A code of conduct serves the purpose of setting the moral standards of practice in an organization, company or business. This kind of standard will ensure that the members of an organization remain discipline and on the right focus that would lead to the achievement of goals ( Harriss & Atkinson, 2015) . Without a code of conduct, it would be difficult to achieve the organizational vision and mission. That is because; everybody will act in a careless manner, jeopardizing the organizational goals. Another purpose of a code of conduct is that it helps in decision making. It helps in times when critical decisions are to be made. Since the code of conduct would have been studied and evaluated to measure strengths and weakness in the appliance before formulation, it will always lead to right decision making. When a right decision is made, the aftermath would be the bearing of positive results. The positive results would create a spiral effect of productivity in a company, organization or business.
It is important that an organization have a clear code of conduct. That is because it mitigates a lot of risks that the organization might face. When an organization does not have a clear set of conduct, there is a possibility of making careless decisions that might risk the company’s performance. One of the greatest and gravest risks that a company might face includes lawsuits and losses. For instance, it has been reported that US companies register a total loss of approximately $178 billion as a result of the misuse of the internet ( Hancock, 2016) . Therefore the cumulative losses that might be accrued as a result of a lack of a code of conduct are massive. Another importance of a code of conduct is that it ensures that a company, organization or business comply with external rules and regulations. When everybody acts in their own devices in a company, one or two members might act in a manner that leads to a breach of universal laws ( Madary & Metzinger, 2016) . The company will be held accountable but not the individuals who acted carelessly. Therefore, to keep everyone on tabs and protect the company from unnecessary lawsuits and fines, a clear code of conduct ought to be formulated. A code of conduct is also important in marketing an organization. An organization that relies on a set of codes of conduct tends to have a better reputation. A good reputation that would be created as a result of a good code of conduct will ensure that the company is respected and gets more clients.
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One of the most important issues that must be included in a code of conduct is red tape. When formulating codes of conduct to guide an organization, there is a high chance of creating rules that would act as a stumbling block to progress. Therefore, it will be important to ensure that organizations formulate codes of conduct with adequate caution not to prevent progress. Thus, they should be precise, effective and efficient. That is, the codes of conduct should lead the members of an organization in achieving goals and at the same time make it easy for employees or members of an organization to operate.
I once encountered a scenario where my boss wanted to win a tender with another company. As a sales manager, I was sent to represent the company in the bargain. A bribe was requested and I reported that to my boss. Having a huge appetite towards winning the tender, my boss advised me to go ahead and offer a bribe. I knew that action would breach the code of conduct of both companies. That scenario offered a litmus test to virtue ethics on my side. I learned that there comes a time when the application of a code of conduct is practically challenging.
References
Hancock, R. (2016). Misuse of Company Time: How the Internet and Social Media are Creating a New Time Theft.
Harriss, D. J., & Atkinson, G. (2015). Ethical standards in sport and exercise science research: 2016 update. Int J Sports Med , 36 (14), 1121-1124.
Madary, M., & Metzinger, T. K. (2016). Real virtuality: a code of ethical conduct. Recommendations for good scientific practice and the consumers of VR-technology. Frontiers in Robotics and AI , 3 , 3.
