Suppliers are important links in the value chain of modern enterprises. The rapid changes that are happening on the market now were an impulse for the development of concepts that help to manage such a complex environment. The concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) may support the development of sustainable supply chains. The management of social issues in supply chains is becoming more and more important. The main reasons for that is the increasing risk of undesirable situations in supply chains that can cause real problems for business. One of possible responds of business is the implementation of code of conduct or code of ethics addressed to suppliers. This paper presents the potential role of codes of ethics and codes of conduct as tools that support the management of social and environmental issues of supply chain. Theoretical considerations will be supported by a qualitative analysis of codes of ethics and codes of conduct published by socially responsible companies from Poland (on the basis on IX Ranking Odpowiedzialnych Firm).
Self-regulation initiatives are undertaken by many lobbing circles in various countries. The key element of those initiatives are codes of ethics including a postulated model of lobbying activities, a specific pattern of ethical standards of lobbying. The aim of the article is a reconstruction of this pattern on the basis of the analysis of eight codes representing American, Polish, British, European and German lobbying. The analysis leads to the following conclusions. An axiological base of the lobbyist profession is created by such values as honesty, reliability, integrity, trust, professionalism, civil responsibility, openness, transparency, loyalty, respect, courtesy. Norms included in the codes are concentrated on the following issues: legality, transparency of actions, care of reputation and dignity of profession, avoiding corruption, conflict o f interest, customer relationship, duties toward society, public relations. A weak element of lobbying self-regulation is a system of norm execution.
Self-regulation initiatives are undertaken by many lobbying circles in various countries. The key element of those initiatives are codes of ethics including a postulated model of lobbying activities, a specific pattern of ethical standards of lobbying. The aim of the article is a reconstruction of this pattern on the basis of the analysis of eight codes representing American, Polish, British, European and German lobbying. The analysis leads to the following conclusions. An axiological base of the lobbyist profession is created by such values as honesty, reliability, integrity, trust, professionalism, civic responsibility, openness, transparency, loyalty, respect, courtesy. Norms included in the codes are concentrated on the following issues: legality, transparency of actions, care of reputation and dignity of the profession, avoiding corruption, conflict of interest, customer relationship, duties toward society, public relations. A weak element of lobbying self-regulation is a system of norm execution.
Speaking of professional ethics officer should have in mind a set of moral principles, covering both generally applicable in a particular era and society, and due to the nature occupation. Analyzing the particular system of moral values observed in everyday work, adopted a more or less formal form takes into account many factors.
The article concerns the analysis of contemporary codes of ethics in social work from two perspectives. The first is the axiological justification and embedding a code in a specific concept of general ethics. In the second, pragmatic part, the code appears as a set of moral principles that represent the fundamental values of this profession. The article is not a holistic attempt to gather the arguments of supporters and opponents of the creation of codes. Nor is it an attempt to defend or undermine the sense of the existence of modern codes. The article is only a reflection on their condition, form and main assumptions.
The definition of social work is relatively young but at the same time it is of the most progressively developing professions nowadays. The aim of the article is the analysis, the comparison and the description of global trends and national standards of ethics in social work practice. Ethics is presented as an integral part of social work - as a profession and an academic discipline. Codes of ethics are important tools for sensitising people who perform and study social work, although these do not replace their own, internally motivated sense of responsibility. This article discusses not only the current International Code of Ethics and the Slovak Code of Ethics for Social Worker and Social Work Assistant but also it demonstrates the diachronic aspect with regards to changes in the last two decades in the international and national understanding of the profession and ethics of social work.
