ASSIGNMENT

Complete all fields accurately

1. ADDRESS DETAILS

18 Cleveland Road
Greendale
Harare
Zimbabwe
Postal Code

1. ASSIGNMENT DETAILS

Submitted By – Student Number 77442350

Group Code ZIM0112A
Date Submitted : 2013/05/06
Module Code MBL926S
Assignment Number (1 or 2) Assignment 1
Special Instructions None
Lecturer Mr. A.R. Maharaj

2. GROUP MEMBER DETAILS

Tafadzwa Comfort Nyambira 77454685 tcnyambira@gmail.com 100%

Vimbayi Colleta Mawire 77442350 vimbayim@equityproperties.co.zw 100%
Prince Bhurabhura 77457374 bhurabhuraprince@gmail.com 100%
Christina Tapesana 77433351 ctapesana@cbz.co.zw 100%
Happiah Jane Revai 77459458 hrevai@gmail.com 100%
Courage Shoniwa 77435834 shoniwac@ta.co.zw 100%
Norman Tafadzwa Mhondiwa 77442555 nmhondiwa@cbz.co.zw 100%
Nixon Nehanda 77480465 77480465@mylife.unisa.ac.za 100%
Rowland Mavinyu 70507112 rmavinyu@gmail.com 100%

PERCENTAGE OBTAINED : _________

INSERT ASSIGNMENT BELOW

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................ 3
2. DEVELOPING THE CODE OF ETHICS ............................................................................................ 3
2.1. Literature Review.......................................................................................................................... 3
2.1.1 A look at the world of Ethics ................................................................................................ 3
2.1.2 Further insights from literature ............................................................................................. 4
2.2. The Econet journey to a code of ethics ......................................................................................... 6
2.3 The Econet code of ethics ............................................................................................................. 8
3. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CODE OF ETHICS ........................................................................... 9
3.1 Assessment .................................................................................................................................... 9
3.2 Training and Awareness.............................................................................................................. 10
3.3 Reporting..................................................................................................................................... 11
3.4 Corrective Action ........................................................................................................................ 12
3.5 Ethics Audits and Risk Assessments .......................................................................................... 13
3.6 Governance and Transparency .................................................................................................... 13
4. CRITICAL ASSESSMENT ................................................................................................................ 14
4.1 Assessment of approach .............................................................................................................. 14
4.2 Assessment of process ................................................................................................................ 15
4.3 Assessment of the code ............................................................................................................... 15
4.4 Assessment of the implementation process................................................................................. 16
5. CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................................... 17
6. LIST OF REFERENCES .................................................................................................................... 18

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1. INTRODUCTION

“In the past decade, criminal behavior by senior managers at large corporations like Enron, Adelphia,
World Com and Tyco have, at once, engaged and shocked academics, professionals, and the general
public. In response to what seems to be an explosion of unethical behavior in both the for profit and not-
for-profit sectors, within government and business, higher education and religious institutions,
organizations have added new positions to lend legitimacy and a public face to their efforts to support
ethical behavior. The acronym, CEO, has taken on new meaning with the creation of the title, „„chief
ethics officer,‟‟ … Even as cases of unethical behavior appear in news headlines, organizations of all
types continue to adopt codes of ethics and promote them in the arena of public opinion.” (Messikomer
and Cirka 2010:55)

Econet Wireless Zimbabwe (Econet) is no exception and in line with the above citation has employed an
Ethics Officer to assist them in the developing of a code of ethics, implementation of the code and in
ensuring that employees at all levels are kept abreast with its evolution and subsequent adoption.

Econet was founded in 1998 as a provider of telecommunication services and plies its trade primarily in
the mobile phone space. In recent times however, Econet has also acquired a commercial bank, taken
interests in solar related products including solar powered lights, radios and cellular phone chargers in an
effort to continuously innovate and diversify its operations.

In pursuit of being recognised as a responsible corporate citizen, Econet employed an Ethics Officer to
assist in managing ethical issues related to work and the organisation‟s interaction with its stakeholders.
The following is a part of this journey in which I seek to narrate the development and implementation of a
code of ethics as Econet‟s Ethics Officer.

