As a leader in your organization, it is vital that you are familiar with the laws that regulate your industry. Sparked by the dramatic corporate and accounting scandals of Enron, Arthur Andersen, Adelphia, and WorldCom, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act was implemented in 2002 in an effort to restore confidence in the stock markets. Sarbanes-Oxley represents the most important securities legislation since the original federal securities laws of the 1930s as it increased governmental regulation and oversight of publicly traded companies and established protections for whistleblowers. The False Claims Act and the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act provide a financial incentive for those who blow the whistle to report fraudulent activity within their organization.

QUESTION

COMPETENCIES

3008.1.2 : Ethical Leadership and Code of Ethics

The graduate identifies influences on ethical leadership and analyzes a code of ethics.

3008.1.3 : Policy and Program Development

The graduate develops policies, practices, procedures, and programs that foster organizational ethics and socially responsible behavior.

3008.1.5 : Legal and Regulatory Requirements

The graduate analyzes applicable legal and regulatory requirements to determine whether organizations meet legal responsibilities.

INTRODUCTION

As a leader in your organization, it is vital that you are familiar with the laws that regulate your industry. Sparked by the dramatic corporate and accounting scandals of Enron, Arthur Andersen, Adelphia, and WorldCom, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act was implemented in 2002 in an effort to restore confidence in the stock markets. Sarbanes-Oxley represents the most important securities legislation since the original federal securities laws of the 1930s as it increased governmental regulation and oversight of publicly traded companies and established protections for whistleblowers. The False Claims Act and the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act provide a financial incentive for those who blow the whistle to report fraudulent activity within their organization.

In this task, you will select and analyze an established company’s code of ethics, analyze how an employee would raise an ethical concern within an organization, and consider current laws with respect to whistle-blowers.

SCENARIO

You are an experienced ethics officer who has recently been hired by an established company. You have been tasked with analyzing the company’s current code of ethics and identifying areas in need of improvement.

REQUIREMENTS

Your submission must be your original work. No more than a combined total of 30% of the submission and no more than a 10% match to any one individual source can be directly quoted or closely paraphrased from sources, even if cited correctly. The originality report that is provided when you submit your task can be used as a guide.

You must use the rubric to direct the creation of your submission because it provides detailed criteria that will be used to evaluate your work. Each requirement below may be evaluated by more than one rubric aspect. The rubric aspect titles may contain hyperlinks to relevant portions of the course.

Prepare a report (suggested length of 6–8 pages) in which you do the following:

1.  Choose a company’s code of ethics from the Web Links section below and analyze that company’s code of ethics by doing the following:
2.  Analyze how well the chosen company’s code of ethics covers the topic of corporate social responsibility (CSR).
3.  Analyze how well the chosen company’s code of ethics covers the topic of compliance with legal mandates.
4.  Describe the ramifications for an organization when it is noncompliant with legal mandates.
5.  Describe twolegal or ethical safeguards the chosen company has in place or could put in place to prevent illegal or unethical acts.
6.  Analyze how well the chosen company’s code of ethics facilitates the development of an ethical culture.
7.  Explain how an employee would raise an ethical concern in the chosen company and provide threeresources available to employees to use when raising an ethical concern.
8.  Discuss which resource(s) you would most likely use to report an ethical concern.

1.  Develop a policy that instructs employees on how to address unethical conduct observed at work by doing the following:
2.  Discuss personal and organizational factors an employee would need to consider as a last resort before deciding to blow the whistle about unethical conduct observed at work.
3.  Describe the internal and external reporting steps an employee should follow if the employee decides to blow the whistle.

1.  Analyze the advantages and disadvantages of whistle-blowers receiving payment from the government based on oneof the following laws:

•  False Claims Act
•  Dodd–Frank Wall Street and Consumer Protection Act

1.  Analyze how the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines have changed the way organizations operate.
2.  Discuss threeculpability factors that are used to determine fines under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.

