(The Paper reflects the opinion of the author and not of the editor).
Wilhelm Peralta (2022)
“Ethics is knowing the difference between what you have a right to do and what is right to do.” – Potter Stewart
Abstract
A code of conduct in any
organization is essential as a guiding tool to provide a definite guide on how
employees should work, behave and perform. This written code will empower
employees to handle ethical dilemmas encountered in everyday work. It serves as
a valuable reference, informing employees on how to locate relevant documents,
services, and other resources related to ethical issues in the organization.
However breaking the code of
conduct in an organization can result in termination, separation, or dismissal
from the organization. This code lays out the rules to follow within the
organization and provides the groundwork for a preemptive warning. Termination
or dismissal from employment may result in rejection from the next job
application, a bad reputation, and being tossed aside.
Every termination or dismissal sanction of an employee’s violator of the code of conduct should be justifiable not “just” because can company’s face serious consequences. Companies need to ensure policies are in place surrounding termination procedures and should address ways to legally and ethically fire an employee.
Keywords: Code of Conduct,
Termination, Dismissal, Highest Sanction, Reflection on Code of Conduct
Introduction
A code of conduct is a guide
of principles, values, and business practices that guide the organization’s
conduct. It was designed to help professionals conduct business honestly and
with integrity. It may outline the mission and values of the business or organization,
how professionals are supposed to approach problems, the ethical principles
based on the organization’s core values, and the standards to which the
professional is held, (Hayes, 2021). Indeed, ethical guidelines and best
practices to follow for honesty, integrity, and professionalism, and violating
the code of conduct can result in sanctions of termination or separation.
Code of conduct issues that
fall under the ethics of the organization’s rules and policies including the
employer-employee relations, discrimination, harassment, bribery, insider
trading, theft and corruption, and other social responsibility. These basic
ethical standards within the organizational community largely depend upon
leadership to develop a code of conduct. This will serve as a guide for the
employees are supposed to follow. Breaking the code of conduct can result in
termination or dismissal from the organization. It is important because it lays
out the rules for behavior and provides the groundwork for preemptive warnings.
The moral choices of the organization have grown, from the industrial age to
the modern era into working conditions, how an organization impacts the
environment and a code of conduct helps ensure that organizations will always
act with integrity, (Drury, 2021).
It is not designed for bad employees,
but for the employee who wants to act ethically. The violator employee will
seldom follow a code of conduct, while most employee especially if their job is
their bread and butter welcome ethical guidance in difficult or unclear
situations. The below-average performance employee is not grossly immoral but
often tempted, and sometimes confused, by what appears to be a virtuous path.
When temptations are significant, when the price of adherence such as the sacrifice
to the interests is high, when the social consequences of violation are to harm
others are relatively slight, and when the costs of violation are low under
such circumstances it is easy to be led from doing what you ought to do,
(Gilman, 2005). No code of conduct no matter how severely enforced will make
truly bad employees good. However, ethics codes can have a demonstrable impact
on the behavior of bad employees in organizations. When everyone knows the
ethical standards of an organization they are more likely to recognize
wrongdoing and do something about it.
Miscreants are often hesitant to commit an unethical act if they believe
that everyone else around them knows it is wrong.
No Code of conduct can address all
specific situations. A failure by any
employee to comply with the laws or regulations governing the Company's
business, this Code of conduct, or Company policy or requirement may result in
disciplinary action up to and including termination, and, if warranted, legal
proceedings. All employees are expected to cooperate in internal investigations
of misconduct.
The highest sanctions in violating the organization’s code of conduct are termination or dismissal for the grieve offenses, however, if the employee is the first time violator and not warranted to commit it for just certain reasons big companies are not able to accept and impose the penalties based on the code of conduct. This will mirror the statement of Immanuel Kant. "If he has committed a murder, he must die. In this case, no substitute will satisfy the requirements of legal justice. There is no sameness of kind between death and remaining alive even under the most miserable conditions, and consequently, there is no equality between the crime and the retribution unless the criminal is judicially condemned and put to death.” However the penalized employee of termination or dismissal has a big impact on applying for new jobs, no one will accept him/her due to their previous record. It will put on him/her the consequences that arise as a result of his/her actions. Breaking the code of ethics can result in termination or dismissal from the organization. A code of conduct is a big-picture ethics guide for employees to agree to or a list of basic behaviors for a workplace. A code of conduct doesn’t list all the behaviors you shouldn't do but instead gives general guidelines for actions that relate to the industry, profession, cause, or company, (Milano, 2022).
