Maryland, firm that A condition of employment
provides professional “Our code of ethics is like the compass for
and technical services, our company,” says Bruce Davis, a partner
owner Wilhelmina Bell- in Day & Nite Plumbing & Heating Inc. in
“Taylor has instituted an Lynnwood, Washington. “We use it for every-ethics code called The thing. When we hire people, we ask them to
... it’s extremely BETAH Way. Estab- embrace our ethics if they come aboard. We
lishing the guiding val- also show our vendors that our ethics policy is
ues for her business, on the back of every one of our business cards.
important and makes this personal approach We tell suppliers that we gravitate toward busi-
Wilhelmina Bell-Taylor deals specifically with nesses that are like us. Truth and honesty are
integrity, honesty, loyalty and both legal and so basic to good business.”
JOHN HARRING TON PHO TOGRAPHY
good business sense moral standards, and is an extension of Davis adds, “Until an ethics policy be- her faith. comes an integral part of a company, it is
These values are consistently commun- merely good intentions. But when it becomes
icated and fostered throughout the organi- standard operating procedure, as it has with
zation. “Your behavior is who you are,” us, it steers everyone and is used, consciously
Bell-Taylor told The Connection. “The BETAH or subconsciously, in every decision we make
Way is who I am.” as a company.”
to have a strong moral
compass, a strong set
Steve Fleischmann, owner of Fleisch- North Island Financial Credit Union
mann Office Interiors, says his 25-year-old (NIFCU), with 10 branch locations and 350
Seattle business is sustained by a strong sense employees in the San Diego area, recognizes
of values that serves of ethics. “I believe to be successful, ethics how important it is for an ethics code to extend
and values are a discipline that you must beyond a written policy to be an integral part
apply consistently,” he says. “Eventually the of the corporate culture. The company also
process becomes natural and easy, and the requires annual employee endorsement of the
byproducts include business success, highly code as a condition of employment.
motivated employees and a good reputation In its 2002 employee opinion survey, the
in the community.” number-one response, with 99.7 percent of
When asked where his sense of ethics thosesurveyed indicating “favorable,” was for
came from, he answers quite candidly. “I thisstatement: “
Managementhasclearlycom-observed that my dad in his own business municated NIFCU’scultureandvaluestome.”
didn’t operate the same way. It wasn’t that When The Connection asked executive
he didn’t have ethics, but he didn’t follow vice president Geri Dillingham how NIFCU’s
through consistently. When it came time to code of ethics is enforced, her answer restart my own company, I knew it could be flected the goal of all ethics codes. “The idea
done differently.” is not to have to [enforce] the policy because
as the foundation of
a business. —Dr. Ga”ry Wenet
Steps for developing a code of ethics elsewhere. Create a plan for intensely intro-
ducing the code to the entire organization,
including the board of directors.
Having a code of ethics in place is a wise that management is unaware of. What is Breathe life into the code daily. Use it
business practice. Here are several tips bothering people in the organization? What for guidance in all decisions and actions.
for developing your code. The leader of is bothering customers or suppliers? Walk the talk at every level.
the company is an essential participant in the Brainstorm a list of values that the Beware of the “Three P’s”—print,
process (CEO might also stand for chief organization stands for. Whittle that list post and pray—advises Lee WanVeer of
ethics officer), as are managers, supervisors down to a manageable five core values that the Ethics Resource Center in Washington,
and employees. The employee voice is criti- will most directly address your company’s D.C. “Going beyond communication, it’s
cal in shaping language that will relate specific problems and mission. not enough to put these things up on a bul-
best to all of the organization. Use model codes from other companies letin board and pray that every-
Identify the moral barometer for to build your own. As with the Costco exam- one will be good,” he says.
your business envi- ple (see sidebar), many companies recognize “This process requires an
ronment, listing spe- relationships with customers, employees, effort to make the articulation
cific problems for your suppliers and shareholders as the desired of what’s important—the core
business. Employees fundamentals in developing an ethics code. values—alive,
may have a bet- Using an example that has been demon- dynamic and
ter sense of strated to work well will save trial and error. systemic in
problems Produce the written code for inclusion the organiza-
in employee handbooks, annual reports and tion.”—DW
he Costco Connection • JULY 2006