Research background: The morality and sustainability depend upon the active engagement of all stakeholders. Businesses might have to observe minimum standards via their corporate social responsibility (CSR), but this does not imply any mandatory and enforceable requirements for their internal documents. Crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic magnify differences and might impact the perception and commitment to ethics and modify preferences. Purpose of the article: Since it is up to each and every business whether it will issue Codes of Ethics or Codes of Conduct (Codes) and how they will project ethical principles, values and concerns in them, it is both illuminative and instrumental to conduct a massive theoretical and literature review, to identify five aspects for exploration of Codes: (i) human nature (ii) moral values (iii) ethical principles, (iv) reasoning and (v) sustainability pillars, and to perform such an exploration via a case study at the dawn of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Based on a massive theoretical and literature review, five aspects for exploration have been identified and employed in a case study involving twenty Codes of the largest Czech businesses, while focusing on their preferences. This is to be achieved by a holistic advanced content analysis employing meta-analysis and manual Delphi method with Likert scoring by a panel of experts. Findings & value added: The case study reveals that generally Codes prefer (i) Socrates´ perception of human nature, (ii) respect and responsibility as moral values, (iii) the principle of solidarity, (iv) social contract and deontological reasoning and (v) the sustainability social pillar. These findings demonstrate discrepancies and inconsistencies between and also within these Codes, which often paternalistically reject the multi-stakeholder approach that is needed to overcome COVID-19. This litigates for the appropriateness of this new methodology and encourages further longitudinal case studies entailing more jurisdictions and industries.
Professional ethics of teachers is one of the most important areas of interest of pedeutology. Not only traditions of that profession, but also the contemporary challenges facing it seem to be indicative of it. In the considerations presented, professional ethics of teachers is shown from two perspectives, i.e. the universal and the pluralistic ones. Each of these perspectives is characterized by diverse understanding of professional ethics of teachers and, in particular, its nature. Generally speaking, the first of these perspectives can come down to the establishment of professional ethics of teachers in the form of a code, while the other moves away from such a strictly code-orientated perception of ethics. Certainly, this does not mean a rejection of any ethical stipulations characteristic of teacher circles, but rather adopting a position according to which such exclusive and only correct stipulations do not exist, but there are a lot of them, which one should bear in mind characterizing the ethical aspects of the teaching profession.
W szeroko pojętej działalności gospodarczej coraz większego znaczenia nabiera prowadzenie biznesu z uwzględnieniem wartości etycznych. Przestrzeganie prawa, okazywanie szacunku kontrahentom oraz pracownikom, dbałość o dobro całego społeczeństwa oraz o środowisko naturalne – to tylko niektóre wartości etyczne, których przestrzeganie często decyduje o powodzeniu bądź klęsce danej organizacji. Wiedza z zakresu etyki coraz bardziej zyskuje na prestiżu, gdyż współczesna gospodarka wymaga nie tylko wiedzy ekonomicznej i technicznej. Podczas Ogólnopolskiego Kongresu Etyki i Społecznej Odpowiedzialności Biznesu, który odbywał się w 2009 r. w Warszawie, przyjęto Deklarację, której zapisy dotyczą traktowania etycznego wymiaru w gospodarce i biznesie w sposób podobny do tego, jak traktowany jest wymiar etyczny w badaniach naukowych, medycynie czy innych zawodach zaufania publicznego Etyka biznesu wpisana w strategię firmy to doskonałe założenie i mocny atut jej wizerunku. Firma działająca odpowiedzialnie powinna wprowadzić i świadomie posługiwać się standardami etycznymi we wszystkich swoich działaniach, gdyż biznes nie ogranicza się tylko do pomnażania zysków, ale niezwykle ważne są także wartości pozaekonomiczne.
EN
In the widely understood economic activity, conducting business based on ethical values is gaining increasing significance. Obeying the law, respecting trade partners and employees, caring for the well-being of the whole society are just a few ethical values, observing of which often decides about success or failure of a given organization. Knowledge about ethics is becoming more prestigious as contemporary economy requires not only economic or technical skill. During the National Congress of Ethics and Social Responsibility of Business held in Warsaw in 2009, Declaration regarding treating the ethical dimension in economy and business in a similar way to ethics in scientific research, medicine or other professions of public trust was signed (Gasparski, 2012, p.9). Business ethics inscribed in a company strategy is a perfect premise and a strong asset of its image. A responsibly acting firm should introduce and consciously apply ethical standards in its all areas of activity because a business is not limited only to multiplying profits, but extraeconomic values are important too.
