Addressing Governance, Ethics, and Sustainability at Commonwealth Bank

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the governance, ethics, and sustainability practices of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. It delves into critical areas such as discrimination, exploitation, corruption, dishonest and fraudulent behavior, whistle-blower protections, and enforcement mechanisms. The report examines the bank's code of conduct, highlighting areas for improvement and suggesting best practices to enhance its reputation and operational effectiveness. It explores the importance of ethical considerations in the financial sector, emphasizing the need for robust corporate governance to mitigate risks and ensure long-term sustainability. The study also discusses the legal and regulatory frameworks relevant to the bank's operations, particularly in the context of Australian government oversight. The conclusion emphasizes the crucial role of governance and ethical conduct in maintaining the bank's integrity and achieving its business objectives. The report is a valuable resource for understanding the challenges and opportunities facing the Commonwealth Bank in maintaining ethical standards and sustainable business practices.

GOVERNANCE, ETHICS,
AND SUSTAINABILITY

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY ..................................................................................................................................1
A. Discrimination...................................................................................................................1
B. Exploitation........................................................................................................................2
C. Corruption..........................................................................................................................3
D. Dishonest and Fraudulent Behavior..................................................................................3
E. Whistle-blower Protections................................................................................................4
F. Enforcement.......................................................................................................................5
CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES ...............................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
Ethics, governance and sustainability flows emerged as an important discipline in its own
right, it brings their contribution together from accounting, finance, law and management.
Corporate governance now offers a comprehensive, interdisciplinary approach to the
management and control of companies. Corporate professionals are always imbibed itself
towards the positive goals on continual basis. It makes process better and qualitative towards the
goal management. Present report will be based on results' governance in context of Australian
government. Further report will be discussing about the mandatory code of conduct for
Australian company for addressing some issues such as Discrimination, Exploitation,
Corruption, Dishonest, Fraudulent Behavior, Whistle blower Protections and Enforcement.
Moreover, study will be presenting proper code of conduct and leading best sources.
MAIN BODY
Common wealth Bank of Australia is an Australian Multinational Bank with businesses
across New Zealand, Asia the United states and UK. It provides variety of financial services
including retail, business and institutional banking, funds management, superannuation,
insurance, investment and brooking services. Commonwealth Bank has been found with so many
changes due to which they lost the market value down from past few months because of their
poor performances and long majorly goals. Organization needs to adopt corporate governance
ethics and code of conduct to make good brand position again. Company should take its
corporate responsibility very carefully and in serious manner. This working goals and provides
better service level for better improvement. Code of practices helps to protect company from the
interferences of government regulations.
A. Discrimination
Employees is the most precious and productive source for company which is necessary to
be happy with aims and objectives of business. Organization should able to manage or maintain
proper working environment (Bosselmann, 2016). Workplace harassment or discrimination of
employees is a wrongful activity for the organization. It affects the overall reputation of
company in overall market. Discrimination off employees on the basis of sex discernment within
worker discrimination process affects business’s reputation in market. Company make
differences between employees on the ground of Pregnancy favoritism, breastfeeding social
control, family responsibilities, marital relationship etc. through which company faces the
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dissatisfaction level among employee’s behavior. In order to remove all those restrictions'
fellowship needs to adopt following code of conduct accordingly.
Code of conduct
 Employer needs to carry out his own duties with good faith by following the relevant
policies and procedures (Carroll and Buchholtz, 2014).
 Treat every employees or customers equivalent without discriminating them on the basis
of age, sex, race, religion etc.
 Promoting equal opportunity for all employees.
 Organization also require to compliance with all applicable federal, state and provincial
wage and hour laws.
 Adopt diversity environment among the working environment and avoid unlawful
discrimination, bullying or harassment activities.
B. Exploitation
It is another concerning area on which company needs to be focused. That affects the
leading resourceful matter. Honesty and Integrity are two elements which is important to have in
order to make the good image and to achieve long term market goals. Commonwealth
organization should adopt all required laws and regulations in order to make the company’s
environment positive. This would also affect overall business goals or reputation of company.
Sometimes due to discrimination company make differences and then exploit them in terms of
low income level and make them feel demotivated (Crane and Matten, 2016). Company should
remove all those unfair practices from the company’s activities and should adopt fair legal code
of conduct practices.
Code of conduct
 Commonwealth must never adopt irregular payment to win business or to influence an
enterprise decision through a wrongful activity.
 Should always keep records of employees and customers in order to give them proper
services without any exploitation.
 Commonwealth Bank also require to ensure proper regulatory system in order to keep the
relationship goals good with stakeholders.
 They must ignore insider trading to make bank data secure and safe from hackers.
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 In order to remove exploitation, company needs to adopt the safe working environment
for employees.
 No smoking during working hours must be implemented as it helps in safe and healthy
environment for employees.
