Retail Food Group (RFG) Code of Conduct: MBA402 Assignment

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the Retail Food Group's (RFG) Code of Conduct, addressing key aspects of governance, ethics, and sustainability. It outlines the company's commitment to ethical practices, regulatory compliance, and the prevention of discrimination, exploitation, and corruption. The report details the scope of the code, emphasizing the importance of honesty, respect, and responsibility within the workplace. It highlights the measures taken to protect whistleblowers and enforce the code's provisions. Specific sections cover discrimination, exploitation, corruption, dishonest behavior, and whistleblower protections, providing examples of policies and procedures implemented by RFG. The report emphasizes the company's dedication to maintaining a fair, transparent, and ethical environment for all employees and stakeholders. The report is structured to address the key components of the code, including regulatory compliances, discrimination, exploitation, corruption, dishonest and fraudulent behavior, whistleblower protections, and enforcement of the code. It also includes an executive summary, introduction, conclusion, and bibliography, providing a well-rounded overview of RFG's ethical framework and its commitment to responsible business practices. The report uses the provided news article and the provided company code of conduct examples as a reference to draft the code of conduct for the company. The report also includes a minimum of 15 references, with at least 5 from academic journals or textbooks.

Running Head: RETAIL FOOD GROUP 0
RETAIL FOOD GROUP
Governance, Ethics, and Sustainability
Student Name:
Student University:

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Executive Summary
The Code of Conduct is for not to break any guidelines within the company. The company
have its own and Code and to meet the goals of the organization with employee participation,
it is important to follow the policies to perform fair practices. The regulations need to be
discussed and avoided at the workplace is discrimination, exploitation, corruption, and
dishonest and false behaviour. To know about the wrong actions performed by anyone,
whistle blowing activities are use and mentioned.
Contents

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Retail Food Group (RFG)..........................................................................................................3
Overview of the Code............................................................................................................3
Scope of the Code..................................................................................................................3
Regulatory Compliances............................................................................................................3
Discrimination........................................................................................................................4
Exploitation............................................................................................................................5
Corruption..............................................................................................................................6
Dishonest and Fraudulent Behaviour.....................................................................................6
Whistle Blower Protections....................................................................................................7
Enforcement of the Code.......................................................................................................8
Ethics Group...............................................................................................................................8
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................8
Bibliography...............................................................................................................................9
Retail Food Group (RFG)

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Overview of the Code
In Queensland, Australia, RFG is an authorization holder of huge and universal retail food
and liquid refreshment company. The company sells a roaster and high-quality coffee
products as a developing leader in the foodservice, dairy handling, and across-the-board
bakery segments. The strategic growth drivers of the company are authorization, universal,
coffee, and connected liquid refreshment and profit-making. The company has 2,400 stores
through Australia and universally and over 15,000 employed workforces contributing to the
business. RFG is devoted to nurturing a workplace environment constantly for promoting
best practice and confirming that all employees at the workplace are witnessing the highest
standards of behaviour and conduct which includes respect for others; honesty, reliability and
responsibility; performing duties with attentiveness and care; and acknowledging service
concerned with nature (Retail Food Group, 2018).
Scope of the Code
The code consists of requirements and essence to act accordingly, to report gaps and not to
assist conduct which may or results in a breach. The policies implemented by RFG in
combination with code operations relate to minimum standards of behaviour and conduct,
with Orientation Guide, a Workplace Participant’s agreement for an individual’s work service
and the law. If any conflict occurs between the Code and the law, the law overcomes. In
business, the laws and cultures in RFG may differ in other countries than Australia (Code of
Conduct, 2018).
Regulatory Compliances
The Australian Government implements the policies with ethical values which are governed
and this Code involves these policies in the agreements.
The governmental structure is functionally useful in RFG which gives importance to this
Code and action are engaged to include these strategies on daily actions to act honestly with
best interests and obey the law and maintain the professionalism of the company, treating
customers and public with respect and take responsibility. RFG broke Australian Consumer
Law (Powell, 2019). The ideas given by the Australian Securities and Investment
Commission (ASIC), Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC),
Australian Taxation Office (ATO) and the Australian Security Exchange (ASX) are also
integrated into this Code to confirm that the company obeys the procedures within RFG

