In the corporate and business world today, as well as in academic and educational circles, business ethics is a highly contested topic. Organizations that have a propensity for acting in accordance with ethical standards, morals, and values understand how crucial it is that ethical procedures and policies be communicated to and followed by all members of the organization, while also becoming a top priority for the management of the organization. The foundations for the business’s resourceful and moral performance are laid by organizational and educational leadership, for example. Leaders should promote and exemplify values in line with the goals, mission, and vision communicated to workers since they are the most important group in any business and have a significant effect on corporate culture.
Stakeholders and shareholders are calling for corporate social responsibility more and more, which is a topic that affects all company operations. Organizations, on the other hand, are required to work for societal objectives in addition to financial ones, such as environmentally friendly manufacturing, adherence to social expectations, consumer protection, or responsible use of client data (Kotzian et al., 2021). Employees must balance moral and financial concerns in all of their actions. Ensuring adherence to ethical standards has become a crucial component of managerial control since businesses are now held legally and publicly accountable for the actions of their personnel. The foundation of a company’s compliance and ethics initiatives is its code of ethics. Financial regulation does, in fact, entail the implementation of ethics codes. One of the most frequently suggested and used components of compliance programs, which generally include compliance training, a compliance office, and other institutions connected to compliance, including whistleblowing, is the code of conduct.
Business ethics are similar to a set of rules outlining how society expects the business to conduct itself. Since society permits the aforementioned enterprises to exist, it anticipates that they will be socially responsible. Therefore, businesses should interact with their staff in a way that upholds the intended moral principles and codes of behavior. Levi Strauss’ code of conduct addresses a number of ethical principles, which can be divided into three categories: internal, legal, and environmental. Levi has adopted legal principles that guarantee it upholds legal obligations, such as observing laws, rules, and regulations, combating bribery and corruption, and promoting free and fair competition in the market. Regarding the environment, the code of conduct emphasizes sustainability and environmental preservation in all of its operating activities. The internal principles particularly concern its staff members. The code of conduct contains rules for establishing a safe working environment free from harassment and discrimination for all of its workers. The fundamental themes of Levi Strauss’ code of conduct are integrity, social responsibility, and respect for the rule of law, the environment, and human rights.
In my professional experience, I have observed the ethical standards of Levi Strauss being upheld by the food manufacturing business Kellogg’s and the apparel manufacturer, Patagonia. The ethical ideals of both organizations are broken down into internal, external, and legal considerations in their respective codes of conduct. Both Patagonia and Kellogg’s incorporate social responsibility into every aspect of their business operations in order to save the environment and assure its sustainability. In essence, Patagonia bases its business decisions on the preservation of the environment, in comparison to Kellogg’s pledge to use natural resources prudently to benefit the local economy. Both businesses have policies in place to guarantee that they operate ethically, abide by the law, and respect both their customers and staff.
Reference
Kotzian, P., Stöber, T., Weißenberger, B. E., & Hoos, F. (2021). Effective, but not all the time: Experimental evidence on the effectiveness of a code of ethics’ design. Business and Society Review, 126(2), 107–134. Web.