Ethics Management Report: Developing an Ethics Compliance Program

This report delves into the development of an ethics and compliance framework, focusing on the significance of such programs for organizations like XYZ retail. It emphasizes the importance of a code of ethics, outlining fundamental values such as trust, responsibility, and accountability. The report explores biblical foundations of ethics in business, emphasizing equitable treatment of employees and fringe benefits. It also details the steps required to develop an effective ethics and compliance framework, including establishing standards, procedures, and a competent governing authority. The report concludes that adherence to ethical compliance programs is crucial for organizational success, fostering a positive corporate culture, and driving business revenues. The report is an insightful guide to ethics management within the context of a business operating in the Canadian retail industry.

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Introduction
The following paper aims to develop ethics and compliance framework based on
factors associated with ethical compliance. The Ethics and Compliance program is designed
in order to promote the organizational culture which stimulates ethical conduct, assurance,
commitment to the Bechtel values and compliance with the law.
Compliance and ethics (“C&E”) programs are known as organizational policies put in place
in order to promote law abiding and ethical conduct (Scott et al., 2014). In order to be
effective, they must be efficiently supported by procedures, communications initiatives and
cultural attributes. The paper will provide ethical guidelines for XYZ retail firm operating in
Canada.
Discussion
Significance of developing an ethics compliance program
In organizations, ethics and compliance are typically applied by virtue of code of
ethics. There is an importance of developing ethics compliance program as it provides
effective guidance related to execution of operations and its associated ethical approach.
Regardless of whether XYZ organization is lawfully mandated to have a code of conduct, it
must comprise of one. A code has value as both are internal guidelines and regulations along
with an external statement of corporate values and commitments. A well-documented code
of conduct will explain XYZ retail firm's mission, vision, values and principles associating
them with standards of professional conduct. The code will articulate the values which XYZ
anticipates to foster in leaders and employees and further explains anticipated approach and
behavioural patterns. Therefore, documented codes of conduct or ethics have become
benchmarks against which individual as well as organisational actions and performance can

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be assessed (Shields & Shelleman, 2017). Furthermore, a code significance of developing
code of conduct lies on the fact that it is central guide and reference for its workforce in order
to support daily decision making process. Additionally, code and ethics program will promote
discussions of ethics as well as compliance, empowerment of employees to deal with ethical
dilemmas which they encounter at work. Furthermore, it can serve as an effective reference
thus facilitating employees site relevant documents, services in addition to other resources
associated with ethics within the company.
Principal fundamentals of the Code
Fundamentals Trust, responsibility and reverence are considered as fundamental to
XYZ retail firm’s core values and leadership attributes. XYZ retail firming consultancy
through these fundamentals will attract and retain the most efficient employees and develop
as most wanted choice of clients and investors. Thus, operating in ethical manner will be
highly decisive for the company to attain success (Casilli & Tubaro, 2017). The city of
Vancouver, XYZ’s clientele, regulators, stakeholders all will depend on the company to show
utmost transparency, prudence, responsibility and equitability. As a result, XYZ retail firming
consultancy must act ethically in communities where they execute their operations to
maintain the confidence of its clients and other stakeholders and principally uphold their
business.
The fundamental values define factors important to the company and are the groundwork for
organization’s principle.
 Trust – XYZ Retail firming retail firm build trust by frequently acting with integrity
as well as maintaining a high standard of ethical, truthful, benign and transparent
business practice.

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 Responsibility- XYZ will value clean and sustainable energy along with the safety of
its employees and the public. The company will sustain these values through socially
accountable operations along with innovative leadership in the industry.
 Accountability – XYZ is accountable for the impact of the actions which the
company executes in addition to the behaviours and decisions on equivalent
associates, clienteles, company’s overall success, stockholder and the communities in
which they operate.
 Consumer focus- XYZ will listen to its clients and deliver supreme level of value and
services.
 Safety- XYZ primary priority relies on ensuring the safety of the company, partners
in addition to community and the environment.
 Focus on people – People whom XYZ serve is considered to be as its utmost strength
and the knowledge, obligation and capacity of its diverse population of employees is
primary determinant which drives company’s success and will facilitate it to be an
industry leader.
Biblical Foundations of Ethics in Business
Ethics is about knowing, distinguishing and doing what is good and moral. Similarly
workplace ethics is principally related to understanding, knowing and good or moral acts at
the workplace. For the Christian community, these ideologies mean the Bible and other
resources of the Christian faith and conviction to help make ethical decision making and act
ethically and honourably while conducting business (Kaptein, 2015). XYZ retailers being
newly established organization in Canadian retail industry has distinguished that an
organization which desires to create a positive image must be concerned with consumers’
needs, society’s requirements, needs and demands of employees and stakeholder in addition
to interests of stakeholders.

