Followed or not, just about every large company and professional organization has a code of ethics that's meant to get everyone doing the right thing. The code might describe the company’s or organization’s values, how employees are supposed to behave and what to do when faced with particular ethical dilemmas. It could also spell out the penalties if the code of ethics is not followed.
Professions such as realtors, certified public accountants, Wall Street traders, bankers and financial advisors all have a code of ethics written by the trade organizations that issue their certifications. Rules for behavior are clearly defined and a person can lose their certification if the rules are broken.
Adam works for a large medical center doing fundraising. He can access patient data such as name, address and phone number, but the hospital’s code of ethics clearly states he is not allowed to look up data regarding the patient’s diagnosis, treatment, etc. The code also states the employee will be terminated if he or she is caught doing this. So, Adam resists the temptation to look up the records of his friends and relatives.
For some industries such as banking and investments, there are laws in place that guide their code of ethics and behavior. Since it’s crucial that these are followed, some companies hire a compliance officer to keep up to date on industry requirements, conduct training for all employees, and ensure rules are being followed.
A code of ethics can also contain a company’s commitment to preserving the environment or not doing business with foreign companies that use child labor or pay very low wages.
Related or Semi-related Video
Finance: What is an Ethical Fund?22 Views
Finance allah shmoop what is an ethical fund an ethical
fund the political weapon of unsophisticated finance people throwing straw
at brick houses everywhere Well unethical fund is one that
has no ah sin or no investments in what they
perceive as bad things like you know porn google images
and snapchat facebook tobacco philip morris altria arguably the best
investments over the last century Guns and boeing rockwell bomb
gambling a vegas casino caesar's sands yeah that's not really
oil chevron shell bp hollywood it is neat bike on
the other and then there's technology which delivers all of
the above and let's not forget about telecommunications which lets
people converse Teo then deliver all of the above way
Going too far here Yeah and that's the problem with
quote ethical funds unquote healthy ethics are in the eyes
of the beholder Go to a church service in the
deep south and it's likely the congregation will give you
a completely different quote It's ok to invest in unquote
portfolio then what A bunch of hippies in marin county
california So who's to say what is ethical and what
is not Well actually it's the gang marketing the mutual
fund which named itself to be and ethical fund Who
determines what investors would feel good about investing in and
hey that's fine Someday it's him up We want to
start a fund investing on lian companies who are funny
like intentionally funny not like you know g and those
guys Well the problem is that for better or worse
a large portion of the name's actively omitted from the
list of buyable stocks in and ethical fund are often
actually really good Businesses like oil and gas for example
has been a stalwart for a century in the u
s so has tobacco And oh by the way most
technology companies early histories were driven by profits in and
around porn So there is in essence a price that
investors historically seemed to be paying for the privilege of
being all judgy about what ethics are meaning that results
in ethical funds tend to lag their competitors by a
few percent each year and over a couple of decades
While that means that ethical funds end up being worth
a lot less than unfiltered funds their funds who just
are out there trying to make money for shareholders and
then the big question gets asked from the ethically rich
and financially poor from the poor house i shouldn't The
best ethics just revolve around legally producing the best financial
return for investors Know what a concept investing in order 00:02:52.165 --> [endTime] to make more money Who'd a thought
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