The first in the history of our civilization appeared the medical code of ethics - the Hippocratic oath. Subsequently, the very idea of introducing general rules to which all people of a certain profession obeyed was widespread, but codes are usually adopted for one specific enterprise. This practice is widespread in the Western powers, but has come to us relatively recently.
Relevance of the issue
And to this day, some believe that ethical codes are nothing more than a concession to investors from other countries who want to see the rules of communication among subordinates at a Russian enterprise that comply with the standards introduced at their home. Others are convinced that codes are just a fad. There are people who are convinced that entrepreneurs are introducing codes in order to maximize the efficiency of the work process and increase the profit they receive from the company.
Practice has shown that ethical codes are an effective tool to cope with numerous tasks. So far, it has not been possible to create some standardized approach to the development of such codes. If the task is to create a document that would subjugate internal processes within a certain enterprise, you should first study which codes already exist, how they differ. Relatively useful classification systems have been developed - they can also be a source of important information for a businessman planning to formulate his own unique code and implement it in his business.
Theory and practice
A code of ethics is a combination of rules, regulations, subordinating the behavior of a certain group of people. The document contains templates, models into which the actions of the whole team should fit. Code developers must pay special attention to the aspects of collaboration, prescribe what are the standards of relationships between group members.
It was already indicated above on the first professional collection of rules, but universal codes were developed even earlier. As a rule, they were conditional on religion and contained commandments, prohibitions on the commission of certain acts. It was such a universal code that extended to everyone and everyone in Christianity that the Ten Commandments became. The eastern neighbors had a samurai code, to which all representatives of this estate were obliged to obey. Private collections of rules appeared a little later; certain similar ones existed in both European and Muslim powers.
Is it necessary?
For a long time, for people, the code of ethics has been a method of controlling the individual’s behavior, subject to a number of certain external factors and circumstances. The need for the development of private codes was explained by the presence in life of certain groups of people and such situations for the regulation of which there were no norms in generally accepted rules - ordinary people do not need this at all. Private collections of rules of conduct are based on generally accepted standards, but are compiled more specifically, taking into account the specifics of the field of activity.
In modern times, they often talk about professional, corporate collections of rules of conduct. Which of these types is more significant is determined individually in each case, taking into account the peculiarity of the organizational structure of the enterprise and the professional affiliation of the person. A professional code of ethics helps regulate relationships within a group of individuals working in this area. This is especially important for areas of activity whose representatives are often forced to solve ethical dilemmas. Doctors are a classic example, not for nothing that the Hippocratic oath became the first code. These days, collections of rules of conduct and relationships between lawyers, real estate professionals, journalists, psychiatrists are of utmost importance. The stronger the content of the workflow affects the ethical aspects of the dilemmas that people face, the more important codes become for them.
Special Pros
The Professional Code of Ethics describes how to proceed in a specific situation that is difficult to assess the ethics of different behavioral strategies. The presence of such a code is a method of increasing public opinion about work. People trust much more those who work, adhering to such a collection of rules of conduct. Largely due to the code, people feel more strongly of belonging to the chosen profession. For some, the moment of adoption of the code is a kind of initiation, a ritual event, a kind of appeal of a person.
The necessity of adopting the norms of the code of ethics is largely connected with the difficulties that arise in the lives of people involved in the field of entrepreneurship. Any business brings together a certain number of interested individuals, and each has its own interests that are not consistent with those inherent in other people. Entrepreneurship involves the economic relationship of the customer, buyer, guest worker, shareholder, supplier, rival, manager. There are many interested parties, and the manager, striving for the effective work of the company, is obliged to take into account the totality of interests.
About problems
The principles of the code of ethics help the employee cope with a situation in which different people influence it at the same time, and each one has certain requirements that contradict the others. So, there is always a discrepancy between the interests of the client and the enterprise: if the company would like to sell the goods not as high quality as stated, how will this end? Can this be done? For the company, maximizing profit is primary, but at the same time attracting as many customers as possible. Any enterprise is interested in success and prosperity. The client wants to have an accurate idea of the qualities of the purchased goods, and in his interests - the maximum possible awareness of the object.
However, it is not always the employee’s code of ethics that affects moral issues. Often, for example, an enterprise that simultaneously covers the markets of different countries makes a decision about where to launch a new product at first, and where - in the second wave. There is no moral aspect in such a choice. But the quality parameters of products supplied to developed and developing powers is a moral issue. Forming the rules of corporate ethics, experts determine what are the priorities of all those interested, how to coordinate their interests with the greatest benefit for themselves.
Functionality
An employee’s code of ethics is adopted by the company in order to provide the company with a good reputation, simplify the management of the company and enhance the corporate culture. It is proved that the existence of such a code allows you to inspire confidence among the reference communities, that is, people with whom, one way or another, the activities of the enterprise are connected. To some extent, the code becomes a means of public relations of the company, helps to make it attractive to investors, and not only customers, such codes have become the standard at the world level, are considered mandatory for any company that wants to succeed.
