Code of Conduct (CoC)
Code of Conduct is the highest policy document of an organization that sets the tone at the top. It is about defining core values, shared responsibilities, local and global commitments, and promises made by the company. It provides general guidance about the Company’s expectations on people behaviour, certain situations or circumstances that may require special attention, and is a reference point for internal resources and channels of communication. It is also generally the first stop for any stakeholder (internal or external) to get clarity on any questions relating to ethical conduct.
Organizations aspire to make the CoC a way of life document that is a living document and not just a piece of paper. So there are variety of implementation steps adopted such as
- Letters/ power points marked to all employees
- Contests or quizzes
- CoC trainings
- FAQs
- Wall hangings/ screen savers
CoC are of various types covering diverse topics such as
- General and personal code of conduct
- Fair practices
- Compliances to laws and government regulations
- Insider Trading
- Board of Directors
- Gifts and entertainment
- Conflict of interests
- Markets and competition
- Vendor or Customer specific
- Ethics and anti-bribery
- Acceptable asset usage
- Donations and charitable activities
- Lobbying and political activities
- Media communications
- Employee and visitor safety
- Disciplinary action and investigations