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Compliance Policy (Stowe, 2019). The integration of these policies can be underlined under
the following policies expressed by RFG.
Discrimination
Discrimination is a major problem as surveyed in Australia which is a diverse country; it is
clear as settlement of an individual or group of individuals unethically or differently
established on their peculiar appearances. Individuals can be differentiated on the basis of
their skin tone, language, ethics, religion, sex, gender, age and more (O’Loughlin, et al.,
2017). RGF devoted to good business, employee and public relations for contributing to a
workplace environment free from discrimination (Burke, 2016). RGF took over the policy in
order to promote awareness and provide information regarding discrimination which is EEO
and Anti-discrimination Policy as being discriminated is against the law and will be punished
for their actions (Nelson, 2015). The company also includes the execution of the policies
under the Sex Discrimination Act 1984, the Racial Discrimination Act 1975, the Age
Discrimination Act 2004 and the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 of this Code. The
company strictly decided to not to engage in any activities related to discrimination which is
forbidden as per the provisions, moreover not accepted. RFG provides justice and equal
opportunity in the company by establishing variety besides includes plans in the company
(Simmons, 2019). The company take applied steps towards the variety-related goals to ignore
the discrimination to achieve them in the period of minimal time. There are many plans that
are functioned by RFG under the Code to encourage variety which are:
1. The measures of selecting new workforce need to be crystal clear for managers not to
choose an individual based on their specific appearances.
2. At the time of promotion of an employee, the same policies are needed to be followed
built on individuals skills and performance avoiding their particular appearances.
3. There are policies for development of various and additional policies for the increase
in hiring of disable individuals and female workers (Charlesworth & Macdonald,
2015).
4. To forbid categorizing at the workplace, the variety of training is given to employees
to acknowledge about culture and individual differences (Khadem, 2019).
RFG also boost its workforce to confirm that they discuss any happening because of facing
discrimination or noticing this kind of practices of discriminating others. The action will be
taken against the wrongdoers by the board of ethics and other external experts.

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Exploitation
Exploitation is a doing of considering individuals unethically in order to advance profits from
their efforts; usually, employees are considered in an unethical way by the superior authority
so that they can achieve self-motive for themselves or for other individuals (Ferguson &
Veneziani, 2018). RFG firmly decided to forbid exploitation in the company by integrating
procedures for workforce and to confirm that even managers cannot abuse privileges of
someone. The Code offers security to the low-level workforce from the unethical actions by
the superior authorities by confirming that employees have a stand where they can speak
contrary to the inequality (Li & Whitworth, 2016). There are examples of policies that are
executed by RFG to notice the problem of exploitation which are:
1. Sexual abuse is surely forbidden, and numerous legitimate activities are in use
contrary to the individuals who involved in the follows.
2. In employees’ agreement, the shift hours are mentioned which cannot be more than
the hours decided in the Fair Work Act 2009, and they cannot be forced to work on
public holidays (Clibborn & Wright, 2018).
3. The company makes sure that the managers do not compromise the interest of
employees at the time of executing business strategies for earning maximum profits
(Chung, 2019).
4. To hold the salary of employees for any resolution is firmly forbidden.
In the Code, all the activities which are strictly forbidden by RFG are not mentioned.
However, the management did not break the rights of the employees.in this Code, the
guidelines are also mentioned for punishing by suspending or firing those who involve in
activities related to the exploitation of employees. The company can also face legitimate and
economic drawbacks for their actions enacted by the court. The management fully supports
and inspire employees so that they can speak for themselves on any unethical activities to
avoid the problem of exploitation from RFG (Molloy, 2019).
Corruption
RFG is facing the problem of corruption as misuse of the position of an individual to gain
advantages personally or for others (Merkle & Wong, 2019). The behaviour of individuals
having dishonesty or counted in fake persons is corrupted (Voliotis, 2017). They make their
selfish interest as the main priority without thinking for others by misusing their authorities.
RFG faces the problem of corruption in its operations and company executes policies to

