
Reciprocity. A level higher than the rules that are established by the corporate code for personnel are the rules for the organization as a whole: responsibility for the quality of its products and fulfillment of contractual obligations, creating and maintaining mutually beneficial relationships with suppliers and consumers, recognizing the labor merits of employees, providing them with decent remuneration , social guarantees.

Values ​​and types of corporate ethics

The basis of the norms of corporate ethics are values, that is, common beliefs that determine what is right and what is wrong. Values ​​can be positive, guiding people towards patterns of behavior that support the achievement of the organization's strategic goals. Such values ​​are characterized by statements such as "The interests of the consumer are above all", "The success of the company is my success." Values ​​can also be negative, that is, negatively affecting the effectiveness of the organization as a whole. They are represented by appropriate statements, for example: “You are the boss - I am a fool, I am the boss - you are a fool”, “You cannot redo all the work”.
Depending on the history, the attitude towards the personnel in the company and the clientele, the corporate ethics will be characterized as traditional, highly qualified, innovative or public.
Traditional. Characterized by standard relationships with clearly defined roles. Decrees come from above and are carried out by subordinates without discussion.

Most often, this type of ethics is found in companies with long-established management and business practices, where it is most effective.
Highly qualified.

The main principle is the selection of top-level talented people who will be able to influence lower-level employees. This is often the case in companies where risky operations, such as financial games on the stock exchange, are the norm.
Innovative corporate ethics are in many respects the opposite of traditional ones. Initiative and creative ideas are welcome at all career levels in the company. There is also some risk.
Public corporate ethics is characteristic of organizations in which goals are achieved through joint efforts, teamwork based on trust. The focus is often on taking care of employees. In such companies, employees are often paid a little more than usual, there is a system of incentives, rewards for achievements.
The main norms of corporate behavior began to take shape in countries with the most developed capital markets: England, the USA and Canada. Corporate codes were created that regulated the practice of corporate behavior, the interests of shareholders, the scope of authority of directors and company management.
The purpose of corporate ethics is to regulate the relationship of employees within a single team and is formed on the basis of generally accepted human values:
1) competence and professionalism. The presence of high-quality education, work experience, the ability to make decisions, and the desire to improve their professional level among the subjects of corporate ethics;
2) honesty and impartiality. Important aspect in the activities of the organization, in preserving its business reputation and the elimination of conflicts between personal interests and professional activities;
3) responsibility as a guarantee of the quality of the organization's activities;
4) respect for the person's personality. Everyone has the right to be treated honestly and fairly, regardless of race, language, political and religious beliefs, gender, nationality and culture;
5) patriotism. An employee must be both a patriot of his state and a patriot of his organization, which contributes to the development of both the organization and the state;
6) security, which is characterized by the desire to preserve trade secret and ensuring harmless and non-hazardous working conditions;
7) focus on material well-being as a condition for the realization of the needs of a person, his family, the community within which he lives;
8) interchangeability of employees - allows the organization to respond flexibly to unexpected changes in external conditions and emergency situations;
9) flexibility. It involves encouraging employees to interact effectively, to jointly search for the optimal solution to problems.

Code of Conduct

In foreign management practice, a number of special events and methods have been developed aimed at forming a healthy ethical basis. labor relations. Among them are ethics cards - a set of rules and recommendations that specify the ethical code of the corporation for each employee of the company. Ethics committees are created to develop the organization's ethical policy and address specific ethical issues that arise in the course of daily practice. Employees and managers are trained in ethical behavior through seminars and short courses.
However, the corporate code is the central element in the implementation and development of corporate ethics. It can be defined as a set of public and unspoken rules that formulate the basic principles of the organization's activities and at the same time ensure compliance with moral standards. This code regulates the behavior of employees in situations that are not prescribed in job descriptions and statutory provisions, such as corporate event. As a rule, each organization has its own individual code, but each of them is based on generally accepted moral values ​​and laws.
Benefits of having a corporate code:
- determines the procedure for resolving conflict or unregulated situations;
- makes uniform norms of behavior and morality in the company;
- regulates the procedure for making decisions in difficult economic situations;
- forms a positive image of the company in the business environment;
- allows you to resolve issues such as discussing the payment of remuneration or promotion career ladder individual employees.
Thus, the code of corporate ethics is an effective tool for managing the workforce.