A Code of Conduct Violation – The Highest Sanction.
The highest sanction for the code-of-conduct violation can occur when
an employee doesn’t follow company policies, or when a member of a profession
or an industry doesn’t adhere to written ethical guidelines is termination or
immediate separation. It’s important to learn all of the written policies of
any company you work for or any association. Understanding what code of conduct
violations are, where can find the rules supposed to follow and how to address
accusations of misconduct will help keep the job and good standing in the work-related
profession, (Milano, 2021).
The supreme penalty that may be imposed by an employer against an employee
is dismissal or termination from employment which is justified for the most
serious offenses and the most severe penalty must be imposed following labor
laws. Indeed, dismissal is the most drastic step because it can destroy the
employee’s career permanently. Employee offense is when an employee violates
the company’s code of conduct. Gross misconduct and disciplinary action are required
to be taken for such a serious offense.
Code of conduct usually refers to your behavior, hence the word
“conduct.” Due to an increased emphasis on corporate social responsibility and
the need to decrease employee lawsuits, more and more businesses have
introduced conduct codes. These can cover behaviors that lead to sexual
harassment or discrimination, damage the company’s reputation with its external
stakeholders, include physical threats or intimidation, or decrease office
morale, (Milano, 2021).
Organizations provide a code of conduct to explain which behaviors
are and are not permitted by employees. In addition, employees can be required
to acknowledge this code by signing an agreement upon employment. Employees who
violate the standards face consequences through a standard employee behavior
policy, such as a progressive discipline system, which has grave consequences
for the most serious violations.
The importance of Punishment for ethical Violation in an Organization.
If a problem
is not resolved after an appropriate warning, you may have to terminate an
employee. Just causes of termination refer to serious misconduct, willful
disobedience or insubordination, gross and habitual neglect of duties, fraud or
willful breach of trust, loss of confidence, a commission of a crime or offense,
and analogous causes.
The dismissal
of an employee in the Philippines is a sensitive stage and can only be
implemented by a ‘just’ or ‘authorized’ cause, as defined under the Labor Code.
Trial periods and fixed-term contracts can be terminated without difficulty,
whereas open-ended contracts are subject to increased protection. As a matter
of principle, the Philippines Labor Code prohibits the termination of
indefinite work contracts. Some exceptions are still restrictively provided and
serve as authorized or just grounds for termination. In any case, the
justifications given by the employer will be systematically examined carefully,
with the procedure set out in this article, (Shira, 2021).
Employees
resist acknowledging the influence of organizational factors on individual behavior,
especially on misconduct for fear of diluting employees’ sense of personal
moral responsibility. But this fear is based on a false dichotomy between
holding individual transgressors accountable and holding the system
accountable. Acknowledging the importance of organizational context need not
imply exculpating individual wrongdoers. To understand all is not to forgive
all.
The company's
purpose of a code of conduct is to set and maintain a standard for acceptable
behavior and it reminds the employees of what is expected. It highlights that
the actions should be always aligned with the ethics of business through
understanding of consequences and disciplinary actions if the conduct is
broken. This code of conduct provides guidelines about acceptable behavior and
a set of principles for a company's judgment.
The Need for a Code of Conduct
Employers
might want to believe that their staff knows what's right and wrong, but by
having a code of conduct you can spell out whether specific behavior or action
is acceptable or not, making everyone's lives a bit easier. Having rules to
follow gives employees a structure from day one, making the whole process much
more black and white if trouble is caused. There should be no ambiguity about a
policy because this can lead to rules being bent, contradicting the whole point
of the code in the first place.
The code articulates the
values the organization wishes to foster in leaders and employees and, in doing
so, defines desired behavior. A Code is a central guide and reference for
employees to support day-to-day decision-making. A Code encourages discussions
of ethics and compliance, empowering employees to handle ethical dilemmas they
encounter in everyday work. It can also serve as a valuable reference, helping
employees locate relevant documents, services, and other resources related to
ethics within the organization, (Chum, 2019).
A company culture lays
down the foundation of shared values, goals, attitudes, and practices that
characterizes an organization and helps to improve and clarify all
stakeholders' perception of a workplace. Considering how intertwined company
culture, climate, organization, and conduct are, an organization that clearly
outlines its vision and mission is also more likely to attract and retain desirable
candidates. This might include writing a section about valuing customer service
more than KPIs or encouraging teamwork and open collaboration over individual
success, (Bramwell, 2020).
