A code of conduct is a set of rules outlining the
norms, rules, and responsibilities or proper practices of an individual party or an organization.
Companies' codes of conduct
A company code of conduct is a set of rules which is commonly written for employees of a company, which protects the business and informs the employees of the company's expectations. It is appropriate for even the smallest of companies to create a document containing important information on expectations for employees. The document does not need to be complex or have elaborate policies.
Failure of an employee to follow a company's code of conduct can have negative consequences. In ''
Morgan Stanley v. Skowron'', 989 F. Supp. 2d 356 (S.D.N.Y. 2013), applying New York's
faithless servant
The faithless servant doctrine is a doctrine under the laws of a number of states in the United States, and most notably New York State law, pursuant to which employees who act unfaithfully towards their employers must forfeit to their employers a ...
doctrine, the court held that a hedge fund's employee engaging in insider trading in violation of his company's code of conduct, which also required him to report his
misconduct
Misconduct is wrongful, improper, or unlawful conduct motivated by premeditated or intentional purpose or by obstinate indifference to the consequences of one's acts. It is an act which is forbidden or a failure to do that which is required. Misc ...
, must repay his employer the full $31 million his employer paid him as compensation during his period of faithlessness.
Accountants' code of conduct
In its 2007 International Good Practice Guidance, "Defining and Developing an Effective Code of Conduct for Organizations", provided the following working definition: "Principles, values, standards, or rules of behaviour that guide the decisions, procedures, and systems of an organization in a way that (a) contributes to the welfare of its key stakeholders, and (b) respects the rights of all constituents affected by its operations."
In practice
A code of conduct can be an important part in establishing an
inclusive culture, but it is not a comprehensive solution on its own. An
ethical
Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concerns ma ...
culture is created by the organization's leaders who manifest their ethics in their attitudes and behaviour. Studies of codes of conduct in the private sector show that their effective implementation must be part of a learning process that requires training, consistent enforcement, and continuous measurement/improvement. Simply requiring members to read the code is not enough to ensure that they understand it and will remember its contents. The proof of effectiveness is when employees/members feel comfortable enough to voice concerns and believe that the organization will respond with appropriate action.
Examples
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Banking Code The Banking Code was a voluntary code of practice agreed by banks in certain countries. The code typically described how banks dealt with accepting deposits and withdrawals and with customer disputes on transactions. Banking codes have in most cou ...
[Bank codes of conduct https://theconversation.com/bank-codes-of-conduct-add-bars-to-the-window-dressing-and-make-them-legally-binding-105391]
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Bushido
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Code of Hammurabi
The Code of Hammurabi is a Babylonian legal text composed 1755–1750 BC. It is the longest, best-organised, and best-preserved legal text from the ancient Near East. It is written in the Old Babylonian dialect of Akkadian, purportedly by Hamm ...
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Code of the United States Fighting Force
The Code of the U.S. Fighting Force is a code of conduct that is an ethics guide and a United States Department of Defense directive consisting of six articles to members of the United States Armed Forces, addressing how they should act in combat ...
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Declaration of Geneva
The Declaration of Geneva was adopted by the General Assembly of the World Medical Association at Geneva in 1948, amended in 1968, 1983, 1994, editorially revised in 2005 and 2006 and amended in 2017.
It is a declaration of a physician's dedicati ...
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Declaration of Helsinki
The Declaration of Helsinki (DoH, fi, Helsingin julistus, sv, Helsingforsdeklarationen) is a set of ethical principles regarding human experimentation developed originally in 1964 for the medical community by the World Medical Association (WMA) ...
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Don't be evil
"Don't be evil" is a phrase that was used in Google's corporate code of conduct, which it also formerly preceded as a motto.
Following Google's corporate restructuring under the conglomerate Alphabet Inc. in October 2015, Alphabet took "Do the r ...
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Eight precepts
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Election Commission of India's Model Code of Conduct Election Commission of India's Model Code of Conduct in Hindi achar sanchita is a set of guidelines issued by the Election Commission of India for the conduct of political parties and candidates during elections mainly with respect to speeches, poll ...
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Five Pillars of Islam
The Five Pillars of Islam (' ; also ' "pillars of the religion") are fundamental practices in Islam, considered to be obligatory acts of worship for all Muslims. They are summarized in the famous hadith of Gabriel. The Sunni and Shia agree on ...
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Golden Rule
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Geneva Conventions
upright=1.15, Original document in single pages, 1864
The Geneva Conventions are four treaties, and three additional protocols, that establish international legal standards for humanitarian treatment in war. The singular term ''Geneva Conven ...
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Hippocratic Oath
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ICC Cricket Code of Conduct
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(ICOC or Hague Code of Conduct)
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Journalist's Creed The Journalist's Creed is a personal and professional affirmation and code of journalism ethics written by Walter Williams in 1914. The creed has been published in more than 100 languages, and a bronze plaque of The Journalist's Creed hangs at the ...
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Moral Code of the Builder of Communism
Moral Code of the Builder of Communism (russian: Моральный кодекс строителя коммунизма) was a set of twelve codified moral rules in the Soviet Union which every member of the Communist Party of the USSR and every ...
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Pāṭimokkha
In Theravada Buddhism, the Pāṭimokkha is the basic code of monastic discipline, consisting of 227 rules for fully ordained monks (bhikkhus) and 311 for nuns ( bhikkhuṇīs). It is contained in the Suttavibhaṅga, a division of the Vinaya ...
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Pirate code
A pirate code, pirate articles, or articles of agreement were a code of conduct for governing pirates. A group of sailors, on turning pirate, would draw up their own code or articles, which provided rules for discipline, division of stolen goods, ...
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Rule of Saint Benedict
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Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments (Biblical Hebrew עשרת הדברים \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים, ''aséret ha-dvarím'', lit. The Decalogue, The Ten Words, cf. Mishnaic Hebrew עשרת הדיברות \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְ ...
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Ten precepts (Taoism)
The Ten Precepts of Taoism were outlined in a short text that appears in Dunhuang manuscripts (DH31, 32), the ''Scripture of the Ten Precepts'' (''Shíjiè jīng'' 十戒經). The precepts are the classical rules of medieval Taoism as applied to pr ...
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Uniform Code of Military Justice
The Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ, 10 U.S.C. §§ 801–946 is the foundation of military law in the United States. It was established by the United States Congress in accordance with the authority given by the United States Constitution ...
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Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations
The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961 is an international treaty that defines a framework for diplomatic relations between independent countries. Its aim is to facilitate "the development of friendly relations" among governments ...
See also
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Programming ethics
References
External links
{{Authority control
Applied ethics
Morality
Political charters
Rules