In the paper Ideology of canting talking – corporations discourse with regard to ethical codices author describes the phenomenon of canting performatives acts as a mechanism of moral usurpations in business ethics. The promises and declarations in ethical codices cannot turn out to be neither worthless nor significant, because there is no possibility of describing such a situation in which these declarations could be unequivocally called unkept promises. It does not mean that they are always true of course… Author shows that cant declarations of business ethics become to usurp the right to define workers morality. On the one hand it seems to be a beautiful bunch of declarations on the other the point is that corporation’s ethical declarations are designed for managing your thinking about morality.
Codes of conduct and codes of ethics are a way of ensuring that positive impact in the community prevails. Tertiary education environments that have standardised ICT management show higher quality of performance if compared to those that have not yet standardised it. Moreover, characteristic of these environments is their strong willingness for change. University is a place of scientific communication and, thus, ICT and especially the Internet represent the entry point into a new developmental phase to which the best universities are strongly dedicated. In this way, ethics returns to the core of the mission undertaken by higher education institutions. Many countries around the world are adopting National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) that have been developed and are continuously updated within the ISTE Association and at the same time represent a code of conduct for students, faculty teachers, administrators and all others involved in high-quality study. Those standards must be supported by codes of ethics as they depend on the compliance with the relevant moral values.
Despite their vibrant contribution to the achievement of democratic governance in Nigeria, the mass media, if unchecked, could destabilize facets of society. Consternation stems from the fact that codes of ethics designed by media associations have not been binding on members, and all attempts by government to regulate journalism practice have been rebuff ed, while journal- ists and mass media owners exult in unrestrained press freedom. Consequently, gross violations of media ethics plague journalism practices. To forestall the virulent socio-political impact of press actions observed in the past and institute responsible journalism, media associations and the gen- eral public, under the auspices of the legislature, should arrive at acceptable codes that will guide journalism practice.
Personel laboratoriów sądowych powinien mieć nie tylko wysokie kompetencje merytoryczne, ale przede wszystkim postępować zgodnie ze standardami zawodowymi i powszechnie obowiązującymi normami moralnymi. Fundamentem działania pracowników laboratorium jest kodeks etyki określający standardy i najlepsze praktyki popierane oraz stosowane w danej organizacji. Zdaniem autorów istnieje pilna potrzeba opracowania kodeksu etyki zawodowej biegłych sądowych z uwagi na specyfikę wykonywanych przez nich badań, odpowiedzialność moralną na nich ciążącą oraz brak jasnych kryteriów wyboru laboratoriów wykonujących badania na rzecz organów ścigania i wymiaru sprawiedliwości.
EN
The authors consider the need for creating the code of ethics for forensic practitioners. Adhering to ethical rules across organizations contributes to reinforcing their status, market position as well as provides for their development. In such organizations, the staff members do not only possess a high level of competence, but they also follow professional standards and universally accepted moral rules, e.g. honesty or accountability. The implementation of the code of ethics could also constitute an important element of the management system in line with PN EN ISO/IEC 17025:2005 It should be noted that code of ethics plays only advisory and controlling functions. None of the codes will guarantee that their principles will be followed, if employees themselves do not live up to those rules.
In the last few decades throughout the world, and since 1989 in Poland, we have observed a growing role of ethics in public administration. The emergence of a postindustrial society, the processes of globalization and the convergence of administrative cultures have created a new perspective on the tasks of administration in accomplishing the needs of the society. In the new social environment there have appeared new categories of thinking about administration such as openness, transparency, social responsibility and citizen participation in executing powers. In this paper, a concept of an expanded or multi-central system of ethical standards in public administration has been formulated against these complex causes. The reflections are focused on the theoretical as well as the normative level. In the case of the former it is argued that the complex system of standards can be explained on the basis of a cultural analysis, for example, the intellectual heritage of the western thought. This argument is based on the fact that, on the one hand, law as a certain system of norms is founded on the principle of non-contradiction, while on the other hand, the constituted law cannot be isolated from other regulators of social life. In accord with the applied social and cultural argument, the principle of non-contradiction refers to the whole axiological and normative system of a given culture. The cultural approach applied here points to both the diversity as well as the unity of cultural patterns and rules in social life. On the normative level, and in accord with the accepted theoretical assumptions, the multi-central system of the source of ethical standards of public administration is identified as one that is based on the following sources: 1. legal regulations (acts or statutes), 2. soft law and codes of ethics, 3. standards of the organizational culture and mission of administration, 4. orders or recommendations of a superior, 5. social norms of morality, and 6. general human morality. In practice, due to the complexity and diversity of the system, different standards may lead to a conflict; at the same time however, the foundations and cultural identity indicate a method in which such conflict may be resolved.