Conclusion

The moral climate at the enterprise for solving economic problems can play no less important role than well-organized management. The lack of corporate ethics in the company leads to the fact that the staff does not feel loyalty to it, in turn, this affects the work, and hence the profit of the company as a whole. The moral cohesion of the team, the consciousness of responsibility to each other for the results of labor are able to save the enterprise even under strong pressure external environment and ensure sustainable development.
Corporate ethics is a key element that brings people together. It includes both limiting and encouraging certain behaviors in the organization. When the staff follows corporate ethics, activities are organized not only on the basis of orders, but also due to the internal consistency of the guidelines and aspirations of employees. This gives everyone the opportunity to feel like a full member of the community, which ultimately increases the company's competitiveness and labor productivity.

If you did not find the information you need on this page, try using the site search:

Corporate ethics

Modern business is a complex system with many parameters, and all of them affect final result, which provides for the receipt of profit and the development of the company. Any business owner invests time, energy, money, and effort in its development. One of the components that significantly affect the development of the company is the corporate culture and corporate ethics. In fact, it is an important management tool that affects the development of the company and its value.

Compliance with business ethics and corporate ethics alone promises to increase the company's revenues, almost without any other financial investments. Given the financial and economic crisis, the possibility of such a simple additional profit without significant investment is especially attractive.

The concept of corporate ethics

The corporate ethics of the company is a stable system of collective values, traditions, beliefs, norms of behavior of employees. The rules of corporate ethics of business are expressed in the symbolic, spiritual and material environment of people working in a particular organization.

The foundations of corporate ethics include the following attributes:

1. General values ​​that employees value in their lives, work - their positions, opportunities for advancement in their careers, the work itself.
2. Faith in leadership, success, own strength, mutual assistance and justice.
3. The communication system in the team, the language of communication, the use of oral, written, non-verbal communication, gestures, etc.
4. Awareness of time, attitude to it, its proper use, compliance with the daily routine, work schedule.
5. Relationships between people that differ depending on age, status, position, level of knowledge. This also includes ways and methods for resolving conflict situations.
6. The process of developing employees, conducting training procedures, trainings, training new employees, the process of transferring experience, skills and knowledge.
7. Work ethic, methods of stimulating achievement. Distribution of responsibilities, performance appraisal, remuneration, ways of career advancement.
8. Appearance of employees, business style of clothes, behavior.

All these characteristics, taken together, are the formation of corporate ethics. This process is mutual - the people working in the organization form the corporate ethics of the organization, and at the same time the culture influences their behavior.

Features of corporate ethics

Corporate ethics and etiquette are manifested in material and spiritual things: appearance employees, design office space, in symbols, corporate identity, forms of encouragement and awards. The culture of an organization is general characteristics the entire organization.

It is worth noting that the principles of corporate ethics are also limitations, a process of discussing standards, norms and values ​​that never stops. As soon as a company introduces a document regulating corporate ethics and measures to prevent its violations, it is forced to develop a communication network specifically for it. If this does not happen, problems of corporate ethics appear - access to information to management is blocked, negativity accumulates, middle managers play a destructive role. Violations of corporate ethics should be punished - financially and administratively.

Code of Corporate Ethics of Magnit

All successful companies have developed a clear list of special measures and methods aimed at creating a healthy ethical basis for labor relations. In order to successfully realize the main purpose of the business, company leaders must work to create such value as corporate ethics.

Codes of ethics contain resources for solving a fairly wide range of tasks. At the same time, one methodological approach to the creation of ethical codes is currently absent.

