Paper Example on Ethical Leadership Legal and Regulations

Code of ethics is a fundamental doctrine established in a company to help professionals conduct and manage company business with honesty and integrity. It provides a field for the exercise of the companies activities and mandates. American Sugar Refining, Inc. is an established large sugar refining company in the United States. The company manufactures a full line of industrial, consumer, food service, and especially sweeter products. It operates six sugar refineries, strategic warehousing, and distribution system, which serve almost the whole world (Bachmann, 2017). Therefore, this paper elaborates on how these codes of ethics interplay and takes the course within the company over time for growth and development.

Code of ethics exists in the area of corporate social responsibility. Integrity and teamwork are worth noting in the firm. ASR Group was founded on traditional family values forms the cornerstone on which the cooperation with communities is laid. Collaboration has built the financial networks that facilitate sponsorship programs to end childhood hunger in most places. The workers have willingly initiated several events, for example, to host bake sale events to solicit fund for non-profit entities beyond the cooperate sponsorship program (Bachmann, 2017). The refineries also provide food donation to the poor communities worldwide. ASR Group incorporates specific policies to ensure that the environment is protected and all the businesses carried within the company are done in a manner that is environmentally responsible. ASR Group also pledges to apprehend health, environment, safety, labor, and human rights concerns associated with the supply chains to uphold farmers and their partners.

The code of ethics does not lack in compliance with legal mandates of ASR Group. The reason is that the law applies to any individual from the Chief Executive management to the workers and the laws are dispensed vertically. Violation of these code and policies and procedures is subject to punishment according to the laws of ASR Group. ASR Group within its legal mandate is obliged to act as a cooperate citizen, reporting issues and seeking clarifications, compliant of the management to carry out duties that exceed following code (Langlois, 2011). The firm also ensures that it does business with integrity and enhances coexistence by extending respect for each other, facilitating a discrimination-and-harassment free environment. Furthermore, through corporate social responsibility ASR Group has ensured that workplace health and safety is established. Thus, upholding the quality standards of the firm on the value of different brands.The implications of being non-compliant to the mandates of the ASR Group are widely depicted as negative subjections on the victims. The victims get involved in discipline, which may result in termination of their employments (Langlois, 2011). Consequently, violation of this code and laws can be treated as criminal offenses, which may attract fines and lawsuits on these victims.

The two legal or ethical safeguards ASR Group has in place include protection from retaliation that is to say filling a report of a real or potential violation of the code in good faith is not subject to disciplinary or retaliatory actions. Filling a report in good faith connotes that you believe in the information given to be truthful. Otherwise, any individual who retaliates against the fellow as a resulting of making a good faith report will be subjected to discipline. Finally, there exists a particular policy for Whistleblowers (Langlois, 2011). The system contains the information about reporting these misconducts and violation of the code, the privacy of your report, and protection from retaliation.

The code of ethics facilitates the development of the ethical culture, especially in ASR Group. The basis of the ethical culture is the ethical conduct in various avenues like, when the workers are faced with a challenging issue, a code of ethics is a vital element that shapes them to act with integrity within the company. It also enables them to work by laws, regulations, and company policies (Langlois, 2011). Code of ethics established within the company build rational decisions within all the members of the company hence sustaining an ethical culture within the organization or the company.

An employee at American Sugar Refining, Inc. can raise ethical concerns to his or her boss in the firm through various channels, provided the channels are legally bounding. First ASR Group by its loyalty has well-established whistleblower policy that helps employees to report and address their ethical concerns confidently. Secondly, the company has ensured that a positive relation and a conducive atmosphere exists among the workers so that consultations can occur, therefore, through discussions employees may get to address their ethical issues. Furthermore, there are companies established hotlines where employees can get to address their bosses on their ethical concerns (Langlois, 2011).

The three resources available for employees in ASR Group include benefits, career paths and finally classification and compensation. Where benefits can be construed as the health and safety benefits, all employees are entitled to in the company. Furthermore, the career paths can be enhanced through engaging in political issues within the enterprise. This strategy enables participation in public affairs thus building employees in decision making. Additionally, practicing the environment and advancing sustainability also facilitates career paths. Finally, classification and compensation such as pay ranges and job title tables, and position audit ensures there is competition, and the best talents are nurtured within the company.