PL
W ostatnich dekadach na świecie, a w Polsce po 1989 r., obserwujemy wzrastającą rolę etyki w administracji publicznej. Pojawienie się społeczeństwa postindustrialnego, procesy globalizacji i konwergencji kultur administracyjnych wykreowały nowe spojrzenie na zadania administracji w realizacji potrzeb społecznych. W tych zmienionych warunkach pojawiają się takie kategorie myślenia o administracji, jak otwartość, transparentność, społeczna odpowiedzialność i partycypacja obywateli w sprawowaniu władzy. Wobec tych złożonych powodów formułuję koncepcję rozbudowanego lub multicentrycznego systemu standardów etycznych administracji publicznej. Swoje rozważania autor koncentruje na dwóch płaszczyznach: 1. teoretycznej i 2. normatywnej. W pierwszym przypadku argumentuje, że złożony system standardów można wyjaśnić na gruncie analizy kulturowej, np. intelektualnego dorobku myśli zachodniej. Argument ten opiera się na tym, iż z jednej strony, prawo jako pewien system norm budowane jest zgodnie z zasadą niesprzeczności, zaś z drugiej strony, prawo stanowione nie może być oderwane od innych regulatorów życia społecznego. Zgodnie z zastosowanym argumentem społeczno-kulturowym zasada niesprzeczność odnosi się do całego systemu aksjonormatywnego danej kultury. Zastosowane tu podejście kulturowe wskazuje zarówno na różnorodność, jak i jedność wzorców oraz reguł kulturowych życia społecznego. Natomiast na płaszczyźnie normatywnej autor wskazuje odpowiednio, zgodnie z przyjętymi założeniami teoretycznym, na multicentryczny system źródeł standardów etycznych administracji publicznej, który stanowią: 1. ustawy, 2. soft law, kodeksy etyki, 3. standardy kultury organizacyjnej i misja administracji, 4. polecenia przełożonego, 5. normy moralności społecznej oraz 6. normy moralności ogólnoludzkiej. W praktyce ze względu na złożoność i różnorodność systemu dochodzić może między różnymi standardami do konfliktów, ale podłoże – tożsamość kulturowa – wskazuje jednocześnie na metody rozwiązywania tych konfliktów.
Codes of ethics are crucial in communicating and building the values of organisations and their employees. This research study focuses on exploring various aspects of ethical behaviour and the impact of ethical constraints on employee performance in organisations. In the context of the growing importance of business ethics and human resource management, this study statistically identifies differences between organisations based on their ethical characteristics and strategies. The integration of ethics into corporate strategy is found to have an impact on the permissible behaviour and appearance of employees, with past ethical scandals leading to more stringent measures. In addition, the length and updating of the code of ethics affect the control over certain aspects of employee behaviour. These results underscore the importance of codes of ethics as tools for communication as well as for managing employee ethics and behaviour. They also highlight the role of multinational corporations in the diffusion of these practices and their impact on smaller market players, as well as the importance of managing workplace constraints. In conclusion, this study contributes to a deeper understanding of ethical practices and their importance within organisations.
Changes in Poland’s higher education occur by leaps rather than through an evolutionary process. This is caused mostly by the need for institutional transformation of nonpublic HE institutions and the departure from Humboldtian model in favour of a market-oriented model (entrepreneurial university). This transition generates numerous ethical dilemmas. On the one hand, universities are expected to undertake pro publico bono activities. On the other hand, they are forced to operate under tough market rules. The need to find new sources of funding, to collaborate with external partners (also from the business community), the idea of knowledge transfer, competitive struggle, the wearing-out of existing marketing tools exhaustion - all these elements generate new problems and ethical dilemmas, many of which cannot be assessed in a clear-cut way. Apart from codes of ethics developed at university level or national level, an ethical audit could prove to be an ideal solution. This kind of audit, performed by independent institutions or business centres, would assess ethical behaviour within the university, both internally and externally, considering the transparency of its community links. Publicised and widely commented ethical audit reports could become a competitive advantage tool for universities which adhere to codes of ethics.