A study of the ethical codes of leading foreign and domestic companies showed that they are often very different from each other: they have a different format, different style, and, moreover, perform different tasks. It depends on the tasks that this document will be and how it will work in a particular organization.

The code of ethics is a set of rules and norms of behavior shared by group members. With the help of the code, certain patterns of behavior are set and common standards relationships and joint activities.

The first universal codes, representing a set of universal human values, were sets of religious rules. The need for private codes (for example, codes of associations, professions) arose due to the fact that universal norms were not enough to regulate human behavior in specific situations. Private ethics concretized general moral principles in relation to the characteristics of a particular activity.

Currently, the most common are two types of ethical codes - professional and corporate, which regulate the relationship of people within these groups.

Depending on the identity of the specialist (with the organization or with the professional community), the code of professional or corporate ethics will be more significant for him. Professional codes regulate relations within the professional community and are effective for the liberal professions, where professional ethical dilemmas are most pronounced. Codes regulate the behavior of a specialist in difficult ethical situations typical for a given profession, increase the status of the professional community in society, and form confidence in the representatives of this profession. The most significant ethical dilemmas are set by the organization, the activities of whose employees are regulated by the corporate code.

The root cause of ethical problems in business is contradictions in the interests of interest groups. Business involves economic relationships between many groups of people: customers, employees, shareholders, suppliers, competitors, governments and communities - stakeholders. For the most effective management a modern manager must take into account the totality of interests, and not just the interests of shareholders.

Interest groups often make conflicting demands. For example, the conflict of interests of the company and the consumer: is it possible to sell a product that does not correspond in quality to the declared one. The company strives for the most profitable coverage of its product and attracting customers in the interests of the prosperity of the company. The consumer is interested in the most objective message about the consumer qualities of the product in order to be fully informed.

However, not all problems have a moral aspect. For example, the question is whether it is worth implementing a certain New Product in Europe before in the US, has no moral component. And the question of different quality criteria (or different standards of information transparency about the quality of goods) for the products of one company, exported to the United States and third world countries, already affects moral standards. Therefore, the most important tasks of the code of corporate ethics are to set priorities for target groups and ways to harmonize their interests.

A code of conduct can perform three main functions:

• 1) reputation;
• 2) managerial;
• 3) development of corporate culture.

reputation function of the code is to build confidence in the company on the part of reference external groups (a description of the policies traditionally fixed in international practice in relation to customers, suppliers, contractors, etc.). Thus, the code, being a corporate PR tool, increases the investment attractiveness of the company. The presence of a company code of corporate ethics becomes a global standard for doing business.

managerial function of the code is to regulate behavior in difficult ethical situations. Improving the efficiency of employees' activities is carried out by:

• regulation of priorities in interaction with significant external groups;
• determining the order of decision-making in complex ethical situations;
• indications of unacceptable forms of behavior.

In addition, corporate ethics is integral part corporate culture. The Code of Corporate Ethics is a significant factor in the development of corporate culture. The Code can convey the company's values ​​to all employees, orient them towards common corporate goals and thereby enhance corporate identity.

I.P. Wunder

Corporate ethics of the organization

Ethics is a set of rules and norms of behavior in a particular area of ​​human communication. Corporate ethics is a system moral principles, norms of moral behavior that have a regulatory impact on relations within one organization and on interaction with other organizations.Corporate ethics is part of such regulatory system like corporate culture.

The purpose of corporate ethics is to regulate the relationship between representatives of various professions united by a common labor collective working in the same organization.

Under the influence of corporate ethics, the activities of employees are organized not so much on the basis of orders or compromises, but due to the internal consistency of the guidelines and aspirations of employees. An organization built on the unity of the worldview and values ​​of its members becomes the most harmonious and dynamic form of the corporate community.

Corporate ethics can be represented as a system with two subsystems. Firstly, these are the moral and ethical values ​​of the organization and its development priorities. Secondly, these are the norms and rules of behavior for employees of the organization in formal and informal situations.

