Business
The inaugural Cheesecake Factory restaurant was opened in 1978 in Beverly Hills. The restaurant has experienced success over the years and currently has over 200 restaurants that share the same commitment to the qualities that the restaurant is committed to providing all over the globe (Thecheesecakefactory). Being a business organization in the hospitality industry, Cheesecake Factory restaurants have codes of conduct that are vital in promoting the values that they believe in and to enable them provide good services to clients. Hospitality industry requires a high standard of ethical behavior while dealing with clients, and that is why the company has a detailed code of ethics to act as guidance to all the employees of the company.
The company’s code of ethics that guides the performance and behavior of executive officers, senior finance officers and directors are vital to the success of the company (Barth). These are the leaders in the company and their conduct is exemplary to other employees. They have a massive influence over their junior colleagues and, therefore, ethical conduct from them is likely to be replicated all over the organization. The code of ethics for these senior officials has several articles that are vital for the company. Article III for instance, addresses the issue of compliance with the relevant laws that govern business entities. As mentioned earlier, Cheesecake Factory Incorporated has restaurants all over the world. Laws governing businesses vary with different countries. The success of any restaurant in any country and that of the company at large will depend on the ability to adhere to the relevant laws. This is because; non-compliance with the laws of the land is likely to have serious legal consequences that can make it impossible for the restaurants to continue operations. The article also addresses the executive officers’, senior finance officers’ and directors’ conduct in relation to customers, employees, suppliers and also competitors (Thecheesecakefactory). The article expects these officers acting on behalf of the company to do so with honesty, respect and adhere to prevailing business standards of conduct in their environment. All these are important stakeholders that are important for the growth of the restaurants. Therefore, the manner in which the top management of the company engages with them is significant to the business of Cheesecake Factory Incorporated.
Article IV of the same document addresses the potential conflicts of interest between the officers' official duties for the company and their private businesses. The officers are expected to act in the best interest of the company and therefore are required to avoid any activities that are likely to compromise their commitment to the cause of Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (Thecheesecakefactory). This is important because these are company employees who have all the strategic secrets of the company and as such, having conflicting interests can ruin the company’s chances of success. It is important, therefore, that they desist from any activities that have competing interests to those of Cheesecake Factory Inc.
The second document of ethical conduct for the company is the “code of ethics and business conduct”. The document provides the company’s ethical conduct guidance to all the employees of the company. One of the key areas in this document that is of importance to business is part D. that requires personnel to create an atmosphere that is friendly to the company’s guests, suppliers and workers themselves. It prohibits any acts that may make the company’s clients feel pressurized to buy, or take part in events that are not related to the company. This is important for business since restaurants require their customers to keep on coming now and then. It is imperative, therefore, that they are made to feel free to make their choices while at the restaurants. They should not be solicited to participate in events they do not want or that do not attract them.
Part F. of the code of ethical conduct concerns disclosure of confidential company information. Unauthorized disclosure of company information can be detrimental to the company business. The information can be used by competitors to gain an edge over the company. Some of the information that is normally in the custody of Cheesecake Factory employees is strategic documents that detail the company's approach to the market and actions towards competitors' behavior in the market. If this information is accessed by competitors, it can destabilize the smooth operations of the company for some time.
Steps to Enforce Code of Conduct
The initial step in ensuring that employees follow the code of conduct is educating or informing them about the existence of the code (Barth). This should be done during induction of new employees. The codes of conducts should also be displayed in places where the employees can see them now and then to refresh their memories. Secondly, Cheesecake Factory code of conduct and ethics in the appraisal process so that employees who observe the code of conduct are recognized and rewarded. This will encourage employees to adhere to the codes of ethical conduct. Finally, the company should provide regular training to employees on how to deal with ethical dilemmas at the place of work (Barth). The contents of the training can always change depending on the prevailing circumstances in the business environment of the restaurants.
Socially Responsive Activities
Cheesecake Factory Inc. operates in different communities that have varied needs and varied expectations from the corporate bodies operating within them (Miller). Some of the ways in which the restaurant can be involved in socially responsive activities include;
- Offering employment opportunities to the members of the community in which the restaurant is situated. This will create goodwill between the company and the community and hence, success.
- Taking part in community activities such as environmental cleaning, tree planting among other activities.
- Sponsoring underprivileged students in the community to access education through provision of scholarships and also donation of learning materials to schools that are in need.
References
Barth, Steven R. Corporate Ethics. [Boston]: Aspatore, 2003. Print.
Miller, Katherine. Organizational Communication: Approaches And Processes. 5th ed. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning, 2008. Print.
Thecheesecakefactory,. 'The Cheesecake Factory - Investor Relations - Code Of Ethics And Code Of Business Conduct.' Investors.thecheesecakefactory.com. N.p., 2014. Web. 11 Dec. 2014.
