Cheesecake Factory
Code of Ethical Conduct
Joseph D. Williams
Introduction to Business 100
Kimberly Hayes
December 10, 2013 Abstract In today’s society, business is a melting pot of diverse cultures. With the present technology, the distance between locations has become virtually borderless. Different backgrounds produce different understandings of very basic concepts, like what is right and what is wrong. Simply stated, right versus wrong is the definition of ethics. First, this paper will discuss key areas that are of significant importance to the business. Second, this paper will converse ways a company can ensure employees follow codes of conduct. Finally, this paper will confer ways a business can engage in socially responsive
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Mrs. Overton personally made baked cheesecakes in the basement of their home for the best local restaurants. In 1972, they moved their business to Los Angeles, CA where they opened a 700 square foot store known as the Cheesecake Factory. Thirty years later, The Cheesecake Factory has over 170 locations around the world. Having such a large corporation presents various challenges when it comes to having a large diverse staff. A solid Human Resources base is one of the major keys to having an up-and-coming business union or type of occupation that heavily rely on individuals. When you have such a diverse group of personnel, everyone is going to have their own set of morals and ethics that they live by and have a tendency to take those ethics to the work place. When writing a code of ethics it is important that the rules will cover every employee from the Executives to the lowest staff member. In today’s diverse workplace, a Chief Executive Officer must focus on how the code of conduct is significant to the workplace, ensure all employees and leaders follow the code of conduct, and determine ways a business can engage with socially responsive activities in the community within it …show more content…
Executives have to avoid conflicts of interest regarding business transactions pertaining to investments, and sensitive information. “Conflicts of Interest,” in regards to investments ensures that an officer or director should avoid participating in any transaction or investment that conflicts with, or gives the appearance of a conflict with, the interest of the company. This is key in maintaining ethics because a person who is in a leadership or management position must be loyal to only one organization; otherwise, all decisions that are made are suspect as to the integrity of the choice, especially concerning money matters. A second key area of the code of ethics for Executives shall maintain the confidentiality of the Enterprise’s confidential information and any confidential information of third parties in accordance with the Company’s confidentiality policies and any confidentiality agreements entered into by the Corporation because it is apparent that leaks of information can destroy a
Lowe’s begins their manual with an Introduction that includes employees’ and Board of Directors’ together. Lowe’s feels employees’ are equal and expects their executives to follow the same rules of conduct. Lowe’s includes ethics and code of conduct together as a framework of principles’ to guide employees’ in their day-to-day conduct. (Lowe's Internal, 2010)
Ethics plays a vital role in developing accurate and high quality financial statements for management, financial institutions, and investors. As management utilizes financial statements to make decisions regarding the operations of the business, it is necessary to review accurate financial statements to make strategic decisions about the future of the organization. Investors and financial institutions require accurate financial statements to make informed decisions upon whether to invest funds into the organization or the wisdom of lending funds to said organization.
Bernardi, Richard A., and LaCross, Catherine C. "Corporate Transparency: Code of Ethics Disclosure." The CPA Journal (2005). Retrieved on 16 September 2006 .
There are key procedures that a company, like The Cheesecake Factory, can take in order to emphasis their employees follow the code of conduct. One such step is to have a litigation department that handles disputes, violations of the code of conduct, and investigations regarding violations of the code of conduct. This procedure makes it possible for the company and the employee to work together as a whole to protect the company interests. Another procedure that company such as The Cheesecake Factory can emphasize is to make every new and current employee sign a code of conduct
Ethics or rather morals entail mechanisms that defend, systematize as well as recommend conceptions of right or wrong. Many organizations develop ethical codes to ensure employees and employers understand the difference in doing good or bad. In that respect, ethics are an essential aspect of successfully running of any organization or government. Ethics ensure employee’s productivity levels are up to the required standards. It also assists them to know their rights and responsibilities. Additionally, employers, as well as any persons in management, are guided by them to ensure they provide transparent leadership. Ethics also defines how customers should be handled. Ethical codes govern the relationship between customers and an
A code of ethics is essential in today business world, and customers honestly base a company’s reputation on these bases. Simply defined a code of ethics is a set of core values designed to help professionals manage a business that is honest and possess integrity. For example, a code of ethics document should highlight the mission and the values of a business. As well as, illustrate how professionals should approach issues, the ethical principles based on the company’s core values, and caliber to which the professionals are held. It is highly critical that a company like the Cheesecake Factory withholds an ethical and socially responsive code of conduct.
Ethical behavior is behavior that a person considers to be appropriate. A person’s moral principals are shaped from birth, and developed overtime throughout the person’s life. There are many factors that can influence what a person believes whats is right, or what is wrong. Some factors are a person’s family, religious beliefs, culture, and experiences. In business it is of great importance for an employee to understand how to act ethically to prevent a company from being sued, and receiving criticism from the public while bringing in profits for the company. (Mallor, Barnes, Bowers, & Langvardt, 2010) Business ethics is when ethical behavior is applied in an business environment, or by a business. There are many situations that can arise in which a person is experiencing an ethical dilemma. They have to choose between standing by their own personal ethical standards or to comply with their companies ethical standards. In some instances some have to choose whether to serve their own personal interests, or the interest of the company. In this essay I will be examining the financial events surrounding Bernie Madoff, and the events surrounding Enron.