2. DEVELOPING THE CODE OF ETHICS

2.1. Literature Review

2.1.1 A look at the world of Ethics

Buccholtz and Caroll (2012) state that business ethics is concerned with morality and fairness in
behaviour, actions and practices that take place within the business context. They extend business ethics
to include issues of fairness, justice and equity in the workplace.

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Schwartz (2001) argues that unethical conduct by business can have a serious negative impact on society
as a whole. He quotes Estes (1996) who estimates the social costs due to unethical conduct by
corporations in the United States of America (U.S.) to be close to two and half trillion dollars per annum.
He remarks that despite the high cost of unethical behaviour to society, many employees appear unwilling
to take action when they observe unethical activity. In his view, it is this reluctance by employees to
report unscrupulous conduct and the fact that such behaviour can have serious negative repercussions on
greater society that has driven businesses to develop codes of ethics.

Schwartz (2001) concedes that some clarity is still required as to what a code of ethics is. Boudreaux and
Steiner (2005) also concede no single definition of a code of ethics exists and that it has been referred to
by many other names such as credo, code of business conduct, business ethics policy and business
conduct guidelines. Schwartz (2001) cites several authors who are of the view that no one definition
exists and that it has also been called by various names as well. Schwartz (2001) then submits the
following definition for a code of ethics:

“… a written, distinct, and formal document which consists of moral standards used to guide employee or
corporate behaviour.” (Schwartz 2001:248).

Boudreaux and Steiner (2005) extend the following definition of a code of ethics:

“… an official corporate document approved by the board that forms the underpinning of a
comprehensive program for helping to ensure ethical behaviour and decision making at all levels in the
organisation.” (Boudreaux, et al., 2005:3).

It can be observed that the two definitions bring out an element of a code of ethics being an official and
formal document that seeks to guide behaviour at work. There is an underlying tone that it must be
embraced and shared by all. Messikomer, et al., (2010) assert that the code of ethics is only one
component of an entire program and in itself will not suffice to deter unethical conduct in the workplace.
They stress that it must be more than just a piece of paper but should be embedded in the culture of the
organisation if it is to be effective in curbing corrupt and immoral behaviour.

2.1.2 Further insights from literature

Messikomer, et al., (2010) quote Frankel (1989); Kaptein (2004) and Stevens (2008) who argue that
despite the growing number of literature in business ethics, no standard conceptual framework has been
developed that incorporates a uniform definition of a code, agreement about its purpose, content, process
of development and implementation, or use and impact.

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Boudreaux, et al., (2005) acknowledge that codes of ethics come in different formats and sizes and
deciding what it contains must emanate from the examination of its intended key purposes. Schwartz
(2001) indicates that the Ethics Resource Centre (1980) and the Ethics Resource Centre (1990b) states
that companies use codes of ethics for various reasons some of which are the provision of consistent
normative standards for employees, avoidance of legal consequences and still others for public image.
Boudreaux, et al., (2005) also speak on the need to determine beforehand who should get involved in the
process of developing the code of ethics. One suggestion they put forward is the forming of an “ethics
task force” or committee comprising of key personnel representing all levels of employees in the
organisation. This they say helps to guarantee that the document is comprehensive, all-encompassing and
holds meaning for all employees. Boudreaux, et al., (2005) also put forward the following as some of the
guidelines to follow in formulating of a code of ethics:
 It should be positive.
 It should be brief.
 It should make reference to relevant board policies and other documents.
 It should be “inspirational” in tone rather than compliance oriented.

Messikomer, et al., (2010) mention Kaptein and Schwartz (2008) who are of the view that knowing how a
code was developed is a prerequisite to measuring its effectiveness. They also present the opinion of
Schwartz (2000) who is critical of many codes which give emphasis to compliance with strict rules
without regard for the content of those rules. Furthermore, Messikomer, et al., (2010) refer to Schwartz
(2000) who suggests that organizations must not rely exclusively on rules-based code content; rather, they
must invest in a process that begins with values.

