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Reminding to be Ethical...Changing Organizational Policies

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Dr. Deepa Bhide Hyderabad, Telangana, India

Ethics, DEI, Sustainability, and AI are "hot" topics in almost all organizational leadership discussions. In many such discussions, we often hear that a good percent of employees unaware of the organizational policies, including the organizational ethics mandate. It is seen that the employees do complete some of these courses as a part of the joining formalities, but later on, checking them on a regular basis is missed due to other project priorities.  An unfortunate incident related to ethical behavior may then occur and provide an "unfortunate" alert to the organization and team. The alert sends ripples across the organization, and then there is a compulsory mandate to check these policies. Thinking of the ownership of this information and compliance to the policies, it's both- employees and organization.  

Organizational policies are changing across the board due to operational changes. Due to such changes, we see an increase in ethical dilemmas, and this clearly needs ways to ensure an end-to-end process is created and executed to avoid any untoward incidents that may damage the organization's credibility.

What should be a way, in your opinion, to build a robust process around understanding Ethics and related processes? 

I would like to hear your views.  
 

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Shenila Shahabuddin Principal Consultant| Optimizia INC Karachi, Sind, Pakistan
Deepa

To build a robust process around understanding ethics and related processes, it is crucial to establish transparent communication channels for organizational policies. Regular updates should be disseminated through various channels, such as emails, internal communications platforms, and team meetings, to keep employees informed about changes and expectations. Additionally, integrate comprehensive ethics training into onboarding processes and implement regular refreshers to reinforce ethical principles. Maintain a centralized and easily accessible repository for all organizational policies, ensuring they are available in easily understandable language. Leadership engagement is key, with leaders exemplifying ethical behavior and fostering an open-door policy for employees to voice concerns or seek guidance on ethical matters. Incorporating ethics metrics into performance evaluations, conducting regular audits, and incorporating feedback mechanisms contribute to a continuous improvement cycle.
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Kwiyuh Michael Wepngong
Community Champion
Financial Management Specialist | US Peace Corps Yaounde, Centre, Cameroon
Mar 07, 2024 5:29 PM
Replying to Kiron Bondale
...
Deepa -

I would suggest the same could be said for any set of control objectives including privacy, security, and other compliance domains.

Having a policy and providing training is just the first step.

Having an ongoing refresh process which keeps policies, procedures and training current, a zero tolerance policy for ALL staff (including the C-level), appropriately used defaults and nudges, and a proactive, supportive stance from the gate keepers responsible for a given control area rather than an adversarial one will help.

Kiron
Thanks Kiron, very much on point
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William M Hayden Jr Adjunct Assistant Professor| University at Buffalo, School of Management, Operations Management & Strategy Buffalo, Ny, United States
Thanks Dr. Deepa!
Q. "What should be a way, in your opinion, to build a robust process around understanding Ethics and related processes??

A. There is only one way to do this that has lasting impact within an org.

The behaviors of those in the C-suite, i.e., NOT what they say or write, but what they both do, and then do not do.
Cheers,
Bill
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Ming Yeung Adjunct Professor & Acting COO/CPO/CRO (contract)| Blockchain Venture Capital Inc. Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Deepa, the observations are particularly relevant these days. The code of ethics or code of conduct in an entity should govern how ethics are instilled and how ethical behaviours are expected for all individuals involved.
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