A System of Inquiry into Code-of-Ethics Compliance Essay Example

responsibilities and developing their full potential.

Principle 5: Profession

I will strive to represent my profession and promote the organization's vision.

Principle 6: Self

I will represent myself honestly and continually work towards improving my professional competence and ethical understanding.

Two approaches to Inquiry

Process Evaluation

Process Evaluation aims to analyze the success of program implementation.

The purpose of this program is to monitor the performance of activities and their outcomes. One example is the creation and distribution of standards and procedures through annual ethics training courses. The retention of specific skills and knowledge by the participants at different intervals after the training is an important indicator. Additionally, measuring the satisfaction of participants during the training provides valuable data. However, from the perspective of the inquirer, these program activities and their outputs are not inherently valuable, particularly when it comes to taking corrective actions.

The value of specific requirements is indirectly significant, as it is directly proportional to their contribution to achieving program outcomes. Conversely, activities and outputs that do not contribute to desired program outcomes offer little value and may be perceived as wastage of resources.

Outcomes-based Evaluation

Conversely, an outcome-centered evaluation focuses on the extent to which program activities achieve expected results. This evaluation measures changes in the lives, attitudes, and behavior of the organization’s employees, agents, and stakeholders, as well as broader changes across the organization.

During the inquiry, it is important to acknowledge that factors beyond program activities can potentially impact behavior, whether significantly or not. In comparison to Process Evaluation, this

method of inquiry may be less precise. However, managers and other authorities within the organization can employ the following outcome questions for general evaluation:

- Has there been a decrease in misconduct?
- Has there been a decrease in exposure to misconduct-related risks?
- Do employees consistently demonstrate the ability to identify business conduct issues while on the job?
- How frequently do employees and agents refer to procedures, standards, and expectations?
- How often are decisions made with consideration for procedures, standards, and expectations?
- Are employees and agents willing to seek advice when necessary?
- How willing are employees and agents to report concerns?
- How satisfied are employees who report concerns with management's response?
- How committed are employees to the organization?
- What is the level of stakeholder satisfaction with the organization?
- To what extent does organizational culture promote ethical conduct and discourage misconduct?

The text discusses different methods available for data collection in evaluating organizational culture, including relevant context scanning as well as process and outcome assessment. These methods encompass interviews, surveys, focus groups, document review, and direct observation.The text highlights the importance of recognizing that there is no universal solution, as each method possesses its own advantages and disadvantages and necessitates distinct resources.

The primary goal is to establish a data collection strategy that is both cost-effective and efficient, while also encouraging employees to provide their truthful opinions. This will enable evaluators, authorities, and stakeholders to obtain a thorough comprehension of the organization's current state. Surveys and document reviews are invaluable tools in this endeavor due to their affordability and effectiveness in gathering data. Moreover, additional research can be carried out using initial leads, formed impressions, focus

groups, interviews, and other methods.

The text highlights the importance of direct observation in certain assessments, which can be costly. It is challenging to ensure anonymity and confidentiality without involving third parties in data collection, both of which are crucial for obtaining truthful responses.

Common Data Collection Methods
Surveys

Surveys consist of standardized written instruments that contain various types of questions. These questions range from single, direct inquiries to yes/no judgments to a series of questions on a specific topic and unstructured open-ended queries.

There are multiple ways to conduct surveys, such as through mail, in person, over the telephone, online, or during events or activities. Surveys are effective for collecting data but there is a limit to how many questions employees can accurately respond to. It is crucial to avoid "survey fatigue" among employees as it can have a negative impact on the results. Hence, it is recommended to include a well-rounded set of questions that cover various aspects of the program because of limited question options.

When addressing demographic inquiries, it is crucial to maintain the original promise of anonymity or confidentiality. Care should be taken when conducting unstructured interviews and focus groups, whether in person or over the phone. Focus group interviews are particularly effective for small groups of approximately ten individuals who are familiar with one another, as they enable the interviewer to extensively collect information.

It is advisable to limit interviews to less than one hour per individual. Document review entails scanning records and documents in order to gather comprehensive information about program processes and outcomes. This review can concentrate on specific behavioral patterns. An experienced evaluator may be assigned this responsibility due to its intricacy. Direct

observation involves closely observing interactions and events, adhering to pre-established protocols as guidelines.

Measuring Organizational Culture The information collected can be both descriptive and evaluative in nature. While there are two basic approaches to program evaluation (process and outcome-centered), measuring the culture of the organization itself is also important for a complete evaluation. The ethics compliance evaluation will include measuring how much the organization exercises due diligence to avoid and detect anti-social and illegal activities. Additionally, program activities can be designed with a better understanding of the organization's culture. For example, culture has a strong influence on communication styles and training programs.

The text highlights the importance of measuring compliance in organizations and how their culture is the ultimate measure of code-of-ethics compliance. The organization's culture plays a significant role in designing and implementing programs aimed at improving compliance. The key question to measure the culture is "What do we stand for and what is our collective identity?". It is essential to answer these questions qualitatively or quantitatively to design program activities that align with the desired outputs and expected changes in the organization's overall culture. A survey instrument is used to gauge the organization's commitment to ethical standards and legal compliance.