“Schwartz‟s argument agrees with MacIntyre‟s (2006) position that „„…knowing which rule to apply in
which situation and being able to apply that rule relevantly are not themselves rule-governed abilities.
Knowing how, when, where and in what way to apply rules is one central aspect of…‟‟… („„practical
wisdom‟‟) as an intellectual virtue … „„…the ethically good action a practical wise person would take …
and requires that members of a community be encouraged to critically question written and unwritten
rules of conduct. Nyberg‟s (2008) argument is similar to others who argue that codes of ethics can only
achieve their fundamental purpose – to guide employees to make ethically desirable choices – when they
are situated in an ethical culture that allows the content of a code to be questioned.” (Messikomer, et al.,
2010:58).

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Messikomer, et al., (2010) comment further on the matter of developing acceptable codes of ethics by
acknowledging Newton (1994) who suggests that managers shift from a focus on „„dead rule to living
dialogue‟‟ as they strive to develop an ethically valid code – similar to what Frankel (1989) describes as a
living code of ethics – that considers both process and product (Messikomer, et al., 2010). This writer
deduces that the authors are suggesting that the development of the code of ethics must be collective and
involving representation from all those who are expected to be guided by its content – from board
members, to managers and their employees.
This point of view is strengthened by Rezaee, et al., (2001) cited in Messikomer, et al., (2010) when they
say that for a code to achieve ethical validity and realize the potential to be a living document:
 The code development process must be participative.
 The content must be values-based.
 And leaders must be authentic ethical managers who facilitate code development, are committed
to „„doing the right thing‟‟.

Buccholtz, et al., (2012) mention three approaches to ethics thus:

i. The conventional approach which they note is based on common sense and relies on how general
society understands business ethics.
ii. The principles approach founded on the use of ethics principles or guidelines to explain and direct
behaviour, actions and policies.
iii. The ethical tests approach which employs the use of short, real-world questions to guide ethical
decision making, behaviour and practices.

Of particular interest to this author is the principles approach which the writer then relates to the values-
based method of developing the code of ethics.

From the above literature, the writer draws to the conclusion that a code of ethics can only work as an aid
in an environment that is ethically conscious and in addition these codes need not be rigid but rather
flexible and open for improvements. Furthermore it is pertinent that the code be values based.

2.2. The Econet journey to a code of ethics

Having examined the literature, the approach that was followed by the writer in developing a code of
ethics for Econet was as follows:

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1) Seek board and executive management approval. As the initiators of strategy and direction for the
organisation, the first in developing a code of ethics for Econet is to engage senior managers –
especially the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to garner his support for the project to develop a
code of ethics. Once the CEO‟s approval and backing have been obtained, the idea will be sold to
the rest of his executive team and then to the board.

2) When board approval has been secured, the next step is to set up an Ethics and Compliance
Committee comprising of representatives from across the business. This committee will be
educated on business ethics, the implications they have for society and business and also the
value of a code of ethics as a unifying document. The committee will oversee and preside over all
ethics and compliance matters.

3) The committee will then assist with the setting up and running of various induction workshops.
Every employee must attend at least one workshop where the business ethics and the intention to
develop a code of ethics will be discussed. During these workshops, brain-storming sessions for
idea generation on what values Econet must carry, what they mean to individuals and what must
be contained in the code of ethics will be conducted.

4) Once all the workshops have run their course and ideas and thoughts around values, the Econet
culture and the code of ethics have been gathered, the central committee will then engage in
feedback and reporting sessions to refine all the ideas brought forth. Similarities and sharp
differences of opinion will be noted but primarily it is the similarities in thought of the contents of
the code that will be of keen interest.

5) With a wilted down list – to say ten of the most mentioned ideas or ethos – a second round of
consultative workshops will be conducted with the all employees until a few key values are left
from which the code will be drafted. The sharp differences that emanated in the reporting sessions
will be resolved in consultative workshops.

6) A draft of the code is then drawn up and shared with all employees in order to gain consensus.
This will be conducted through a third round of collaborative meetings and workshops.

7) The central ethics committee will then proceed to develop the final version of the code of ethics
which is then shared with the CEO, the executive team and ultimately the board of directors for
ratification and finally adoption.