For a company to be successful ethically, it must go beyond the notion of simple legal compliance and adopt a values-based organizational culture. A corporate code of ethics can be a very valuable and integral part of a company’s culture but I believe that it is not strong enough to stand alone. Thought and care must go into constructing the code of ethics and the implementation of it. Companies need to infuse ethics and integrity throughout their corporate culture as well as into their definition of success. To be successfully ethical, companies must go beyond the notion of simple legal compliance and adopt a values-based organizational culture.
The Board of Directors for The Ford Motor Company has implemented an additional Code of Business Conduct and Ethics for their directors. It was created in order to help them access ethical risk factors, provide guidance and support when dealing with ethical issues, and uphold the integrity of the company (Ford Motor Company pg. 1). With these guiding principles set forth, all directors must comply and adhere to the codes, as well as promptly report any questionable situations and/or circumstances directly to the Chairman of the Board of Directors, the Chair of the Nominating and Governance Committee or the Presiding Director who will take the necessary steps to deal with any issues (Ford Motor Company pg. 1). Directors must steer clear of any situations that would create a conflict of interest between a director and the Company (Ford Motor Company pg. 1). Certain instances in which to abstain from include any relationship of the Company with any third – parties, compensation from non-Company sources, Gifts, and personal use of Company assets (Ford Motor Company pg. 2). Ford Motor Com...
To provide an example of a breach of ethical conduct in the workplace, we may remember the case of a financial manager in a corporation that decided not to pay overtime to some employees. After a deep outside investigation, the company was summoned with thousands of dollars to remedy the payment that was supposed to be paid to all employees who worked more than forty hours per week. Again, it is needed more than just a booklet stating that the company adheres to the code of business ethics. It is needed serious managers that can run the company with the most seriousness as possible. Consequently, any written codes of business ethics, regardless of how well it has been crafted, need people that adhere to its internal content with a serious desire to do the right thing.
Ethical standards that evolved over the history of Western civilization deal with interpersonal relationships. What is right or wrong? What one should do and not do when dealing with other people. Ethical behavior in a business environment has not been as clearly defined. When businesses were small and the property of a few individuals, traditional ethical standards were applied to meet different situations. However, as businesses became larger, the interpersonal ethical relations did not provide any clear behavioral guidelines. Likewise, the principles of ethical relationships were even less pertinent to the corporate environments.
Ethics in business is a highly important concept, as it can affect a company’s profits, salaries paid to employees and CEOs, and public opinion, among many other aspects of a business. Ethics can be enforced by company policies and guidelines, set a precedent when a company is faced with an important decision, and are also evolving thanks to new technology and situations that arise due to technology usage. Businesses have a duty to maintain their ethical responsibilities and also to help their employees enforce these responsibilities in and out of the workplace. However, ethics and the foundation for them are not always black and white. There are many different ethical theories, however Utilitarianism, Kant’s Deontological ethics, and Virtue ethics are three of the most well known theories in existence. Each theory is distinct in that it has a different quality used to determine ethicality and allows for a person to choose which system of ethics works best with both the situation and his or her personal ethical preferences.
... when dealing with the code of ethics. When becoming an employee at a Dunkin’ Donuts establishment it is important for them to have a personal responsibility to understand and apply ethical behavior and act with the highest degree of ethics. The Code of Ethics provides managers and employees with guidelines and expectations on how to behave when working in the workplace. It is extremely important to provide workers with a Code of ethics because without it employees would be lost and wouldn’t have guidelines on how to be their best when working at the said Dunkin’ Donuts establishment. The Dunkin’ donuts industry is extremely dependent on they’re every day dealings with their co-workers. The Code of Ethics makes it easier for each worker to do the best they can when working for Dunkin’ Donuts and comply themselves to all their responsibilities the greatest they can.
Treviño, L. K., & Nelson, K. A. (2007). Managing business ethics: Straight talk about how to do it right Fourth ed., Retrieved on July 30, 2010 from www.ecampus.phoenix.edu
This paper discusses the role of ethics in corporate governance. I seek to show the application of moral and ethical principles in corporate governance. Ethics is a topic that has generated a lot of interest in the last decade especially after high profile scandals. The failures of prominent companies such as WorldCom, Enron, Merrill lynch and Martha Stewart portrays the lack of corporate ethics. The failure of such business has seen an increased pressure to incorporate ethics in corporate governance. The result of corporate scandals has been eroding investor and public confidence. The entire economic system has experienced some form of stress from loss of capital, a falling stock market and business failures.