 Company also prohibits alcohol practices within the company’s atmosphere.
C. Corruption
Anti-bribery law has been implemented from 1999 in state, in present time current focus
of the government is on bribery and corruption jurisprudence in Australia (Formentini and
Taticchi, 2016). As per current section 70.2 of criminal code act 1995. Commonwealth
personally ignores corruption activity to get over from issues or to protect company reputation in
effective manner. They need to follow some code of conduct given below:
Code of conduct
 Company personally do not prefer to accept any kind of gifts, entertainment or hospitality
that occurs or to causing undue influence.
 Company needs to make sure that, political donations must be authorized or sanctioned
by Board and will be disclosed by government laws and also must record in the accounts.
 Company also needs to maintain the business information safe and secure at highly
confidential level (Formentini and Taticchi, 2016).
 Employer needs to make sure a proper hygienic environment in the business is
maintained, this would help to make strong bond between organization and employees.
 Information system such as Email, Facsimile, telephones and other necessary for
Commonwealth data should be safe in proper information system goals.
D. Dishonest and Fraudulent Behaviour
Dishonest and fraudulent behavior is both potential financial loss situation to the
company. This situation affects business by undertaking social responsibilities or the
falsification of any essential document (Formentini and Taticchi, 2016). This might affect the
brand reputation of organization in potential market. Dishonest and fraudulent behavior might
generate wrong environment in the firm which may cause different negative situations or loss. In
order to remove all those situations, company requires adopting the major goals objective.
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 Company should be loyal and faithful regarding their employee’s goals and
performances. This also have to make sure about the best effective process goals.
 Engage business relationship positive and effective interns of making good effective
process goals.
 Company should adopt all security measures and corporate laws in order to enhance the
protection level of company’s employers and employees. (Formentini and Taticchi,
2016).
E. Whistle-blower Protections
Whistle blowers is an individual who exposes any kind of information or activity that is
deemed illegal, unethical within the organisation. It provides a mechanism to investigate the
alleged corruption and misuse of power by public (Garayar, Heras‐Saizarbitoria and Boiral,
2016). It is a negative or banned activity that is deemed illegal, unethical, or not correct within an
organisation. This can be happened in ways such as violation of company laws and regulations,
avoiding government regulations etc. Australian government has made number of laws to protect
whistle-blowers. Some third party groups even offer protection to whistle-blower (Howell,
2015). These kinds of crimes have to face criminal charges, social stigma and legal actions by
government. Civil Service Reform act of 1989 is the regulation established for protection of
whistle-blower (Enofe, Ekpulu and Ajala, 2015).
Code of conduct
 Federal laws have restricted retaliatory action by organisations against workers of
company.
 Organise strict monitoring process to recognise the proper safety goals (Husted and de
Sousa-Filho, 2017).
 Company need to focus on those employees who creates illegal practices within the
organisation’s functions.
 Conflicts of interest is activity or practices which might create threats for the company.
Under which employee’s needs and interest clash with organisation in order to make the
proper effective long lasting goals.
 Commonwealth should also monitor employee’s activities under the working hours to
ensure proper safety goals (Kleynjans and Hudon, 2016).
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 This also helps to take care of the organisation’s content and proper implementation of
processes.
 Reporting illegal or unethical behaviour can also help to take care of the organisation’s
goals and technical objectives.
 Each and every employee should loyal for the organisation and should also disclose it's
all information to the organisation.
F. Enforcement
Enforcement is the process through which Commonwealth Bank ensures compliance with
laws, regulations, standards and certain codes of conduct (Costa, 2018). It is process of ensuring
compliance which helps to make the proper mental object and best approachable target market
goals. It serves number of functions and enforcement of social norms that helps to ensure
conformity within insular communities (Weber and Feltmate, 2016). Commonwealth Bank
admits its default to not applying the proper code of conduct on organization functions.
This also helps to convert the better enlarging performance. This aids to manage the
following legal action plan. Common wealth bank can easily implement ethical environment in
its business functions.
There are some goals and process in order to keep the working environment safe. That
helps to protect the better effective goals and best target market opportunities. Apart from that,
this also helps to take the best following goals in order to keep company’s position better in front
of their customers (Weber and Feltmate, 2016). Banks has to make the good efforts and controls.
Commonwealth Bank have some work or code of conduct through which they help to
discover the following details and following task implementing goals.
Code of conduct
Company should adopt different enforcement in order to make effective corporate
policies. All these features or characteristics will be helpful and challenging for the company’s
better structural process. This would help to control the proper leading charges and following
goals. Company also needs to improve its best target marketing goals in order to meet the finest
target performing objectives (PROPOSED LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK, 2018).
Commonwealth Bank is one of the leading bank in Australia. In order to define business
practices and managing work properly it requires proper code of conduct. (Weber and Feltmate,
2016).
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 Modify code of practices and policies as per required situation in the bank.