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 8) The new code of ethics is then presented to the workforce through a last round of adoption
workshops – is then codified and made available for the next phase - implementation.

“According to Newton, the first principle, participation, entails three phases: examination of
one‟s own conscience, discovery of community consensus by testing individual perceptions
against those of others, and collective decisions regarding which perceptions belong in the final
code… The principle of participation requires that the whole organization commit to development
of a code and contribute to the process of deliberation because „„…the real value of the code does
not lie in the finished product…but in the process by which it all came to be .... The finished
product‟s content must, according to the validity principle, be values-based and consistent with
ethical principles … that content must address the appropriate range of issues likely to face
employees … and … that code content that is authentic must set the organization apart from
competitors and reflect what really is, even if it is controversial. Codes fail to meet the test of
content validity when they do not reflect the issues that arise in the organization‟s markets.
Without full participation of organizational members, issues may not be captured, resulting in a
product that is less useful as a guide for behavior as well as one that employees may view as
irrelevant to their own experience.” (Messikomer, et al., 2010:59).

The citation above summarises Econet‟s approach to developing its code of conduct – a collaborative and
interactive values-based approach.

2.3 The Econet code of ethics

Our ethical principles are the values that set the tone for all that we do as employees and representatives
of Econet. In pursuit of commercial success, we are committed to balance these principles against each
other, always mindful of our promise to our community, customers and shareholders that we will act
responsible in the discharge of our duties.

The principles that bind us together are:

 HONESTY: We will not say things that are false or mislead others on purpose. We will be as
sincere as possible, openly and freely sharing information, as appropriate to the relationships that
we hold internally as a team and externally with our customers, business partners and our
community.
 RESPECT: We will be open and direct in our communication and accepting to constructive
influence. We will hold with honour and treasure the talents and contributions of others to our

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 own success and achievements all the while taking responsibility and accountability for our
actions.
 COMPASSION: We will show empathy and maintain an awareness of the needs of others and act
to meet those needs whenever possible. We are committed to minimize harm to others. We will
act in ways that are consistent with our commitment to social responsibility.
 FAIRNESS: We are committed to creating an environment in which our actions and their
consequences will be regarded as just, impartial and unbiased by a reasonable person.
 INTEGRITY: We will live up to the code, even when confronted with personal, professional and
social threats, as well as economic pressure.

Living up to both the letter and the spirit of this commitment is not always going to be an easy task. We
realise that in our working lives, situations will arise when “the right thing to do” is not immediately
obvious – and it is in these times that we will turn and look at our commitment and promise.

3. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CODE OF ETHICS

Simply developing a code of ethics is not sufficient. There is need to develop an implementation strategy.
According to Jaspal (2010) an implementation strategy for the code of ethics is critical for the success of
the program. In this section I am going to discuss the implementation plan for the code of ethics. The
objective of the plan is to develop a corporate culture that is conducive to root out all wrongdoings at
Econet. The first stage of the plan is an assessment of the code of ethics.

3.1 Assessment

Firstly we want to assess to see how good the document is and whether it will really help our employees
navigate through the myriad of decisions they need to make. The first test is to see if the document
contains the company‟s values. A code without the value statement is empty and is of no relevance to the
company (Rudloff, 2010). In Econet‟s code of ethics the values are clearly stated and employees can see
how these values are tied to the company‟s behaviour. The second is to see if the document got the right
kind of input before it was written. According to Rudloff (2010) the code needs to get inputs from several
different parts of the organisation to make it a better document. In this case consultations with different
departments were done. The inputs incorporated into the code were from management, human resources,
employees as well as the legal department.

The next point of assessment is to see whether the document is easy to read and understand and that the
format used is effective and inviting. Rudloff (2010) goes on to say that the document has to be in an
appealing format that invites staff members to browse it and can easily grasp the content of the document.

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Our code of ethics is simple, concise and easy to understand. The format is also easy to follow and
appealing. As part of the assessment I will also look at the document‟s accessibility. Having a code of
ethics that is not accessible to employees is not going to do much good, employees will need to know
where to find it (Rudloff, 2010). The Econet code of ethics will be found on its website, intranet, and
bulletin boards in the various canteens, the staff handbook and the monthly newsletter received by all
employees. This issue will be discussed in greater detail later on in this section.