Corporate ethics is based on a number of principles 1 .

• The absence of clearly formulated rules of corporate ethics inevitably leads to a lack of certain devotion to one's team, which negatively affects the work of a particular employee (employees) and the entire enterprise as a whole. And only the introduction of the rules of corporate ethics allows a person to feel himself not just a cog in a production machine, but a full member of the team, almost a member of the family.
• Corporate ethics stipulates the collective principles of behavior. For example: taking care of the common interests of the organization and each employee individually, ensuring the growth of the organization's values, observing the norms of business communication, creating and maintaining a business image and impeccable reputation, supporting the overall strategy and priorities of the organization, not using the image of the organization to harm it for personal purposes, confidentiality received information.
• Corporate ethics stipulates the ethical principles of service relations. For example, employees of an organization must treat all people with respect, they must keep their promises, be tolerant of other people's opinions, and be polite and correct.
• Above the rules that are set by the corporate code for employees are the rules set for the organization itself. For example: building relationships with customers and partners exclusively on legal basis, full responsibility for the fulfillment of contractual obligations, the creation and maintenance of mutually beneficial relationships with suppliers and consumers of services, the recognition of the labor merits of employees and the provision of fair remuneration to them, the provision of social guarantees for employees.

Corporate ethics is a system of values 2 that regulates ethical relations in the organization. It is due to the characteristics of the activities and goals of this organization, as well as the prevailing stereotypes of behavior in this organization. Corporate ethics is a key element that unites people - participants in the process into a single social organism (human community).

Values ​​can be positive, orienting people towards such patterns of behavior that support the achievement of the strategic goals of the organization, but they can also be negative, which negatively affect the effectiveness of the organization as a whole.

Values ​​can also be divided into individualand organizational, however, they largely coincide, but there are those that belong exclusively either to one group or to another. For example, such as "well-being", "initiative", "quality", "independence" can refer to both groups, and such as "family", "predictability", "work", "authority" refer to individual, and "fungibility" "," flexibility "," change "are associated with the organization.

The fundamental values ​​on the basis of which corporate ethics are formed, as a rule, are:

• Competence and professionalism. Subjects of corporate ethics must: have a high-quality education, work experience, the ability to make informed and responsible decisions; strive to improve your professional level; be proactive and proactive in execution official duties, responsibility and discipline.
• Honesty and impartiality. This is the foundation of the organization's activities, its business reputation. The organization does not allow conflict between personal interests and professional activities.
• Responsibility. Responsibility is a guarantee of the quality of the organization's activities.

• Respect for the human person. Employees of the organization have the right to be treated fairly and fairly, regardless of race, language, political and religious beliefs, gender, nationality and culture.
• Patriotism. The employee must be a patriot of his organization. It should contribute to the development of the organization.
• well-being. Aiming at material well-being, as a condition for the realization of the needs of a person, his family, the community within which he lives.
• Interchangeability. Allows the organization to respond flexibly to unexpected changes in environment and emergencies within the organization.
• Flexibility. Focus on flexibility and encouragement of employees to effective interaction, joint search for the optimal solution to the problem, ways to achieve the goals set, timely response to environmental changes.

In addition to values, corporate culture also includes beliefs, rituals, symbols, which are its elements. To form a unified corporate culture, first of all, it is necessary to develop internal communications(both between organizations and within organizations). Openness of information related to various aspects of the organization's activities, corporate publications, the creation of the Internet contributes to easy access of company employees to internal information. Rotation method from management company also serves as an effective way to increase corporate communications and accelerate the process of forming a unified corporate culture.

The moral qualities on which corporate ethics is based should also be listed: responsiveness; attentiveness; goodwill; ability to accept criticism; devotion; decency, honesty; modesty; openness.

There are several types of corporate ethics.