PL
Zmiany zachodzące obecnie w szkolnictwie wyższym w Polsce następują w sposób skokowy, a nie ewolucyjny. Jest to uwarunkowane przede wszystkim potrzebą instytucjonalnej transformacji uczelni niepublicznych oraz odchodzeniem od modelu uczelni funkcjonującej zgodnie z ideą Wilhelma Humboldta w stronę modelu szkoty wyższej będącej uczestnikiem gry rynkowej (uniwersytet przedsiębiorczy). Moment przejścia rodzi wiele dylematów natury etycznej. Z jednej strony od uczelni oczekuje się działań służących wyższym celom (pro publico bono) z drugiej są one zmuszone do funkcjonowania zgodnie z twardymi regułami rynkowymi. Konieczność pozyskiwania nowych źródeł finansowania, współpraca z partnerami zewnętrznymi (w tym biznesowymi), idea transferu wiedzy, walka konkurencyjna, wyczerpywanie się dotychczasowych narzędzi marketingowych są równoznaczne z pojawieniem się nowych, często wymykających się jednoznacznym ocenom, problemów i dylematów etycznych. Oprócz tworzenia uczelnianych czy ogólnopolskich kodeksów etycznych, idealnym rozwiązaniem może się stać poddawanie się audytowi etycznemu. Poprzez audyt - dokonywany przez niezależne instytucje czy ośrodki etyki biznesu - oceniane byłyby zachowania etyczne w danej uczelni, zarówno wewnątrz, jak i w odniesieniu do transparentności form współpracy z otoczeniem. Podawane do publicznej wiadomości i szeroko komentowane raporty z audytu etycznego mogą się stać jednym z narzędzi budowania przewagi konkurencyjnej uczelni przestrzegającej kodeksu etycznego.
Work culture is a personality trait that results from personality dispositions and professional competence of individuals. Professional work has undergone numerous and radical changes and it still evolving. Today, in the conditions of market economy, it has a significant impact on people and their lives. It facilitates fulfilling their needs; however, this entails high costs, namely the necessity to submit to the requirements of the employer and work environment. This limits the feeling of independence, all the more so that work entails numerous obligations. A high level of employee’s work culture may significantly reduce such costs and activate a person’s driving traits that enhance their autonomy and independence. Instrumental dispositions are essential in this area; however, directional dispositions are of key importance here. Improving such dispositions and equipping employees with ways to enhance their personality may lead to the development of their feeling of independence. As a consequence, employees tend to consider work obligations to be the result of their own choices and decisions.
PL
Kultura pracy stanowi cechę osobową człowieka będącą wypadkową jego indywidualnych dyspozycji osobowościowych i kompetencji zawodowych. Praca zawodowa przeszła liczne i radykalne przemiany i wciąż znajduje się w procesie przemian. Współcześnie, w warunkach gospodarki rynkowej jej wpływ na ludzi i ich życie jest znaczące. Umożliwia realizację potrzeb, jednakże wiążą się z tym znaczne koszty, m.in. związane z koniecznością podporządkowania się wymaganiom pracodawców i środowiska pracy. Ogranicza to poczucie niezależności, tym bardziej, że z pracą wiążą się liczne powinności. Wysoki poziom kultury pracy reprezentowany przez pracownika może znacząco je minimalizować i przyczyniać się do aktywowania mocy sprawczych pracownika wzmacniających jego samodzielność i niezależność. Dotyczy to dyspozycji instrumentalnych, w szczególności jednak dyspozycji kierunkowej. Ich doskonalenie oraz wyposażanie pracowników w sposoby doskonalenia własnej osobowości mogą prowadzić do poczucia niezależności pracownika, a powinności będą przezeń traktowane jako rezultaty ich własnych wyborów i decyzji.
