Unit VIII MBA6301 - Nguyen Anh Duc

Promote safety working environment: All employees have the responsibility to build a safe and positive working environment.. Environment impacts: HATEX employees are required to adhere t

Unit VIII: Code of Ethics at HATEX Co., Ltd.

Nguyen Anh Duc

ID: 253459 Hanoi

Columbia Southern University

I INTRODUCTION

HATEX Co., Ltd is a Vietnamese company operating in the garment industry HATEX was founded in 1995 with a large factory in Song Than industrial zone At the moment, the company has nearly a thousand workers

HATEX is functional organization with structure of the company is presented as follows:

(Source: hatex.com.vn)

II CODE OF ETHICS OF HATEX

a The code of ethics:

1 No discrimination, harassment or retaliation in the workplace: discrimination, harassment

or retaliation will not be tolerated Employees are respected and treated fairly in

recruitment, promotion, training, and reward regardless of religion, nationality, ethnicity, gender, age, marital status Discriminatory behaviors are not allowed in any form

2 Avoid conflict of interest: not engage in any activities that could provoke conflict of interest

3 Promote safety working environment: All employees have the responsibility to build a safe and positive working environment HATEX does not allow any act of violence and

Top managers

accounting

and

finance

operations

safety and environment

Legal administrationHR &

sales and procurement

threat which damage health and morale of employees At HATEX policies and legislation

on labor safety, fire protection and prevention, safety and food hygiene are followed

4 Product integrity: HATEX’s products are produced to meet quality standards prescribed

by the government and HATEX We commit to comply with the laws in product

inspection, packaging and labeling

5 Company assets: The company's assets, including intellectual property rights and other tangible assets such as plant, machinery and equipment are protected and used for the right purpose No exceptions for any form of vandalism and improper use of company assets

6 No bribes, kickbacks, and other improper payments HATEX does not allow employees

to offer or give bribes, kickbacks and improper payments to others

7 Working hours: HATEX employees get a full day-off after every six consecutive working days Employees working overtime will receive additional payments

8 Environment impacts: HATEX employees are required to adhere to applicable laws and HATEX’s policies on environment

9 Support financial integrity: HATEX does not allow the manipulation of the financial information and statements and of the company All employees are responsible for ensuring the data and financial statements are full, accurate, honesty and are delivered timely

10 HATEX employees have the responsibility to report misconducts and behaviors that violate this code We have two options for employees to speak up and raise concerns:

Hotline: 04.333.444 or 04.333.443

b Analysis of the code

1 Protecting employees from discrimination, harassment or retaliation is crucial for the company this would ensure positive work place Moreover, Vietnam Labor Code prohibits these practices (Vietnam government portal, n.d)

2 Activities that conflict with company’s interest could cause loss for the company Thus this element in the code could reduce the likelihood of conflict of interest

3 In production, safety is an important factor affecting the welfare of the employees and the company's operations Therefore, this is an indispensable content to encourage and ensure working safety in factory

4 The company commits to bring customers high quality products, therefore, “product integrity” requires employees to fully implement the processes of production and meet product quality standards

5 With this element, the code of the company could protect company’s assets, avoid disruptions and delays in production due to damage or loss of property

6 Bribes, kickbacks, and other improper payments are legally unacceptable by the laws Moreover, these practices could negatively affect company’s results and reputation

7 Vietnam Labor Code prohibits excessive working hours, thus the company must comply with the laws by this element

8 To minimize environmental impact and create a sustainable business environment are important tasks of the company thus, HATEX includes environment impacts to the code

of ethics

9 Falsifying financial results will seriously affect the interests of the company and of all company’s members, which might lead to the violation of law Therefore, financial integrity was added into the Code

10 report the violation of the Code and misconducts will enable the company to control the compliance with the Code, while protecting its employees against misbehavior

III IMPORTANCE OF CODE OF ETHICS

From perspective of employers, the code of ethics is very important to ensure that

employees do not make the misconducts or violation of applicable law Thus, managers will be able to avoid damage to the organization, to avoid fines for violating the law and adversely affect

to company's reputation Moreover, this is useful tool for managers to encourage a culture of ethics in the company

From perspective of employees, “Code of ethics is a central guide and reference for employees in supporting day-to-day decision making” (Mero, 2015) In other words, the workers would be guided to act and making right decisions, avoid behaviors that violate the laws and cause damage to their honor and qualities Moreover, the Code also protect them from the

misconducts of other individuals, including employers

IV COMPLIANCE

To ensure compliance, first of all the leadership and management of the company will be the examples for employees They will act and make decisions in compliance with the code Besides, the company's leaders also need to build a positive culture by which employees are oriented towards ethical behavior Furthermore, all employees will be trained on the Code, the applicable laws and company policies regarding labor safety, fire prevention, etc Finally,

company’s hotline and email are opened to all employees to report and raise questions about

misconduct and violation of the Code Penalties for violations and reward for ethical behaviors will be implemented consistently, without exception

In conclusion, HATEX’s Code of ethics should be implemented in the company to promote ethical behavior Well-administered code can benefit a company and its stakeholders in

a variety of ways as following:

1 Guide employees in situations where the ethical course of action is not immediately obvious

2 Help the company reinforce – and acquaint new employees with – its culture and values A code can help create a climate of integrity and excellence

3 Help the company communicate its expectations to the staff to suppliers, vendors and customers Also, by soliciting feedback and questions, a company can use the code

to encourage frequent, open and honest communication among employees

4 Minimize subjective and inconsistent management standards A code explicitly outlines the rights and responsibilities of staff members and helps guard against capricious and preferential treatment of employees

5 Help a company remain in compliance with complex government regulations

6 Build public trust and enhance business reputations Also, a code helps demonstrate the company’s values to socially responsible investors

7 Offer protection in preempting or defending against lawsuits

8 Enhance morale, employee pride, loyalty and the recruiting of outstanding

employees

9 Help promote constructive social change by raising awareness of the community’s needs and encouraging employees and other stakeholders to help

10 Promote market efficiency – especially in areas where laws are weak or inefficient –

by rewarding the best and most ethical producers of goods and services

Reference Josephson Institute of Ethics (2015) Ten Benefits of Having an Ethics Code Retrieved from:

http://www.airportcollege.com/why-code-of-ethics-is-important/

Mero (2015) Why Code of Conduct is Important? Retrieved from:

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-code-conduct-important-pertti-mero?trk=pulse-det-nav_art

Vietnam government portal (n.d) Labor Code Retrieved from:

http://chinhphu.vn/portal/page/portal/chinhphu/hethongvanban?

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