As
well as setting out the rules, a code of conduct also explains what employees
need to do if they ever need to report a violation of company policy, as well
as showing staff what the consequences are of using false information in an
attempt to conceal violation.
Acceptable
Reasons for Dismissal
Not all dismissal is under the
sanctions of the code of conduct. Sometimes it is during the tough economic
times, it may necessary to reduce headcount to stay afloat. It includes risk to
the company's reputation, theft, and physical violence against co-employees.
With this tough times strike, it needs to terminate employees correctly.
Employers have the right to dismiss an employee at any time for any reason,
(Hartford, 2020).
The common reasons for the dismissal
of employees are economic crises. When a certain country is in recession,
companies are likely resulted and resort to dismissals simply to stay in
business. Well, the key to implementing cost-cutting through termination of
employees legally is to make sure that not discriminating unintentionally. The
importance to address this situation is to use an objective, business-focused
plan for choosing the employees to dismiss.
The most difficult to manage
of legal termination of an employee is through firing for a cause. That causes
are grounds for serious violations of the written code of conduct. Restoring
and implementing fairness and justice in the company may result in dismissal
for certain employees violators.
The state of Mental Well-being of the remaining employees after a termination
A need of considering the
impact on remaining employees after letting employees leave. Productivity can
deteriorate and morale can dip as employees wonder if someone terminated
without their knowledge about the situation. The dismissal of employee/s may
affect the performance of the remaining employees, who can have the same
reactions who were the next to let go. It is not appropriate to share the exact
reasons for confidentiality on why specific individuals were terminated. It is
very important to let them know and abide by what is in the code of conduct.
They should well inform the state of the company in terms of economic standing
so that they have an idea of what they should know what to do.
Facilitate a pep talk, or
meeting to suggest ignoring gossip and surrounding with positivity, advocate
the benefits of journaling as a way to relieve stress and anxiety, and put
things in perspective. Motivate staff to talk with friends and the outcome of
the performance, being in nature can help lower blood pressure and stress
hormone levels. The consultant can facilitate seminars on remaining employees
to discuss their concerns and bring questions, confidentially, to management,
(Atkins, 2019).
Conclusion
In an organization, the code of conduct is vital and widely
known among employees as an ethical standard, value, and salient for all
employees. The values were presented to the employees of professionalism,
standard procedure, fairness, integrity, respect, customer-related services,
trust, diversity, and excellence. Every success of an organization should establish
an understanding of the code of conduct at all times. This should emulate the
ethical values and follow these values in the spirit of all applicable laws and
regulations of the company.
The code of conduct support
employees in general decision-making through a structure to follow when it
comes to the company’s behavior and allows employees to be prepared to handle
ethical dilemmas in the workplace. It also gives am employees a structure to
follow from the moment they join the company, providing enough information not
to occur problems in the future that do not result in termination or dismissal.
Also, there should be no ambiguity when it comes to a code of conduct not to
come up with lines that are blurred and rules can be broken.
The need to lay off employees may be
justifiable and undoubtedly reasonable. That’s why it’s important to have a
basic understanding of the discrimination laws. Termination or separation is
one of the most dreadful moments in professional life and the most dreadful
experience when an employee was terminated due to wrongful doings without
providing second chances to resolve what was problem occurs. It is what a
worker fears the most, as expected that will stir emotions.
References:
Milano, Steve (2021). The Penalties
for the Breach of a Code of Conduct. CHRON. California, USA.
Atkins, Dauna (2019). How to Preserve Mental
Health after a Termination (verityintl.com). Retrieved June 20, 2022.
Cechova, Dominika (2019). Employee Code of
Conduct: Best Practices and Examples (peoplegoal.com). Retrieved June 19,
2022.
Indeed Editorial Team, (2021).
Code
of Conduct Examples in the Workplace | Indeed.com.
Retrieved June 18, 2022.
International Ligitation Services, (2022). The
Sanction of Dismissal – A Terminating Sanction (ilsteam.com).
Retrieved June 18, 2022
Laing, Rokamn (2022). Termination
of Employment (How to Dismiss?) | DavidsonMorris.
Retrieved June 17, 2022
Milano, Brothers (2021). Milano Brothers Code of
Conduct | Milano Brothers Group. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
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