Pracownik socjalny, którego działania mają charakter typowo społeczny, wykonuje wiele ról zawodowych. Dlatego też powinien kierować się wartościami i zasadami moralnymi, wynikającymi z etyki ogólnej oraz szczegółowymi normami zawartymi w etycznym kodeksie swojej profesji. Skodyfikowana etyka zawodowa pomaga pracownikowi socjalnemu w prawidłowym wykonywaniu zadań i jest dla niego punktem odniesienia przy rozstrzyganiu dylematów etycznych. Zawarte w kodeksie etycznym normy stoją na straży godności profesji i jednocześnie wskazują, jak przedstawiciele zawodu mają się zachowywać, a jak nie powinni postępować. Zapisy kodeksu etycznego odnoszą się do zawodu, relacji ze współpracownikami, beneficjentami, pracodawcą i społeczeństwem. Uwzględniają one specyficzne cele i zadania pracy socjalnej, rozumianej jako praktyczna działalność ludzka na rzecz osób wymagających wsparcia i pomocy w realizacji podstawowych potrzeb oraz rozwiązywania problemów powstałych w efekcie deprywacji tych potrzeb.
EN
A social worker, whose activities are principally socially oriented, performs many professional roles. Therefore, he or she should be guided by the values and moral principles arising from the ethics in general and from the specific standards contained in the code of ethics of this particular profession. Codified professional ethics helps social worker to perform properly his or her duties and it is also the reference point for resolving ethical dilemmas. Standards contained in the code of ethics give basis for preserving the dignity of the profession and at the same time indicate how the social workers should behave, and how they mustn’t behave. The provisions of the code of ethics relate directly to the specificity of the profession, as well as to the relations with coworkers, beneficiaries, employer and larger society. They take into account specific objectives and tasks of social work understood as a practical human activity towards people requiring support and assistance in the fulfillment of their basic needs and requiring also support in solving problems arising as a result of deprivation of these needs.
W swoim tekście skupiam się na praktycznym zagadnieniu kształtowania postaw moralnych wśród przedstawicieli polskiego sektora bankowego w obliczu wymagań, jakie stawia przed nimi Sektorowa Rama Kwalifikacji dla Sektora Bankowego (SRKB). Wstępne rozważania dotyczą refleksji nad stanem dyskursu etycznego w polskim sektorze finansowym oraz wyjaśnieniu, czym jest SRKB. W drugiej części pracy zostaną poddane analizie kodeksy i zachęty, których aktualnie używa się, by kształtować postawy moralne w praktyce zawodowej, m.in. w sektorze bankowym. Po wykazaniu pewnych braków tych narzędzi w części trzeciej wskażę możliwe formy rozwiązania pojawiających się problemów adekwatne do wymagań stawianych przez SRKB. W tej części przedstawię podejście do budowania postaw moralnych oparte na arystotelesowskiej etyce cnoty, która w klasycznym rozumieniu często jest przeciwstawiana interesowym motywacjom ekonomicznym. Postaram się pokazać, że nie musi tak być i przy pewnych założeniach koncepcja Arystotelesa może być zgodna z działaniami rynkowymi. W szczególności jego koncepcja mądrości praktycznej – phronesis – może w istotny sposób poprawić i uzupełnić funkcjonujące mechanizmy i pomóc w budowaniu postaw moralnych opisanych w SRKB.
EN
In my text, I focus on the practical issue of shaping a moral character among representatives of the Polish banking sector in the face of the requirements that Sectoral Qualifications Framework for Banking (SQFB16) puts before the employees of this sector. Preliminary considerations are devoted to reflection on the ethical discourse within Polish financial sector and clarification what SQFB is? In the second part of the work I will analyze codes of ethics and incentives which are currently used to shape moral attitudes in professional practice, including in the banking sector will be analyzed. After demonstrating some shortcomings of these tools in the third part, it will indicate possible forms of solving emerging problems and tools appropriate to the requirements of SQFB. In this part, I will try to present an approach to building a moral character based on the Aristotelian virtue ethics. The virtue ethics in the classical sense is often contrasted with an interest, selfish economic motivation. I will try to show that it does not have to be that way and with certain assumptions, Aristotle’s concept may be consistent with market activities. In particular, his concept of practical wisdom – phronesis can significantly improve and complement existing mechanisms and help in building moral character in the finance sector introduced by SQFB.
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