As part of the assessment I will also look at the language used. An organisation‟s code of ethics should be
made available in each of the languages represented by its employee base (Rudloff, 2010). Econet is a
Zimbabwean company and the code developed is for Zimbabwean operations only. The official language
in Zimbabwe is English and all Econet employees are conversant with English thus the code offered in
English will be easily understood by all employees.

The document will also be checked to see if the content is both ethical and legal. It is pertinent that
organisations do not direct employees to act and perform in a manner that is contrary to the law or sound
ethical practices. Our code is consistent with the laws that govern the country, the industry and the
company. It is also built on sound ethical practices. Lastly the document will be checked to see if
employees have certified to respect the code of ethics. Rudloff (2010) goes on to say if employees do not
sign off that they have read, understand and agree to comply with the code then it will be difficult to hold
them accountable for bad behaviour. Employees will be required to sign a hard copy of the code as a sign
of acknowledgement and on the first day for new employees.

3.2 Training and Awareness

Communication is vital to the successful implementation of the Code of Ethics (Jaspal, 2010). The
company will deploy several methods and sources to train staff and stakeholders. A training calendar will
be published to ensure all staff members receive adequate training on the code. Buchholtz, et al., (2012)
affirm that training in business ethics is an essential component of the ethics program.

Staff members will be required to attend the training sessions which will run for four months, once a
week. The training session will be conducted by a member of the Ethics and Compliance Committee. The
training materials that will be used to educate staff will include the actual code of ethics, case studies to
illustrate the relevance and importance of the code, discussions to involve staff and receive necessary
feedback and speeches by senior executives to inspire and encourage staff members to embrace the code.
Following the induction training at least one workshop or seminar will be held once a year thereafter as
part of refresher courses. According to Buchholtz, et al., (2012) as far as effective ethics training is

10
concerned research has shown that exposure to lengthy programs, for example ten weeks resulted in
significant improvements in moral developments whereas brief exposures yielded less encouraging
results.

Training of the code will not be restricted to the training sessions only. Further education and training of
the code will be delivered in an online format. The online training courses will be used in the induction
training of new staff members. Other staff members will also be encouraged to make use of the courses as
it will include ethical tests, case studies, business scenarios as well as a checklist of determining how to
make decisions while facing ethical dilemmas.

As part of an ongoing awareness campaign the code of ethics will be published on Econet‟s website to
inform and educate external stakeholders such as suppliers and customers on the values and ethics that
Econet embodies. The code will also be published on the company‟s intranet to allow staff easy access to
it when they need it. A printed version will also be placed in communal areas such as the staff tea room,
the reception and canteen halls among other areas again to allow easy access and to serve as reminders to
staff. To further conscientize staff and remind them, the code will be posted on main noticeboards around
the company. Different parts of the code will be highlighted in different parts of the office where it is
more appropriate or applicable. For instance the reception area can have signs on respect, just to remind
staff that respect for visitors at Econet is of the utmost importance.

As a way to ensure that staff members understand the code of ethics and what is expected of them
feedback will be encouraged. Staff is free to highlight areas they do not fully understand and perhaps
areas they face practical difficulties in implementing. The company will also use such feedback to direct
further training in appropriate areas and to incorporate any meaningful contributions in the next updated
version of the code of ethics. As mentioned earlier staff will be required to sign a hard copy of the code of
ethics as a sign that they understand and agree to abide by the code of conduct and as such their
understanding of the document is of prime importance to the company.

3.3 Reporting

“Employees must know exactly what is expected of them in the moral arena and how to respond to
warped ethics” Buchholtz, et al., (2012:305). Employees often end up covering unethical practices by
fellow employees in an organisation because they do not know how to respond when they see such
questionable practices. An effective ethical culture is one where there are mechanisms for reporting
violators of code of ethics (Buchholtz, et al., 2012).