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report the problem. In the company, it is strictly forbidden to take any rewards from another
party while leaving their duties. There are many plans executed by RFG to target and report
the problem of corruption in the company and one of them is Anti-Fraud Policy (Diversity
Policy, 2018).
The purpose of these policies is to confirm that corruption did not turn into a problem in RFG
and the company’s managers and employees are focused on morally settling their duties and
not to misuse their powers (Burke & Tomlinson, 2016). RFG executed monitoring polices to
acknowledge the guarded activities to be precisely invested and individuals that are involved
in unethical actions are recognized and penalized for their actions (Diversity Policy, 2018).
The company is concerned about the employees to provide details regarding the corruption
activities they see in the company.
Dishonest and Fraudulent Behaviour
RFG take steps to remove dishonesty and false behaviour in the company (Johnstone &
Megan-Jane, 2016). False actions are stated as purposeful fraud which is done by an
individual to achieve self-gain or benefit to other parties (Comer & Stephens, 2017). RFG
execute firm plans to reduce dishonesty and false behaviour in the company. Any individual
or manager involved in these practices can be forced for criminal charges. The Code
considers it as a major issue where the belief of the consumers can be broken of RFG
(Vanovac, 2013). Therefore, the company takes active measures to ignore dishonesty and
false behaviour of the workforce. The management takes a responsibility to monitor the work
of subordinates by the supervisors which includes daily functioning to confirm that the
individuals are not using their position for their personal gain or benefit of others with the
cost of others (Celse, et al., 2016). The superior authorities analyse the operations of
managers who are also an issue to an independent inspection. In RFG, the policies result in
transparency promotion of the operations in the company to confirm dishonest and false
practices which are forbidden. The company also executed the plans to remove alteration of
books, breach of sensitive details of customers and wrong entitle for compensation by
workforces (Elmas, 2019). The employees can report about unfair and illegal activities of any
individual, be their manager or peer, as now there is an availability of different platforms
where they can report and make sure to not to involve in unfair or false practices (Bonny, et
al., 2015).

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Whistle Blower Protections
An individual who discloses proper knowledge happening to be illegal for a community or
secluded company is known as a whistle blower (Miceli & Near, 2016). The information of
powerful individuals which needs to be private is exposed by the whistle blowers; they face
continuous stress in the company. The protection of whistle blowers from unfair actions is
must and the practices are executed regarding it by the company. RFG executed the policies
for whistle blowers protecting their interest and boost related activities in the company. This
Code also looks towards the multiple moralities of whistle blowers in RFG that confirms the
security of their moralities and safety (Valentine & Godkin, 2019). Requirements of the
whistle blower policy of RFG are:
1. In the company, whistle blowers receive equal and fair actions and they cannot be
categorized.
2. It is necessary for employees to inform superior authorities about unethical practices.
3. The values of equality and natural fairness need to be followed by putting policies at
the right place for investigating after the information is exposed by the whistle blower
(Smee, 2019).
4. RFG protects the concern of whistle blowers by maintaining the transparency of
operations and counter the problem of unfair activities in the company.
In this Code, there are multiple procedures directed towards confirming that whistle blowers
are inspired by the company and did not face discrimination in RFG. The company makes
sure to protect the identity and rights of the whistle blower and management takes various
actions regarding it (Lee & Candice, 2016). The company makes sure that the unfair practices
are reported on time where RFG works with external authorities for promoting whistle
blowers security.
Enforcement of the Code
RFG imposed this code which means that it applies to all operations of the company, no
matter of the company being in Australia or outside the country. The company members of
RFG are equal before this Code where they are accountable for disrespecting the Code if they
did not follow the requirements, they can face penalties (Code of Conduct, 2018).

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Ethics Group
The job formulating this Code is given to the ethics group which also means that it is
accountable for controlling the claim in the company. The Group, in this Code, make the
necessary alterations to confirm that they break appropriate and hold main problems in the
business. Therefore, individuals can openly contact to the ethics group for more support and
explanation about the requirements of this Code.
Conclusion
To conclude, RFG is a huge high-quality food retailer company which also sells coffee and
the purpose of this Code is to understand the basic needs for employees at the workplace
which includes many Acts and policies for confirming the rights and use of practices if
someone is doing any unethical activities or false behaviour.
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Burke, R. J., 2016. The Fulfilling Workplace The Organization's Role in Achieving Individual
and Organizational Health. 1st ed. London: Routledge.

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Burke, R. J. & Tomlinson, E. C., 2016. Crime and Corruption in Organizations. 1st ed.
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Celse, J., Chang, K., Max, S. & Quinton, S., 2016. The reduction of employee lying
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