Measuring Over-all Program Performance
It is crucial to acknowledge that conducting regular inquiries into process outcomes is essential to gain the trust of stakeholders in the ethics compliance program. These assessments provide answers to key questions such as:

• Program Process: Have we achieved our objectives?
• Program Outcomes: Can we observe any expected changes?
• Organizational Culture: What defines our identity and our commitment to ethical compliance?

The same dynamics addressed during the design and implementation

stages are evident in the program evaluation process. Factors including context, culture, and stakeholder expectations play a significant role in determining the results. The evaluation process may vary in terms of intensity and level of formality.

Purpose of Program Evaluation:
Designing the set of questions to evaluate code of ethics compliance is the crucial initial step. During this stage, evaluators, including managers and authorities, must focus on the process. Key questions at this stage include: Are the procedures, standards, and expectations established? How effective is the training program? How do stakeholders perceive the reports they receive? The main objective of compliance programs extends beyond having a code of ethics for guiding conduct and responsibility. Senior management and authorities also seek to assess the overall effectiveness of the program in achieving desired outcomes. Moreover, management has additional expectations, like risk reduction or changes in organizational culture to ensure ethical principles and beliefs remain intact.

Scanning the Relevant Context:
Before delving into outcome evaluation, managers and authorities must first observe and document the context of various operations.

Part of this process is involving stakeholders to determine their information demands and needs. This is the only way the organization can prioritize different outcomes and decide which ones should be evaluated first and which parameters to observe.

Tracking Organizational Culture

Although changing the organizational culture may not be the primary goal of implementing the ethics compliance program, it will still bring about significant but incremental changes to the existing culture. Additionally, the success of such programs will inevitably be influenced by the current cultural patterns. For example, there is a clear correlation between employees' perceptions that top management values the code of ethics as much as

it values financial performance. This highlights the importance of monitoring at least some aspects of organizational culture.

The parameters include measuring the ethical actions of employees at all levels of the organization. The complete profile of the existing culture can be captured by considering the following characteristics:

• The extent to which leaders and employees embrace and uphold the organization’s core principles and values while inspiring progress.
• The degree to which leaders and employees maintain high self-responsibility standards.
• The extent to which leaders inspire employees in subordinate positions and their willingness to participate more in organizational affairs.
• The degree to which members have access to necessary knowledge when needed.
• The extent to which honest mistakes and conflicts of interest are viewed as opportunities for growth and learning.

The inquiry team can use a standard organizational culture worksheet to design a plan for observing, tracking, and measuring the culture. Working with stakeholders, they will determine and measure cultural factors. For instance, to assess if the "attitude of leaders reflects the code of ethics," evaluators may use indicators such as employee perceptions gathered through interviews, focus groups, and surveys.

Analyzing the statements made by managers can be determined through a review of leadership communications. Deducing the intentions of leadership can be done through interviews with important personnel. Process Evaluation involves judging the efficacy of the process, including efficiency and effectiveness in resource utilization, program activities and expected outputs. Recent trends in evaluation models, particularly in quality improvement, fall under this category.

It also offers a comprehensive and thorough structure for creating reports. This structure for planning and reporting helps to assure stakeholders of the accuracy of the findings. Inquirers can create a process evaluation worksheet

to develop a plan for collecting and analyzing data. For example, when evaluating communication standards and procedures during training, the worksheet can be used to examine training costs, the number of employees trained in a year, participant satisfaction levels, and performance on action plans after training. As mentioned earlier, process evaluation also involves considering qualitative factors such as activity success rates, challenges, unexpected developments, and insights.

The authorities and managers must define measurable outcomes for the expected program. The evaluators can use global standards such as the Caux Round Table Principles, Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, Basic Guidelines for Codes of Business Conduct, UN Global Compact, and the Principles for Global Corporate Responsibility to set specific standards. These standards can be used to draw outcomes for the organization's code of ethics compliance program. To evaluate each outcome, specific indicators that are reasonable, measurable, pragmatic, and time-sensitive need to be identified.

For example, to achieve fewer violations of standards and procedures, cases of observed breaches and failure to meet stakeholder expectations can be used as indicators. To increase employee commitment to the organization, indicators such as employee turnover and whether employees would recommend the organization to their family members can be considered. To reduce violations of organization standards, evaluators and authorities can track help-line calls, customer grievances, and audit reports. In addition, surveys can be conducted where employees can anonymously or confidentially report the types and frequency of breaches they have observed. Furthermore, interviews and focus groups conducted by an external party can provide more insight into the occurrences and reasons behind code of ethics violations.

• The outcomes and indicators selected are intended to meet the information
  

needs of authorities conducting the inquiry, top management, and stakeholders.

Conclusion

Overall, the issue of designing and implementing a system for investigating code-of-ethics compliance can be addressed through process-based and outcome-based evaluations. A robust data collection plan utilizing surveys, interviews, focus groups, and direct observations is crucial in both approaches. The evaluation process also recognizes the significance of measuring organizational culture.

And finally, the essential last step of the System of Inquiry involves analyzing the indicators of the overall program performance.

Reference:

1. De George, R T. “Business ethics”, 1995, Prentice Hall Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, USA