• Traditional corporate ethics is an old-fashioned approach to the corporate environment. It is based on clearly defined roles and relationships between employees. Traditionally, a simple chain of commands works. Orders are given from above and carried out by subordinates without discussion or disagreement. And although this kind of ethics is outdated, it still has a place. Most often, such ethics are used in companies with long-established management methods and for them it is the most effective.
• Highly qualified corporate ethics is not called so because other types of ethics do not imply highly qualified personnel. The main principle of this type of corporate ethics is the selection of top-level talented people who will influence lower-level employees.
• Innovative corporate ethics is in many ways the opposite of traditional ethics. In this case, creative initiative is supported among ordinary employees. There is always a certain risk in companies with this kind of corporate ethics.
• A public corporate ethic draws its strength from collaborative effort, teamwork, and healthy trusting relationships among company employees. Often this kind of corporate ethics emphasizes caring for its employees.

To create a positive corporate ethics, you should:

• Set specific goals for the organization. This will enable employees to be informed about what responsibility they bear, what role they play in the implementation of the organization's activities. Hire talented employees who have both specialist skills and the ability to work with people.
• Creating an atmosphere within the organization that encourages creativity and learning.
• The introduction of a motivation program in the organization in order to interest employees and make them focus on work, the use of cash bonuses and all kinds of incentive events.

Under the influence of corporate ethics, the activities of employees are organized not so much on the basis of orders or compromises, but due to the internal consistency of the guidelines and aspirations of employees. An organization built on the unity of the worldview and values ​​of its members becomes the most harmonious and dynamic form of community.

Almost all areas of corporate ethics have rules that correspond to moral and ethical standards of behavior in a broad sense. In addition, without exception, all areas of business ethics are based on the fundamental norms of ethics. These include respect for the self-esteem and personal status of another person, understanding the interests and motives of the behavior of others, social responsibility for their psychological security, etc.

The principles of ethics of corporate relations are a generalized expression of moral requirements developed in the moral consciousness of society, which indicate the norms of behavior for participants in business relations.

Corporate ethics is based on moral standards that allow everyone to feel like an individual. First of all, they are related to the basic (material) needs of the employee:

• wages for skilled labor should not be lower than the incomes of the middle strata of the population;
• the organization assumes responsibility for a certain stability of employment, and in the event of a forced dismissal, the payment of appropriate compensation;
• preventing an unjustified gap in the income levels of owners, managers and ordinary workers.

The relationship of the employee with the organization is largely determined by ethical standards of a higher order, and not least such as:

• respect for human dignity, regardless of the social status occupied in the hierarchical ladder of the enterprise;
• guarantees of advanced training and professional advancement;
• free expression of judgments about the activities of the organization;
• participation in the preparation and adoption of decisions affecting the interests of employees;
• sharp condemnation of such phenomena in the system of labor relations as denunciation, opposition of some groups of workers to others;
• transparency financial activities organization that excludes any form of shadow operations.

Of course, in corporate ethics, a certain commonality of corporate interests cannot eliminate specific interests. various groups of people. Conflicts in the enterprise may arise. However, corporate ethics makes it possible to manage a conflict situation, to give it a functional rather than destructive character, i.e. use it as the first signal of the emergence of a problem that needs to be addressed within the framework of the social partnership system.

ITeam expert comment:

A very useful classification of codes. However, the article does not answer the question of how to really improve the efficiency of company management with the help of the code? And this is probably the most difficult.
It is not enough to develop a code. It needs to become a norm of behavior for top managers and owners, and possibly the entire organization. This is a separate task and often it is not performed.
Unfortunately, when assessing the level of corporate governance, verification of compliance with the company's code is not carried out.

Partner of consulting company iTeam
Mikhail Korkishko

In recent years, codes of corporate ethics have appeared in many large Russian companies. Is it a fashion, a nod to Western investors, or is the owner really trying to improve the efficiency of company management with the help of the code? As practice shows, codes of ethics do contain resources for solving a fairly wide range of tasks. At the same time, there is no single methodological approach to the creation of ethical codes today. The first step in building such a methodological base may be the classification of existing codes of corporate ethics carried out in the article.