 Commonwealth also requires adopting anti money laundering and counter terrorism
financing (Lindholm, Egels-Zandén and Rudén, 2016). It helps to set the bench marking
criteria in order to meet goals and objectives. This process or method is helpful to
identify the good measures and proper effectiveness of company goals.
 Bank requires protecting the customer’s money in proper form for long term goals.
 Company needs to ensure the proper adoption of effectiveness in terms of making good
healthy working environment.
 Keep all records or information of customers in order to make them satisfied and happy
with the services of Commonwealth Bank (Lentner, Szegedi and Tatay, 2015).
 Provides all kinds of facilities for customers such as full credit installation, to examine
the issues and drive working improvement.
 Recognizing, understanding cultural environment to enhance awareness of goals.
 Commonwealth Bank also requires adopting updated version of Internal dispute
resolution in order to manage the customer complaints each year.
 Commonwealth also inevitably to adopt regulation goals in order to meet the needs of
employees (Weber and Feltmate, 2016).
 Company also needs to renew the claims handling procedures within the business
practices.
By following proper code of conduct in its business activities it helps company to build
new reputation in the market. As per the sources or news of Commonwealth Bank company
needs to adopt all required code of practices to regain market image in the system again
(Azevedo and Ferreira, 2017).
CONCLUSION
On the basis of above section, it can be concluded that, Governance or code of practice is
crucial and necessary for organization. It helps to make the company’s functions more clear and
effective. Present study has discussed about the Code of conduct of Commonwealth Bank that
recently faced number of charges and complaints. In order to conduct the best performing goals
and charge performances Commonwealth Bank has to handle them properly. Study also
explained about the proper circumstances and best performing goals. The report has explained
the process or content in order to meet long term goals and maintain proper ethical environment.
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Study also explained the code of conduct of discrimination practices, exploitation, corruption,
dishonest or fraudulent behavior, whistle-blower protections and enforcement.
File also discussed about the code of conduct with their practices on basis of issues that
company managed to face. This also affects the overall presentation in order to properly
implement process goals. Study explained overview of number of issues with their specific rules
and regulations to get over from issues which is faced by the organization.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Boatright, J. R., 2017. Ethics and corporate governance: Justifying the role of shareholder. The
Blackwell Guide to Business Ethics. pp.38-60.
Bosselmann, K., 2016. The principle of sustainability: transforming law and governance.
Routledge.
Carroll, A. and Buchholtz, A., 2014. Business and society: Ethics, sustainability, and stakeholder
management. Nelson Education.
Crane, A. and Matten, D., 2016. Business ethics: Managing corporate citizenship and
sustainability in the age of globalization. Oxford University Press.
Davies, A., 2016. The globalisation of corporate governance: The challenge of clashing
cultures. Routledge.
Garayar, A., Heras‐Saizarbitoria, I. and Boiral, O., 2016. Adoption of the UN Global Compact in
Spanish banking: a case study. Journal of Public Affairs. 16(4). pp.359-367.
Howell, N. J., 2015. Revisiting the Australian code of banking practice: is self-regulation still
relevant for improving consumer protection standards. UNSWLJ. 38. p.544.
Husted, B. W. and de Sousa-Filho, J. M., 2017. The impact of sustainability governance, country
stakeholder orientation, and country risk on environmental, social, and governance
performance. Journal of cleaner production. 155. pp.93-102.
Kleynjans, L. and Hudon, M., 2016. A study of codes of ethics for Mexican microfinance
institutions. Journal of business ethics. 134(3). pp.397-412.
Weber, O. and Feltmate, B., 2016. Sustainable banking: Managing the social and environmental
impact of financial institutions. University of Toronto Press.
Lindholm, H., Egels-Zandén, N. and Rudén, C., 2016. Does code of conduct audits improve
chemical safety in garment factories? Lessons on corporate social responsibility in the
supply chain from Fair Wear Foundation. International journal of occupational and
environmental health. 22(4). pp.283-291.
Lentner, C., Szegedi, K. and Tatay, T., 2015. Corporate social responsibility in the banking
sector. PÉNZÜGYI SZEMLE/PUBLIC FINANCE QUARTERLY. 60(1). pp.95-103.
Azevedo, A. R. S. and Ferreira, F. A., 2017. Analyzing the dynamics behind ethical banking
practices using fuzzy cognitive mapping. Operational Research. pp.1-22.
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Costa, L. M., 2018. Corruption and corporate social responsibility codes of conduct: The case of
Petrobras and the oil and gas sector in Brazil. Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption. 2018(1).
p.6.
Enofe, A., Ekpulu, G. and Ajala, T., 2015. Ethical challenges and financial performance in the
Nigerian banking sector.
Online
PROPOSED LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK. 2018. [Online]. Available
through: :<http://archive.treasury.gov.au/documents/268/HTML/docshell.asp?URL=chap5.asp>.
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