The resources I would most likely use as a leader are pay; that is my employees must receive full payments for the job done and also to the contract agreements or law by fully paying my employees. In this case, I would be practicing integrity and honesty as outlined as one of the core code of ethics in the company. I would also use motivation as another resource in the business. I would implement motivation in the form of rewards, appreciations, and promotion of the best employees based on the merit and virtue of their conduct, respect, and exercising the company code of ethics without gross violations, and their performance scale.

The policy established that instruct employees on addressing unethical behavior observed at work are the comprehensive Whistleblowing policy. It clearly spells out the legal procedures to be followed by an employee while reporting unethical concerns. The policy upholds the privacy of your concerns and protects from hindrance by anybody within the company. ASR Group pledges their allegiance by adhering to the well-mandated policy so as to ensure they work within the laws of the company thus building a positive and attractive reputation to the enterprise.

The conditions that will facilitate the employees to blow the whistle in the workplace is therefore when there exists, indiscipline, and indecency acts amongst a section of the workers in the company. They can also blow the whistle when the top management authority imposes discrimination and harassment to them. Consequently, it will raise their voices when their working places do not appear to be healthy and safe for their lives when the company is not up to coping with the better standard of workplace health and safety (Peterson, 2005). They can also blow the whistle if they realize that some workers engage in commercial bribery and corruption which affect the company adversely. Finally, they can blow the whistle when their rights are grossly violated for instance their rights to fair pay and social welfare within the company.

In ASR Group, when the employee decides to blow the whistle there is a well-established process they should follow to achieve a desirable outcome. First, at the preliminary levels, the employee is ethically required to engage in consultations about their concerns so as to come out with particular and well-organized issues worth reporting at the tertiary level. During engagements in these initial consultations, the employee's concerns may be addressed fully or satisfactorily even without carrying the matter forward (McMahon, 2004). After discussions at the lower level and the outcome are worth forwarding vertically upwards to be addressed the employee should now adhere to well-established whistleblowing policies. That allow for pushing of the information and reporting the issues with confidence and protection from retaliation and finally receiving the outcome of the reports addressed.

According to False Claim Act, Dodd-Frank Wall Street and Consumer Protection Act and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, there are several advantages of paying whistle-blowers based on the understanding of the current laws (Bachmann, 2017). For instance, the unethical conducts being exposed by the whistleblowers may ruin the company completely if they were left unnoticed and this may be costly to the firm in the end. Furthermore, whistleblowers can help sustain the adverse situations internally. Hence, protecting the companys reputation (McMahon, 2004). On the other hand, the cons of paying whistleblowers are; first it can potentially damage the reputation of the company if the information goes spiral or external, paying these people can equally be expensive and costly for the company because most of the times the company resources are used. This issue can damage the company to a greater extent.

The impact of U.S Sentencing Guidelines causes an organization or a company like ASR Group to act within its code of ethics such as upholding cooperate social responsibility, integrity in building career among the employees and other company workers. The guidelines also provide the basis on which the company laws should be dispensed over time (Peterson, 2005). These sentencing guidelines also emancipate the company from the shackles of the career offenders and criminals, thereby, nurturing integrity within the enterprise.

The three culpable or harmful structures that drive ethical behavior in an organization can be based on the leaders and their roles in an organization, the organization moral climate that prevails during the dispensation of the code of ethics and finally the technology embraced by the firm. Bad leaders without integrity and moral values influence ethical behaviors negatively, they engage in malfunctions such as corruption thus thwarting the companys growth and development economically or ethically (Peterson, 2005). Similarly, the negative organization ethical climate will affect ethical behavior negatively. Finally, the embraced technology within the organization can drive ethical behavior negatively or positively depending on how it is used.

In summary, the elaborate and spectacular discussion on the Code of Ethics within the ASR Group attempts to unfold the legal functions and mandates of the leaders in this company in collaboration with their workers or employees. This team of employees comprises a team of professionals who work together under regulations and policies of the company to thrive in their particular fields. Therefore, the growth and development of the ASR Group worldwide have been to some extent possible. Disputing the fact that in the process there are also challenges experienced may be irrational or absurd.

References

Bachmann, B. (2017). Ethical leadership in organizations: Concepts and implementation. Switzerland: Springer.

Langlois, L. (2011). The anatomy of ethical leadership: To lead our organizations in a conscientious and authentic manner. Edmonton: AU Press.McMahon, T. F. (2004). Ethical leadership through transforming justice. Dallas [u.a.: Univ. Press of...