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Employees can report any questionable practices to Econet‟s human resource department or to any
member of the Ethics and Compliance Committee. However in cases where a staff member or a member
of the public prefers anonymity they can make use of available “Tip-off Anonymous” hotlines. The
hotlines will be telephone, email and web based. In such cases the reporting will be done through an
independent report system provider namely Deloitte who are Econet‟s external audit partners. The facility
is manned 24 hours a day, seven days a week to permit for effective monitoring. This is done to further
protect a person‟s anonymity as well as encourage whistle blowing without fear of victimisation.
Anonymous tips are much more effective than internal audit at revealing serious problems according to
one ethics expert (Buchholtz, et al., 2012).

The contact details which include telephone numbers, email addresses as well as websites will be
published on the company‟s website, intranet, notice boards and company magazines and newsletters.
Staff will be educated on the available mechanisms on reporting as well as receive assurance from the
company that there will be no retaliation against reporting. In fact claims of retaliation will be taken
seriously and investigations into the alleged retaliation will be conducted. Anyone found responsible of
retaliating will be subject to disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment.

3.4 Corrective Action

Once a report has been made, whether it involves a major or minor breach of the code, an investigation
will be launched. The person responsible for the breach will be identified and the level of the breach
determined. Persons found to be in breach of the code will be disciplined in accordance with the
company‟s code of conduct. The company will take measures which are up to and include termination of
the employment contract as well as report criminal behaviour to law enforcement agents. Buchholtz, et
al., (2012) concur when they say companies must respond forcefully to persons found guilty of
deliberately or flagrantly violating their codes of ethics. Companies must discipline offenders and be seen
to be communicating to the rest of the organisation that unethical behaviour will not be tolerated at the
company (Buchholtz, et al., 2012).

Needless to say, breaches call for further assessments. The root cause of the breach will also be
determined. Proposals for solutions to further mitigate such risks will be provided. Some of the corrective
measures can include modifications to the existing policies. On the other hand the company will reward
outstanding ethical conduct to encourage and support such conduct. “Moral managers consistently reward
ethical conduct and discipline unethical conduct at all levels in the organisation, and these actions serve to
uphold the standards and rules” (Trevino, Hartman and Brown cited in Buchholtz, et al., 2012:304).

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3.5 Ethics Audits and Risk Assessments

Companies are realising more and more that there is a need for a follow up on their ethics initiatives and
programs (Buchholtz, et al., 2012). The ethic audits are a mechanism of reviewing, assessing, evaluating
and examining the company‟s initiatives such as the training and awareness campaigns and the reporting
and corrective approaches. Management‟s sincerity, communication efforts, incentive and reward systems
will also be examined (Buchholtz, et al., 2012). All practices will be audited by benchmarking them
against the code.

The risks as discussed earlier on are the company‟s exposure to possible compliance, misconduct and
ethical issues. As part of the risk analysis the company will conduct periodic surveys to evaluate
employee‟s understanding, commitment, adherence and overall attitude to the code of ethics (Jaspal,
2010). According to Buchholtz, et al., (2012) surveys have shown that the top five subjects of risk
analysis include internal policies and processes, employee awareness and understanding of compliance
and ethical issues, anonymous reporting systems, disciplinary systems as prevention tools and employee
intent or incentives.

The ethics audits and risk assessments will be conducted annually. The necessary changes will be
incorporated into the code. Formal communication of the additions and modification will be made to
staff. Thereafter training programs will rolled out on the updated code.

3.6 Governance and Transparency

The code is administered by the Ethics and Compliance Committee. This cross functional team oversees
all the ethics and compliance programs and determines code violations and disciplines. Their office also
has operational responsibility of educating, consulting, monitoring and assessing ethics issues. Every
employee including full time directors and chief executive officer are subject to the scrutiny of the
committee. Regardless of your position in the company failure to adhere to the code attracts severe
consequences which can include termination of employment. The committee will report directly to the
Board of Directors.

To enhance transparency reports by the Ethics and Compliance Committee will also form part of the
company‟s financial reporting governance program. The reports will be made available to Deloitte the
company‟s external auditors in connection with their external audit of the company‟s consolidated
financial statements. Buchholtz, et al., (2012) affirm that corporate transparency refers to the state in

13
which activities, processes, practices and decisions that take place in the companies become open or
visible to the outside world.