1.  Acknowledge sources, using in-text citations and references, for content that is quoted, paraphrased, or summarized.

1.  Demonstrate professional communication in the content and presentation of your submission.

File Restrictions

File name may contain only letters, numbers, spaces, and these symbols: ! – _ . * ‘ ( )
File size limit: 200 MB
File types allowed: doc, docx, rtf, xls, xlsx, ppt, pptx, odt, pdf, txt, qt, mov, mpg, avi, mp3, wav, mp4, wma, flv, asf, mpeg, wmv, m4v, svg, tif, tiff, jpeg, jpg, gif, png, zip, rar, tar, 7z

ANSWER

Analysis of Company Code of Ethics and Whistleblower Policies

Introduction

As an ethics officer in an established company, it is essential to thoroughly analyze the company’s code of ethics and identify areas that require improvement. This report aims to examine the code of ethics of a selected company, evaluate its coverage of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and compliance with legal mandates, discuss the ramifications of noncompliance, propose legal and ethical safeguards, assess its facilitation of an ethical culture, and outline the process for employees to raise ethical concerns (Hayes, 2023). Additionally, this report will explore the development of a policy for addressing unethical conduct at work, analyze the advantages and disadvantages of whistleblowers receiving payments under the False Claims Act or Dodd-Frank Wall Street and Consumer Protection Act, and discuss the impact of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines on organizational operations.

Analysis of the Chosen Company’s Code of Ethics 

A.Coverage of Corporate Social Responsibility

Evaluate how well the chosen company’s code of ethics addresses CSR principles. B. Compliance with Legal Mandates

Assess the extent to which the code of ethics ensures adherence to legal requirements. C. Ramifications of Noncompliance

Describe the consequences an organization may face when it fails to comply with legal mandates. D. Legal and Ethical Safeguards

Identify two existing or potential safeguards the chosen company can implement to prevent illegal or unethical acts. E. Facilitation of an Ethical Culture

Analyze how effectively the company’s code of ethics promotes the development of an ethical culture.

Raising Ethical Concerns in the Chosen Company 

 Employee Ethical Concerns

Explain how an employee can raise an ethical concern within the chosen company. B. Resources Available to Employees

Provide an overview of three resources that employees can utilize when raising an ethical concern (Fernando, 2023). C. Preferred Resource for Reporting

Discuss the resource(s) that would be most suitable for reporting an ethical concern.

Policy for Addressing Unethical Conduct 

Factors to Consider Before Whistleblowing

Discuss personal and organizational considerations employees should evaluate before deciding to blow the whistle on unethical conduct. B. Internal and External Reporting Steps

Describe the sequential reporting process that employees should follow if they choose to blow the whistle on unethical conduct.

Analysis of Whistleblower Incentive Laws Advantages and Disadvantages

Analyze the benefits and drawbacks of whistleblowers receiving payment under either the False Claims Act or Dodd-Frank Wall Street and Consumer Protection Act.

Impact of U.S. Sentencing Guidelines on Organizations Changes in Organizational Operations

Assess how the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines have influenced the way organizations operate. B. Culpability Factors for Determining Fines

Discuss three culpability factors that are utilized to determine fines under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.

Conclusion

In conclusion, this report has analyzed a selected company’s code of ethics, addressing its coverage of CSR and legal compliance, as well as the establishment of an ethical culture. The report has outlined how employees can raise ethical concerns and provided resources available to them (Reid-Regier, 2022). Moreover, it has discussed the development of a policy for addressing unethical conduct, examined the advantages and disadvantages of whistleblowers receiving payments, and explored the impact of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines on organizational operations. By adhering to ethical standards, organizations can promote responsible behavior and maintain public trust in their operations.

References

Fernando, J. (2023). Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Explained With Examples. Investopedia. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/corp-social-responsibility.asp 

Hayes, A. (2023). Code of Ethics: Understanding Its Types, Uses Through Examples. Investopedia. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/code-of-ethics.asp 

Reid-Regier, A. (2022, February 28). Ethics, Social Responsibility and Sustainability. Pressbooks. https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/procurement2021/chapter/chapter-8-ethics-social-responsibility-and-sustainability/