9 Steps to an Ethical Corporate Culture

In the face of the speed of business life and competitive pressure, people need guiding principles. Organizations determine the values and principles appropriate to their fields of activity, structure them within the framework of ethical codes, ethical policies and codes of conduct, present them to their employees as a guide and make a commitment to the public. Generally, it is not enough to prepare documents; the basic understanding of the organization must be embedded in the corporate culture in order to turn expectations into reality. A corporate culture is formed by the behaviors of the individuals who make up that organization on the basis of their mind maps. Corporate climate, on the other hand, consists of processes and ways of doing business defined by the organization. The realization of this climate is embodied in the behaviors of individuals, teams and management. Today, writing ethical codes is one of the main keys to the structuralization of organizations. As Baltaş Group, as much as we support the creation of codes, we take the issue of their internalization and overlapping with the values of individuals as important. The method we have adopted for this process is structured in 9 steps. 1. Clarify the philosophy on which your mission is based. 2. Establish meaningful relationships between your code of ethics and business life. 3. Model as senior management and business leaders. 4. Reinforce work life examples. 5. Make corporate communication. 6. Organize workshops. 7. Share and evaluate problem and solution experiences. 8. Build faith and gain support. 9. Emphasize the link between the honor of the individual and the honor of the organization.

In the face of the speed of business life and competitive pressure, people need guiding principles. Organizations determine the values and principles appropriate to their fields of activity, structure them within the framework of ethical codes, ethical policies and codes of conduct, present them to their employees as a guide and make a commitment to the public.

It is often not enough to prepare documents; the basic understanding of the organization needs to be embedded in the corporate culture in order to turn expectations into reality. A corporate culture is formed by the behaviors of the individuals who make up that organization on the basis of their mind maps. Corporate climate, on the other hand, consists of processes and ways of doing business defined by the organization. The realization of this climate is embodied in the behaviors of individuals, teams and management. 

Today, writing ethical codes is one of the main keys to the structuralization of organizations. As Baltaş Group, as much as we support the creation of codes, we take the issue of their internalization and overlapping with the values of individuals as important. The method we have adopted for this process is structured in 9 steps.

Emphasize the link between the honor of the individual and the honor of the organization. Explain that the working honor of individuals is the honor and reputation of the organization. Instill the awareness that the quality of the work and relationships of employees in accordance with ethical values is a responsibility first to themselves, then to the organization, and finally to the society.

Clarify the philosophy on which your mission is based. The organization should clearly articulate its business philosophy and the resulting mission statement. Since the mission is the raison d’être of the organization, this definition is guiding. This is how the behaviors expected of employees make sense and become a feature of the corporate identity.

Make meaningful connections between your code of ethics and work life. Establish codes of ethics that guide employees in day-to-day decisions and describe expected behaviors in line with the mission. Define and implement procedures and policies. Manuals of values, codes of conduct and ethics policies, peer reviewers, ethics oversight boards, ethics investigations, referral sources and other ethics management mechanisms are elements of this system.

Model as senior management and business leaders. Business leaders should convey expectations about employee behavior through explicit or implicit messages. Managers should model ethical decisions and behaviors. This is how organizational expectations are reinforced in detail.

Reinforce work life examples. Monitor and audit ethical code practices in daily business behavior. When evaluating and rewarding success, take into account the organization’s ethical policies and principles and include them in performance systems. Ethical values that are not included in the performance system will not be effective and up to date.

Communicate theprinciples and expected behaviors through messages from business leaders at every opportunity. Emphasize that the organization cares about ethical values and behaviors. Utilize tools such as printed material, intranet, awards for successful examples.

Organize workshops. Use case studies and practices to clarify ethical codes, policies and procedures. Confront employees’ personal values and ethics with corporate business ethics, and create opportunities for discussion to resolve doubts. Ensure that personal and corporate values are aligned.

Share and evaluate experiences of problems and solutions. Senior management should take advantage of critical business situations to demonstrate that they support and take seriously the application of ethical values, and demonstrate that the same principles are followed at the senior level.

Build belief and gain support. In order for employees to perceive the reasons behind top management’s ethical principles and rules to be sincere, doubts and hesitations should be prevented and measures should be taken to strengthen belief.

Baltaş R&D Department

Source: https://kaynakbaltas.com/kultur/etik-bir-kurum-kulturu-icin-9-adim/

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Baltaş Grubu

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