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Equitable Treatment of All Employees in XYZ Retail Company
According to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, irrespective of whether an
individual has particular religious affiliation, his rights towards religious practices as well as
observances must not be discriminated in against or harassed in the workplace (Michaelson et
al., 2014). This legislation has been implemented since the 1960s in order to combat against
ethnic, sexual discrimination or harassment. Drawing relevance from the Biblical foundation
for employee rights, managers and supervisors of XYZ retailers are expected to provide their
subordinates regular performance feedback which will be utilized by staffs to shape their
workplace behavior for improving existing satisfaction performance. Meanwhile, XYZ
retailers must keep into account that if the management exploits the performance evaluation
processes, employees of all religions have a Biblically-based recourse at law.
Furthermore, XYZ must show utmost diligence to assure that it does not violate an
employees’ right to express his or her personal convictions and yet not permit any employee
interaction which can degrade beliefs and sentiments of other employees and can be regarded
as a form of harassment prohibited under Title VII (Ferrell & Fraedrich, 2015).
Fringe Benefits for Employees
Employers may uphold their faith in their business objectives. It has been noted that
the law “does not, and could not, necessitate individual employers to abandon their religion”
(Frunză, 2017). Through preservation of faith in employees, XYZ can embed benefits and
advantages within its employees. Furthermore, employers can increase the probability of
establishing a religious liberty resistance if they intend to incorporate a statement of faith and
religious purpose in their regulations or business policies. These statements not only will
articulate fundamental religious beliefs of XYZ retailer, but also further serve as a distinct
evidence of those beliefs. However, at this juncture, XYZ retailer must be vigilant not to
condition service, benefits or progress within the organization on an employee’s contract with

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or agreement in the religious principles of the employer unless religion is recognized as a
legitimate occupational qualification. In addition to this, the company can safeguard against
religious discrimination claims in several ways (Welker & Berardino, 2014). For example,
employment submission forms must clearly mention that applicants are considered for all
positions irrespective of their religious beliefs and convictions. Moreover, while establishing
XYZ retailer’s beliefs and convictions based on biblical foundations, this statement must
further be included in organization positioning materials, employee manuals, policy
guidebooks as well as employee evaluation forms (Wrenn & Cafferky, 2015). Most
importantly, XYZ retailer must gather assurance that this policy will be efficiently followed
by not discriminating on the basis of religious faith and beliefs.
Developing the Ethics and Compliance Framework
 XYZ needs to establish standards and procedures related to Code of Conduct and
relevant policies and procedures in order to prevent and distinguish criminal conduct.
 XYZ retailers must form a competent and expertise governing authority who can
comprehend content and operation of the Compliance Program and execute relevant
actions to maintain it (Trevino & Nelson, 2016). Furthermore, high-level employees
must be allocated to assess overall concern for the Program and must be given routine
operational duties. Moreover in order to execute these responsibilities, individuals
must be given acceptable resources, applicable authority in addition to direct
admission to the governing authority.
 While, developing the Ethics and Compliance Framework, the company must
implement relevant steps to communicate periodically and in a concrete manner must
evaluate the Program’s principles and procedures throughout the organization, which
involves training that is personalised to members of the governing authority, elevated

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personnel, significant authority personnel, and the organization’s workforce in
addition to applicable agents of the organization (Griffith, 2015).
Conclusion
Therefore, from the above discussion it can be concluded that although cultural
patterns tend to vary, newly formed organizations like XYZ retailers with an aim to thrive in
the industry must be proactive in developing as well as adhering to the Ethical Compliance
Program. Companies which tend to follow principles and values, whether they distinguish
their biblical foundations, reliably positioned as the most appropriate companies to work for.
These companies have the potential to develop as innovators and gradually increase in value.
XYZ retailers with its utmost adherence corporate ethics and compliance framework are
establishing standards that shape the way organizations function and improve its corporate
culture. XYZ with compliance and ethics framework can increase productivity, deliver
business revenues and are socially accountable. This type of leadership generates outcomes
that are assessable to organization’s employees and in the communities where XYZ retailer
will execute its business operations.

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