Plan for an Ethical Company - Andrey and Writing Team

Ethical Company

PART 1 COMPANY PLAN

Company Name

The proposed company name is "Andrey and Writing Team Computing Services." This name is ethical because it directly references the participants in the company (including the owner and the workers), and because the name is not being used by any other company, preventing any potential trademark violations. This is consistent with the ACM Code of Practice Principle 1.6 (respect for intellectual property).

Company Logo

The company logo will be a stylized star logo, representing a star network configuration. A graphic designer will create the logo, and the contract will specify intellectual property ownership. It will also be designed to ensure that the logo does not overlap with any existing logos. This is consistent with the ACM Code of Practice Principle 1.6 (respect for intellectual property).

Company Mission

The company mission will be:

Andrey and Writing Team Computing Services provides quality networking, hardware, and software services to small and medium sized businesses and individuals at a fair price, supports employees and local business, and practices responsible sourcing practices.

This company mission is ethical because it takes into account multiple stakeholder groups (employees, customers, suppliers, and the firm itself), balancing as far as possible within the realm of influence of a small business for the needs of each group.

Services Provided

The services provided will be targeted to individuals and small and medium sized businesses. Services will include hardware assembly and repair; network design, installation and maintenance; and custom computing services. Employees will have formal certifications (such as A+, Network+, MCSE, and other appropriate certifications to the areas where they work). These services are ethical because they focus on providing for customer needs for the specific market at the highest possible level while retaining cost-effective service. These services are also consistent with the ACM Code of Practice Principles 2.1 and 2.2.

An additional service level that will be provided will be a Computer Clinic. This program will operate one day per week (with employees working no more than one extra day per month). It will pair local high school students interested in computer services as a career with technicians who will provide hands-on training and mentorship. During this time, the company will provide free or low-cost computer repair and upgrade services to local non-profit agencies and low-income people. This is an ethical service because it provides support at multiple levels for the local community as stakeholders, including support for youth development and other community needs. Employees will be paid for this service in order to avoid inappropriately taking advantage of them. This program is consistent with the first principle of the ACM Code of Ethics.

Code of Ethics

Andrey and Writing Team will operate under the ACM Code of Ethics and Professional Practice in its entirety. This code of ethics was chosen because it is comprehensive in terms of its ethical requirements, but is also consistent with the ethical goals and capabilities of the small business. There will be no changes made to the ACM code of ethics for application within the company, and all company employees will be required to comply with the code.

Ethics Training Program

The firm's ethics training program will focus on the areas identified in the ACM Code of Practice, such as general ethical requirements, requirements of practice (including training, knowledge, and competence; duties to customers; and duties to the community in general). This training program will be completed on a semi-annual schedule, including comprehensive training for new employees (if any) and refresher training for all existing employees. This training will include the owner of the firm. An outside firm will be contracted for the training in order to avoid conflicts of interest.

Employer/Employee Grievance Policy

There will be two levels of employer/employee grievance policy. The first level will be an open-door policy maintained by all managers in the firm, which will allow employees to address issues directly at any level of the firm. The second level of grievance policy will involve an outside agency (a contracted Employee Assistance Program) to handle multiple types of employee issues, such as grievances as well as finding other types of assistance where required.

PART 2 OTHER ETHICAL POLICIES

One of the major ethical policies (the CSR policy of the computer clinic) has been outlined. Another ethical policy that will be put into place is a responsible sourcing policy, which will as far as possible enforce that the firm buys hardware from companies with strong manufacturing oversight and that use employee responsibility requirements and auditing for overseas factories, and that have strong environmental control practices. This is intended to reduce the negative effects of the firm's operation on global populations and on the environment.

PART 3 SCENARIO ANALYSIS

The scenario posited is that a high-ranking employee has left for a job at a competitor, and on inspection of file records it is found that the former employee has taken a copy of the grievance policy, mission document, list of company clients, documentation of sales and accounting business processes, and an internal memo detailing next year's sales goals. The question is what should be done about this and how it can be handled. First, it is unlikely that the firm has any significant basis for legal action, nor would pursuing such a legal action be in the best interests of the firm or its customers. Instead, the action to be taken must focus on changing and adapting internal practice in order to perform damage control and prevent recurrence.

The consequentialist ethical approach will be used to address this issue, due to the need to consider the consequences of the employee's actions rather than an absolute moral position. In this case, the accidental release of the grievance policy, mission document, and documentation of sales and accounting processes are unlikely to pose significant harm to the firm. In particular, these policies are not likely to be highly different than the firm's competitor's policies. However, the release of sales figures and list of company clients is potentially harmful, given that this is a major factor in the firm's strategy and its current business practices.

The first remediation that should be taken is to ask the company lawyer to write a letter formally requesting the return of the information assets from the ex-employee. This is likely to resolve the problem with a minimum of legal involvement and difficulty for all concerned while minimizing harm. The second remediation that should be taken is that the firm's information control policies should be adjusted. In particular, process and procedural documents should be controlled only to those that require them, and detailed sales figures should not be released to the entire company. Instead, information should be released in a way that both provides information appropriate to the firm employee's requirements and that protects the firm's interests. A final remediation is that high-ranking employees should be placed on leave if they offer their notice without providing other reasons, or if these reasons are likely to place the company at risk. This will protect the firm without negatively affecting employees with good intentions. These actions are the most ethical approach to remediating the damage from the current issue and preventing a recurrence.

References

ACM. ACM Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct. From Association for Computing Machinery.

Ferrell, O. C., & Fraedrich, J.. Business ethics: Ethical decision making and cases. Mason, OH: Cengage.