Business
Introduction
Cheesecake Factory is a casual dining concept, offering over 200 menu items including appetizers, pizza, seafood, steak, chicken, burgers and approximately 50 varieties of cheesecakes and baked desserts. Cheesecake Factory’s ethical code of conduct and corporate social responsibility would play a major role in creating a positive image about itself in its vicinity and creating a loyal clientele for the long term.
Key Areas of Code of Conduct
Compliance with the Law
Cheesecake Factory’s Code of Ethics and Business Conduct clearly lays down the stipulation that it expects its staff to adhere to all applicable federal, state and local laws (Cheesecake Factory, 2006). This stipulation is important to ensure that all activities of Cheesecake Factory remain within the realms of the letter and spirit of prevalent laws. If Cheesecake Factory were not to follow prevalent laws, it would run the risk of closure. Hence, the fundamental requirement in its social responsibility remains obedience to the law, as reflected in its code of conduct.
Conflicts of Interest
Many situations occur in an organization when there is a conflict of interest between the individual and the company. Cheesecake Factory recognizes this aspect and advises its staff to avoid situations creating conflict of interest (Cheesecake Factory, 2006). It stipulates that employees should avoid engaging in company business with relatives. This clause would help to avoid situations where employees provide corporate discounts to relatives, inviting allegations of favoritism and discrimination from the community. The clause would also avoid situations wherein contracts are given to relatives or friends. If contracts were so awarded, Cheesecake Factory would seen to be parochial. Further, situations would arise when the concerned employee might seek to overlook a breach of contract because the contract is awarded to a known person. Such a situation might result in loss of profitability and even a loss of goodwill amongst the community.
Protection of the Company’s Confidential Information
Cheesecake Factory makes it imperative that all information about the business should not be used or disclosed by staff members except in the discharge of their normal job responsibilities or when the applicable laws compel disclosure (Cheesecake Factory, 2006). This clause is important to ensure that only the authorized spokesperson interact with the media and the society to provide the company viewpoint in all issues. Otherwise, Cheesecake Factory would not be able to put up a wholesome front to society. People would remain confused about the aims of Cheesecake Factory if too many people spoke about the concerned issues at the same time. The clause is also important in tis stipulation that it does not seek to restrict employees to give out information when mandated by the law. This clarification ensures that Cheesecake Factory does not impinge upon prevalent laws and does not force its employees to refrain from abiding with the law.
Ways to Ensure Employees Follow Code of Conduct
While Cheesecake Factory has laid down an exhaustive code of conduct, it also needs to ensure that its employees comply by the code of conduct. Cheesecake Factory needs multiple approaches to ensure compliance (Queensland Govt, n.d.).
Training
Cheesecake Factory needs to train its employees to be aware of the code of conduct. To this end, it needs to conduct a periodical workshop to revisit the clauses of the code of conduct for the benefit of all employees. Such a refresher workshop could be conducted once a year. Further, any newly inducted employees would need to go through an orientation program that would cover the code of conduct expected of them.
Acceptance Certificate
Every employee would be required to sign an acceptance certificate that they have gone through the code of conduct and would comply with its provisions. Should a breach of the provisions in the code of conduct occur, such an acceptance certificate would prove that the employee was aware of the code of conduct and could be held responsible for the breach.
Transparent and Uniform Punitive Action
In cases of breach of the code of conduct, Cheesecake Factory should display uniformity in punitive action, regardless of the rank and status of the person who has caused a breach in the code. Transparent and equitable action by the company to arrest breaches of the code would bring home the message that the company was serious in implementation of the code and was impartial in execution. This would instill a sense of justice and ensure uniform compliance to the code of conduct.
Socially Responsive Activities
Corporate social responsibility of a company has a number of levels. The lowest level is economic, which enjoins on the company to be profitable. The next level is legal, implying obedience to the law. A step higher is the concept of ethical standards. At the apex lie philanthropic activities, ensuring the company is a good corporate citizen. Cheesecake Factory could display social responsibility through a slew of options (Trang, 2011).
Energy Consumption
The world is going through an energy crisis. There is a constantly decreasing source of energy. Cheesecake Factory could contribute to the global cause of energy efficiency by installing energy efficient procedures and fixtures. Intelligent lighting and automated energy consumption software could rein in the energy consumed by the company.
Ethical Sourcing of Ingredients
Cheesecake Factory could display its support to local farmers by sourcing its raw material locally. It could ensure that its raw material is organic, and contains no harmful chemicals.
Food Waste Management
There are many people in the world that go hungry every day. Cheesecake factory could contribute to reducing wastage of food by planning different sized portions, ordering perishable ingredients to meet demand, minimizing spoilage stocks and creatively using edible cuts of meat and fish instead of popular cuts.
Conclusion
A clearly laid out code of conduct, rigorously followed by employees, would help Cheesecake Factory to emerge as a model company in its environment. If the company were to reduce waste of foodstuff and energy, besides acting responsibly towards local farm producers, it would become a sought after establishment in the community.
References
Cheesecake Factory. (2006). Code of ethics and business of conduct. Retrieved 12 Dec 2014, from http://media.corporate-ir.net/media_files/IROL/10/109258/Code_of_ethics.pdf
Trang, D.T.T. (2011). The impact of corporate social responsibility on consumer behavior in the restaurant industry of Vaasa (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved 12 Dec 2014, from http://www.theseus.fi/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10024/52987/THESIS%20-%20Doan%20Thi%20Thuy%20Trang.pdf?sequence=1
Queensland Govt. (n.d.). Implementing a code of conduct. Retrieved 12 Dec 2014, from https://www.business.qld.gov.au/business/employing/taking-on-staff/staff-code-conduct/implementing-code-conduct