A study of the ethical codes of leading foreign and domestic companies has shown that they are often very different from each other. The considered codes have a different format, different style and, moreover, perform different tasks. It depends on the tasks that this document will be and how it will work in a particular organization.

To the history of the issue

A code of ethics is essentially a set of rules and norms of behavior that members of a group share. With the help of the code, certain models of behavior and uniform standards of relations and joint activities are set.

The first universal codes, representing a set of universal human values, were sets of religious rules (for example, the Ten Commandments of the Old Testament). A little later, private codes began to emerge that determined the behavior of individual social groups in society (for example, the Samurai Code “Bushido”).

The need for private codes (for example, codes of associations, professions) arose due to the fact that universal norms were not enough to regulate human behavior in specific situations. Private ethics concretized general moral principles in relation to the characteristics of a particular activity.

Currently, the most common are two types of ethical codes - professional and corporate, which regulate the relationship of people within these groups.

Depending on the identity of the specialist (with the organization or with the professional community), the code of professional or corporate ethics will be more significant for him.

Professional codes govern relationships within the professional community and are effective in the "liberal professions" where professional ethical dilemmas are most pronounced. One of the first professional codes of ethics was the Hippocratic Oath - the code of physicians. The most well-known codes of ethics are those professions where significant ethical dilemmas are set by the content of the activity (lawyers, psychotherapists, journalists, realtors, etc.).

Codes regulate the behavior of a specialist in difficult ethical situations typical for a given profession, increase the status of the professional community in society, and form confidence in the representatives of this profession. The code also reinforces the importance of belonging to a profession, its adoption can indirectly be a rite of initiation, an act of “conversion to a profession” (for example, taking the Hippocratic oath and admitting doctors to medical work).

When the most significant ethical dilemmas are set by the organization, the activities of employees are regulated by the corporate code.

Learn more about the Code of Conduct

The root cause of ethical problems in business is contradictions in the interests of interest groups. Business involves economic relationships among many groups of people: customers, employees, shareholders, suppliers, competitors, governments, and communities - stakeholders. For the most effective management, a modern manager must take into account the totality of interests, and not just the interests of shareholders.

Interest groups often make conflicting demands.

For example, a conflict of interests between the company and the consumer: is it possible to sell a product that does not correspond in quality to the declared one (false advertising)?

The company strives for the most profitable coverage of its product and attracting customers, interest is the prosperity of the company. The consumer is interested in the most objective message about the consumer qualities of the product, the interest is full awareness.

It should be noted that not all problems have a moral aspect. For example, the question of whether to introduce a new product in Europe before the US has no moral component. And the question of different quality criteria (or different norms of information transparency about the quality of goods) for the products of one company exported to the United States and third world countries already affects moral standards.

Therefore, the most important tasks of the code of corporate ethics are to set priorities for target groups and ways to harmonize their interests.

A code of conduct can perform three main functions:

• reputational;
• managerial;
• development of corporate culture.

The reputational function of the code is to build confidence in the company on the part of reference external groups (a description of the policies traditionally fixed in international practice in relation to customers, suppliers, contractors, etc.). Thus, the code, being a corporate PR tool, increases the investment attractiveness of the company. The presence of a company code of corporate ethics becomes a global standard for doing business.

The managerial function of the code is to regulate behavior in difficult ethical situations. Improving the efficiency of employees' activities is carried out by:

• regulation of priorities in cooperation with significant external groups,
• determining the order of decision-making in complex ethical situations,
• indications of unacceptable forms of behavior.

Corporate ethics, in addition, is an integral part of corporate culture. The Code of Corporate Ethics is a significant factor in the development of corporate culture. The Code can convey the values ​​of the company to all employees, orient employees towards common corporate goals and thereby enhance corporate identity.

