Introduction
Contemporary business landscape places numerous pressures on the companies. Some of the major challenges for the modern corporation, operating in the increasingly diverse environment, is to ensure consistent ethical business practices at all stages of the business. Globalization and the international supply chain made this task even more complex, as the social and environmental responsibility of organization is extended not only to direct employees, but to external stakeholders, such as suppliers, customers and Third-party logistics providers (3PLs). The modern consumer is becoming increasingly aware of social and environmental issues and, consequently, more demanding with regards to the approach that his chosen brands take to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Recognizing these drivers in the industry, the Company X places CSR at the core of its business strategy.
Company X mission is “to deliver the product of supreme quality and unique characteristics, which is built for people by the collective efforts of our employees, customers, and suppliers".
Our values include:
Creating a culture of belonging and sharing, where everyone is a contributor and innovator;
Acting with integrity, courage and honesty;
Delivering our best in everything that we do as individuals and as the company;
Build transparent and open communication throughout the entire business model.
Standards and Procedures
Company X calls all the stakeholders, who are in one or another way involved in the business, - partners. We believe that business is a collective effort of producers, suppliers, company employees, shareholders, customers and the community. We believe that only by acting with integrity, humility and respect to diversity we can truly contribute to building a better life. This can only be achieved if we work together with all the partners in our supply chain on improving and fine-tuning our CSR practices.
Standards of One Company One Family
Individual actions of people we work with the shape the opinion and perception of the company as a whole, build a community and by our external stakeholders. We base our internal and external interactions on the following critical standards:
We treat one another with respect, dignity and understanding of diversity. All the partners are expected to follow the ethical communication and interaction procedures, focused on external and internal diversity. The respect to diversity should be integral, for the professional side of the business as well as individual differences and should cover all aspects of the-the business, from internal communication to procurement and downstream operations of the company.
We are committed to healthy and secure and safe business environment. All the partners are expected to follow departmental specific and general business level Health and Safety Regulations and cooperate with all the bodies, which control, guide and assist in building on such environment in our company, including governmental organizations and private enterprises.
Quality is the core of the sustainable competitive advantage of our product. We expect the commitment at all levels to deliver this quality on tactical, operational and strategic levels of the company.
Company X has adopted "Zero Tolerance Policy" to substance abuse and weapons in the company. That said, partners are not allowed to use or possess alcoholic beverages or weapons on the company property. The exceptions to the rule are communicated separately and may apply to specific company events.
Procedures of One Company One Family
Based on the outlined standards, the company has developed four major procedural sections, which should be strictly followed and equally applicable to each of the partners of the company.
How we Treat One Another?
It is expected that each and every individual working at Company X treats his colleagues or other partners with respect, which he would like to receive. Employees must recognize that in diversity is the essential part of our business culture and should respect the differences in opinions, actions, and attitudes that exist among our partners. Respect and dignity in our understanding are building through transparent communication, use of appropriate business language and practicing tolerance and empathy in our work environment.
Health and Safety at Work
There are numerous specific regulations and handbooks available for departmental and general use. These Handbooks include the following major manuals that must be accurately followed by all the employees after receiving an appropriate training for their position:
General Health Standards
IT Security and Safety Standards for the Use of Desktops and Laptops
Personal Data and Social Media Use at Work
Operational and Continuous Improvement Standard for Retail Sector
Departmental Guidance for Day-to-day Operations.
What is Company X Quality?
Each partner at Company X must go through the specific training on the standards and characteristics of the unique quality offered by the company in its operations and product. The guidelines for the specific elements and departments can be found in Quality Standards Manual 2015.
What is “Zero Tolerance Policy”?
Company X does not tolerate use or possession of alcoholic beverages and substances as well as any type of weapon on the premises of the company. The standards of the company with regards to the abuse of alcohol are outlined and specifically discussed in General Health Standards Manual. Any deviation from the expected attitude and behavior will be treated accordingly by the direct management and HR department.
Ethics Training
We call the Company´s X Ethics program “One Company – One Family” as we believe that working environment should inspire individuals and make them part of the team, creating intrinsic and extrinsic motivation as well as building on the feeling of belonging to a family, which has shared values. With that in mind, each individual, who joins our team should go through Ethics training, which sets the following goals: introduce the company´s ethics and culture, ensure that partners have access to materials on Ethics Standards, necessary tools, and understanding of how to use it and develop attitude and required level of emotional intelligence to become part of this organizational culture. We build our training on the following formula:
Entry Level Ethics Workshop;
Trimestral Case Study, built on specific topics within the Ethics Program;
Annual Team Building, promoting ethical business.
The above formula allows complete and effective Ethics training for all the partners and ensures that the company builds on ethical and honest business operation from within the core.
Employee Misconduct
Monitoring Employee Misconduct
It is a collective responsibility to control and monitor that ethical standards and procedures are understood and followed. Monitoring should, therefore, come from each partner and on all the levels. HRM department and management personnel are specifically trained to receive the feedback about the employee misconduct and deal with it in an appropriate and ethical manner.
Measures and procedures
The procedures on the employee misconduct are clear and transparent. All the situations, where individuals or groups are acting in contradiction with the company's standards should be reported to the direct management and taken further to HR for training and guidance or appropriate treatment, where necessary. The appropriate measures should be taken towards the partners who do not follow the Ethics Program. These measures are outlined in General Corporate Social Responsibility Manual and guided by the Governmental legal standards of a work environment.
Types of Misconduct
The company focuses on the following major disciplinary and performance issues that are in the focus of regular monitoring:
Disrespect to diversity
Health and Safety issues
The willful failure to follow management instructions
The misuse of corporate facilities
The above issues will be controlled collectively and should be reported to the direct superior of individuals who conduct the wrongful actions.
Reporting Misconduct
The issues should be reported either to the direct superior or to the HR department, whichever makes an individual reporting misconduct feel more comfortable. It is critical that the employees do not deal with the issue personally and leave the decisions and measures to be taken by the HR department and the management, who are specifically trained to deal with situations related to misconduct. In the situation when an employee reports the misconduct of a superior, such reporting should be done directly to the responsible HR manager.
Program Evaluation and Improvement
Ethics Program is a work in progress, which will demand revision and monitoring on a regular basis. This demand is based on the constantly changing external environment, where the company should adapt to new regulations, community expectations and individual needs of its clients. The evaluation of the program will be done on the basis of 3-trimester reviews and a final annual revision. The method of evaluation is based on two types of analysis:
Focus Group workshop
Individual Survey, sent out to all the employees and conducted, permitting anonymously.
Based on the results of the both types of analysis and data collected the company will provide a recommendation for the changes and adjustments in the Ethics Program within 7 days, following the release of the results. The improvement should be accepted by the basic majority within the Ethics Committee assigned annually by the company. The Ethics Committee should consist of 7 individuals, representing each department and one outside member, invited from a governmental or private entity, dealing with CSR Standards.
