Adventure brewing company is a micro-brewery company that crafts its own beer. Given that it occupies a minimal market share in the beer industry, it is yet to thrive to other states apart from Virginia. However, it is important to note that despite being a small company, it has to establish code of business conduct and ethics for its employees, personnel, directors and many others affiliated to the company. The code of ethics generated by the business are mandatory for the employees and the managers to follow. The code articulates general principles to ensure that these employees observe the given business morals and standards. However, these moral conducts aren’t always upheld in certain crafting breweries. For example, Beer cave company priced one of their products, Chocolate ale, at $25 a bottle. This indicates that they were economically exploiting their customers by charging high prices for their goods, which is not ethically correct in that government cannot regulate the price. Some beer crafting industries have been accused of using stale products such as wheat to produce their beers, which is unethical. In addition, the Mad Fox Brewing Company has been accused to selling their beer bottle online on craigslist and eBay at a markup prize (Brewing Up Business Adventures, 2011). These factors diminishes the ethics and morals of an overall good business.
Given that some companies brew beer using stale products, it endangers our consumers who are the prime factor to our economic returns. In addition, this kind of behavior brings about suspicion and lack of trust between the buyer and the crafting beer business. Trust is a huge factor when producing consumption good because as a beer manufacturer we want our customers completely satisfied with our products by feeling safe to drink the beer. The code of conduct and ethics are mainly upheld by a given business so as to put a standard for their production line. Thus, the Adventure brewing Company has a set of standards and rules that have to be followed by the employees in order to have a successful business in the long run (Craft Beer 2013).
The Adventure Brewing Company aims at ensuring that there is no conflict in interest in our company. This means that the employees are not allowed to use the company’s products as a way of experimenting their personal interests during work. This is important for our business because an employee should be objective in his or her area of work so that the company may improve in its business endeavors. Given the fact that Adventure breweries brew their own products for their consumers, employees are not allowed to converge with a competitor and share the companies exclusive recipes. This indicates that some form of confidentiality is need in this business so that we can remain authentic and weave a market niche through our unique products and recipes. In addition, the Adventure Breweries aim at imposing a fair deal as one of the business ethics. Fair dealing is important in this form of business because as a company we do not want to deal in illegal businesses. As a result, Adventure Breweries Company will ensure that all business dealings and proposals are done in an ethical manner such that there is a committee formed for these formal meetings. Fair dealing also incorporates the importance of pricing goods at a fair price for the consumers. It is our sole responsibility as a business to ensure that our customers are satisfied with our products and that they are not economically exploited. Fair dealing also encompasses the fact that our products will be branded to ensure that only those who at a legal age can consume. I believe that fair dealing and conflict of interests are the two major code of ethics that I would want to uphold in Adventure Breweries because it is a small business that aims at serving the community at large. In addition, these codes will enhance my business by ensuring that employees are aware of what line are not allowed to cross and their expectations from the company. Also, fair dealing ensures that the company is clear of any illegal business plans and that consumers are not exploited by our craft beer distributors.
According to Federal Sentencing Guidelines for Organization it states, “An entire organization, despite its best efforts to prevent wrongdoing in its ranks, can still be held criminally liable to any of its employees’ illegal actions (Federal Sentencing Guidelines, 2013).” This statement indicate that as a company we need to hire employees with good conduct and ethical skills. One of the codes of conduct of the Adventures Breweries Company is fair dealing, which asserts that the business cannot deal with illegal business. This is because illegal business not only incarcerates the employee but also the entire company. Thus, it is crucial for the employees in the company to maintain good ethics and morals so that the company runs effectively in both the short run and the long run.
One of the challenges that may arise in the Adventure breweries’ code of conduct is the conflict of interests. Given that crafting beer required specialized recipe and skills, our employees may be lured by being breweries to share some of our exclusive beer recipes. This means that our employees are prone to be poached by our competitors, which breaks the business code of ethic. As a result, the company has to ensure that employees are taught on some of the risks they may put themselves in by violating the code of ethics. The company will have a zero tolerance of any violations of our business ethics. Thereby, the company will be forced to penalize the employee and fire them for their untrustworthy behavior. This is necessary because, when employees break the code of ethics, their objectivity is preempt. In addition, officers and managers who approves infarction from the workers will also be subject to an investigation, which may lead to termination. Disciplinary action such as opening a criminal investigation and termination will be effective when one violates any of the code of conducts.
References
Brewing Up a Business Adventures in Beer from the Founder of Dogfish Head Craft Brewery.. (2011). New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Craft Beer Sales Continue to Climb New Research from Mintel Suggests That Craft Beer Sales Will Triple by 2017. (2013, January 25). States News Service, pp. 22-26.
Federal Sentencing Guidelines for Organization . (n.d.). Organization conduct. Retrieved November 26, 2013, from http://sentencing.typepad.com/sentencing_law_and_policy/federal_sentencing_guidelines/