Approaches to creating ethical corporate codes

As a rule, codes contain two parts:

• ideological (mission, goals, values);
• normative (standards of working behavior).

At the same time, the ideological part may not be included in the content of the code.

In professionally homogeneous organizations (banks, consulting companies) codes are often used that describe primarily professional dilemmas. These codes “came out” of the previously described codes of professional communities. Accordingly, the content of such codes primarily regulates the behavior of employees in difficult professional ethical situations. In banking, for example, this is access to confidential information about the client and information about the stability of his bank. The Code describes the rules for handling such information and prohibits the use of information for personal enrichment.

First of all, management tasks are solved here. Complementing such a code with chapters on the mission and values ​​of the company contributes to the development of corporate culture. At the same time, the code can have a significant volume and complex specific content and be addressed to all employees of the company.

In large heterogeneous corporations, the combination of all three functions becomes complex. On the one hand, there are a number of policies and situations that are traditionally enshrined in ethical codes in international practice. These are policies in relation to clients, suppliers, contractors; description of situations related to possible abuses: bribes, bribery, embezzlement, deceit, discrimination. Based managerial function, the code describes standards of exemplary behavior in such situations. Such a code has a significant volume and rather complex content. Addressing it to all groups of employees in the conditions of a significant difference in the educational level and social status employees is difficult. At the same time, the development of the company's corporate culture requires a single code for all employees - it must set a common understanding of the company's mission and values ​​for each employee.

In such a situation, 2 versions of the code are used - declarative and expanded.

“Credo”, or a declarative version of the ethical code, has been used to present ethical principles since the beginning of the 20th century. These codes include Creed (declaration of values) "Johnson and Johnson" (1944), Code "Seven spirits (principles)" of behavior of employees "Matsushita electric" (1933). They describe the general principles of employee behavior at the declaration level.

In fact, the declarative version is only an ideological part of the code without regulating the behavior of employees. For example, "Credo" includes 4 expanded values, "Seven Spirits" - seven basic principles. At the same time, in specific situations, employees themselves must navigate how to behave, based on basic ethical standards.

These codes are still in effect today. However, in some cases it is difficult for employees to assess the ethical legitimacy of a particular act based on general principles. Therefore, in order for the code to really work, companies resort to constantly broadcasting these principles through the singing of the anthem, regular discussions and other corporate rituals. For example, beginning in the 1970s, Johnson & Johnson established a practice of constant discussion and critical review of The Creed. During the Tylenol poisoning crisis(1), Larry Foster, the company's vice president of communications, said the company had no choice but to remove Tylenol from the market. To refuse to do so was to violate the Creed.

So, the declarative version of the code solves, first of all, the tasks of developing corporate culture. At the same time, in order to provide the code to the international community and address specific managerial tasks additional documents are needed.

Since the 80s of the XX century, a detailed version of the code with detailed regulation of the ethics of employee behavior has also become widespread (P&G, BP). They fixed the specific regulation of the behavior of employees in certain areas where the risk of violations was high or difficult ethical situations arose. These regulations were described in the form of policies regarding customers, consumers, the state, political activities, conflicts of interest, labor safety.

At the same time, the large volume and complexity of the content of such codes determine their selective addressing. In most companies, such codes are developed for top and middle management and are not a universal document that unites all employees.

So, each company defines its own tasks, for the solution of which it intends to use such a tool as a code of corporate ethics. But the creation of the code, of course, is not limited to writing the text of the document. There is a specificity in the execution of such documents: it is impossible to force the execution of the code of ethics. Therefore, in order for it to really work, even at the stage of its creation, it is necessary to provide procedures that include, if possible, all employees of the company in the process of developing a document. Only if every employee accepts a code of corporate ethics will it be actually implemented.

But how to accomplish such a task in large corporation? What if a large company needs a code that performs all functions simultaneously: developing corporate culture, increasing management efficiency, positively influencing reputation?