4. CRITICAL ASSESSMENT

4.1 Assessment of approach

 My approach initiates development and implementation of a code of ethics from within the
business, as I have been recruited by management for that purpose. However, a more holistic
approach would require the starting point to be the involvement of shareholders. It is crucial to
obtain commitment of shareholders to high ethical standards, as I have observed from
experience that one of the major sources of unethical behaviour in organisations is the
existence of conflict of interest between commercial success and doing the right thing. The
goal of commercial success is shareholders‟ primary goal of investing in the business in the
first place. Executive management are under pressure to deliver this goal. If shareholders have
not demonstrated commitment to ethics, management alone cannot foster an ethical business.
Buchholtz et al., (2012) state that the total responsibility of business entails the concurrent
fulfilment of the firm‟s economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic responsibilities. This
Pyramid of Corporate Social Responsibility by Bucholtz et al., (2012) ought to be appreciated
as the right approach to business by both management and shareholders.

I would recommend that the commitment to fostering a high ethical standard be made into a
crucial agenda item for the next shareholders‟ meeting, like the Annual General Meeting.
Shareholders should be advised of the business‟ intent to commit to the code of ethics
developed above and be requested to vote for this action item. Once the commitment to high
ethics has been accepted by majority of the shareholders, management may begin to adopt it as
a crucial mandate apart from commercial success.

 The status of the Ethics department in the Econet business is not clearly high level enough so
that in my position as the ethical officer, I may have authority to report and propose discipline
unethical actions of management. Buchholtz et al., (2012) recommend that the status of Ethics
Management be elevated to such a high level that appropriate authority is bestowed on officers
to challenge management at the highest possible levels. The theory even suggests that the
Ethics department of an organisation become independent to ordinary management and report
to the board of directors.

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 I would recommend that Econet considers implementing this recommendation in the near
future if the code of ethics is to be practically implemented and a highly ethical environment is
to be maintained.

4.2 Assessment of process

 I have not incorporated any involvement of third party professionals in the process of
formulating the code of ethics. Such a third party could be a renowned religious or academic
guru in the subject whose participation would serve to challenge staff in the process of
identifying ethical challenges. What may be normal practice within the organisation may not
pass for being the right thing and staff may not identify this as they are already used to their
old practices. It would take someone outside the business to challenge these beliefs and
actions and where necessary throw light at better practices.

External professional assistance might also be necessary in gathering views from staff and
summarising them completely and without the bias which I myself together with any other
staff members might have. These third parties may come in at a cost but such a cost might be
necessary. Executive management may frown upon such cost but it must be measured against
the company‟s commitment to achieving the best possible ethical environment.
I would recommend the engagement of external ethical professional to review the code of
conduct and its proposed roll-out before we get on with the implementation.

4.3 Assessment of the code

 The Econet Code of Ethics does not go so far as to giving guidance to employees on how
they should deal with non-compliance. The question is, what do we do with behaviour
outside the company‟s credo stated above? This is being dealt with outside the code through
training.

I would recommend incorporating a commitment statement such as “There shall be no

tolerance of behaviour below these values. We will report any such behaviour without
exception and appropriate disciplining measures will be taken thereon.”

 There is also the risk of blind reliance on the code without staff developing their own sense
of morality. This can be corrected by having regular open discussion and debates on case
studies on moral issues thus developing sound moral analysis and ethical decision making.

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  Staff might also feel overburdened by another list of dos and don‟ts. Educating employees
on the importance of the code is important as well as informing them that the code is only a
guideline which is subject to further reflection, interpretation and analysis. Staff will also be
made aware that a culture is being birthed and overtime it will be embedded in the
organisation such that people won‟t even view it as list of dos and don‟ts but as a way of life.