As can be seen from the practice of Russian enterprises, firms in the Republic of Belarus and the Republic of Kazakhstan, the code of ethics helps managers to work more efficiently, since the documentation regulates the behavior of personnel in a situation associated with a difficult moral situation. The increase in efficiency is associated with setting and limiting priorities, which must be remembered when working with any external object. The code fixes which behaviors are impossible, how to make a decision if difficult circumstances arise.
Ethics and Culture
The Code of Ethics for civil servants, employees of private enterprises, institutions of various kinds is an element of corporate culture. Formalized priorities and rules help to enhance the culture within the enterprise. Through the code, management is given the opportunity to convey to everyone what the core values are, as well as to orient the entire recruited staff toward the achievement of the same goals. This helps to make corporate identity stronger and more pronounced, but at the same time it positively affects the commercial success of the enterprise.
How to form?
It so happened that in Russia the ethical code is a novelty for many, and the heads of enterprises, although interested in implementing it, do not know how and where to start developing the document. Experts assure that the content of the official collection of rules should be selected based on the structure of the company, the characteristics of the work process and the goals that must be achieved in order for the company to move to a new stage of development. In many ways, the wording of the code depends on the attitudes of the leadership. Typically, a document is divided into two parts, the first is devoted to ideology, indicating the values and mission of the company, the second is made normative, clearly describing the standards to which the behavior of personnel should obey. In some cases, the first part is omitted in principle.
Many Russian enterprises that adopt ethical codes for their work are professionally uniform. A good example is banking structures or consulting firms. Among such organizations, codes are widely used that describe in as much detail the dilemmas that employees often face. Such codes are based on previously formed communities of professionals in this field. The content of the document is devoted to how a hired person should behave when he finds himself in a difficult situation from the point of view of human morality. So, when it comes to a bank, quite often they can try to put pressure on an employee by requesting confidential information about a certain client, as well as data allowing a third party to assess the stability of the enterprise as a whole. The code fixes the rules for interacting with information, as well as a strict ban on the use of information for your own benefit and for the enrichment of yourself personally.
Case features
If you look closely at the classic code of ethics for a nurse, a bank employee, a lawyer, you can see that in most cases, through a document, managers solve the problems of monitoring staff work. If there is a desire to enhance corporate culture, individual points and columns devoted to the value of the enterprise and its social mission can be added to the rulebook. As a rule, the document is quite complex and voluminous, has a hierarchical structure, contains an appeal to all employed persons without exception.
If the company is heterogeneous, large, the creation of an optimal code is a difficult task. There are situations that at the international level it was decided to be sure to enshrine in any code of ethics (a nurse, a financial or educational worker, and so on). The document contains the rules that must be followed when communicating with a client or patient; they prescribe how you can interact with a supplier or contractor. Traditionally, the code includes a description of cases of abuse of authority and status. The code provides an interpretation of bribe and fraud, how to avoid them, explains why this is unacceptable. Assessing the features of the management task, they can introduce blocks that tell about patterns of behavior in a difficult situation. The finished document is usually voluminous, characterized by complex construction. It is problematic to address all employees of the company because of their differences from each other in terms of social status and education. Formation of official paper is also impossible to avoid, since the code is intended to create an understanding of the company's mission and its values with the entire staff.
Is there a way out?
In the last century, a solution to the described problem was found. The universally recognized option was the formation of two varieties of the code, one full, the second from brief basic provisions. The declarative option is usually called the credo of the enterprise. It is difficult to say when such a document was compiled for the first time, but it is known for certain that in 1933 it was already used in the work of the Matsushita Electric enterprise, and another eleven years later a similar one was introduced by the managing structures of Johnson and Johnson. The task of the documentation is to outline how the workers should behave. All offers are made in a declarative form.
In fact, the document is an ideological setting, while there are no concrete examples. When certain difficult circumstances arise, the employee must remember the basic values and principles indicated in the credo, and independently determine the line of behavior that would correspond to these settings. Such codes are common today, but sometimes there are circumstances in which it is extremely difficult for an ordinary person to assess how legitimate the chosen behavior will be. For the credo to work effectively, you need to regularly discuss it with the staff. A variety of rituals will benefit, including, for example, singing a hymn.
About the full version
Expanded versions of codes became popular at the end of the last century. The idea of such documentation is a clear and complete description of the rules and ethics of various lines of personnel behavior. Such documents record information on the regulation of acts in a particular area associated with increased risks of violations. In addition, the detailed code examines in detail the possible complex ethical circumstances that employees of the enterprise may encounter. Such regulations were initially created as policies relating to interactions with customers, customers, and management structures. The codes then extended to labor safety and conflict of interest.
The main disadvantage of such a document is the complexity of its perception, increased due to volume. Due to such features, it is impossible to address the code to all employees of the company, it is necessary to make a selective referral. As a rule, a document is formed based on senior, middle management personnel. It does not unite all employees without exception, and is not universal.
To summarize
The Code of Ethics is a tool for achieving success in the tasks assigned to the company. Creating a document is not just writing its text. Modern practice is such that it is impossible to enforce the code, it is only possible to present it in such a way that the staff accepts the indicated provisions. It will be possible to make the code work if all the peculiarities of the staff of the enterprise and the nuances of each workplace are taken into account when forming the document.