4.4 Assessment of the implementation process

 I have not yet developed a way to foster active participation of staff on a regular basis. All the
measures planned out above are management and the Ethics Department‟s initiatives (top-
down approach). I am thinking of implementing a weekly or fortnightly story in the form of a
newsletter emailed to all staff and posted on the noticeboards of our shops and workshops for
all levels of staff to see. It would be good to have a competition running in order to reward
those who not only read but respond to the question at the end of the story.
An example would be to encourage staff to supply the ethical story of the week and have a
question at the end it challenges other staff members to identify a practical application of the
story to Econet. Stories, ideally real life ones or famous meaningful sayings / quotations or
religious verses (for example bible verses to the extent that it does not offend other religions
represented by staff) can be sourced from the press or the internet. There should be a small
budget for prizes for such a competition. I believe this concept encourages all staff members
to be on the look-out for ethical dilemmas and contribute to enhancing the code and hence the
ethical environment of the company instead of it being The Department‟s responsibility
alone.

 The policy and procedure manuals of the organisation stipulate the step by step way in which
day to day work is executed. Before the inception of this exercise, Econet already had policy
and procedure manuals for all its major activities as a standard guide for all staff. My work
does not incorporate revision of these policies and procedures (as this is deemed to be outside
my mandate???).

However, I wish to propose that all departments be requested to review their policies and
procedures in order to change them to conform to the Code of Ethics that has been developed
from this work. One typical change I expect all departments to effect is demonstration of
ethical practices in their routines and how they will test all their decisions for compliance to

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 ethical practices. For instance, the Human Resources Department may adjust their
recruitment procedures to incorporate integrity tests to all potential employees, and ensure
acknowledgement of ethical standards as an important aspect of performance appraisal.

 In order for the ethical environment of the organisation to remain sound, the view of external
stakeholders regarding business operations must be considered on an on-going basis. I have
not yet devised a way to systematically obtain suppliers, customers‟ and other stakeholders‟
comments regarding our operations in the light of our above mentioned code of ethics. For
example, customers may feel that they are generally not being treated fairly. There is no tool
that encourages them to discreetly give feedback without being prejudiced, and for that
feedback to be used to meaningfully contribute to better practices.

I would recommend installation of electronic „Rate My Service‟ facility at all store-fronts that
both management and the Ethics Department should access. The Department should also
determine a way to obtain the views of suppliers. This serves as a way of policing whether
indeed staff are adhering to the code of ethics in their day to day work or not and when
corrective action is taken to enhance this it strengthens the value of the code.

5. CONCLUSION

The process of developing and implementing the Econet Code of Ethics is indeed educative and
empowering for both the responsible ethics team and staff in general. The core insights to be underscored
here include the fact that a code of ethics is an official and formal document whose effectiveness depends
on the conduciveness of the ethical environment of the organisation. This, in turn, implies that the code is
not a standalone piece of work, the code and the environment must be viewed together at all times. The
product of all the work here is the formulation of a living code, one subject to continuous refinement and
improvement, indeed a sum of written and unwritten rules of conduct as purported by Nyberg (2008)
cited in Messikomer, et al., (2010).

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6. LIST OF REFERENCES

Boudreaux, G. and Steiner, T. 2005. Developing a Code of Ethics, Management Quarterly, [online] 46
(1): 2-19. Available from: < http://0-
search.proquest.com.oasis.unisa.ac.za/docview/233582709?accountid=14648> [Accessed 25
February 2013]

Buchholtz, A.K. and Carroll, A.B. 2012. Business and Society: Ethics and Stakeholder Management. 8th
ed. Canada: South Western, Cengage Learning.

Jaspal, S. 25 July 2010. Establishing a Code of Business Ethics [Blog entry]. Available from:
<http://soniajaspal.wordpress.com/2010/07/25/establishing-a-code-of-business-ethics/>
[Accessed 28 April 2013]

Messikomer, C. and Cirka, C. 2010. Constructing a Code of Ethics: An Experiential Case of a National
Professional Organization, Journal Of Business Ethics, [online] 95(1): 55-71. Available from: <
http://0search.ebscohost.com.oasis.unisa.ac.za/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=52493011
&scope=site > [Accessed 22 April 2013]

Rudloff, R.W. 2010. Assess Your Organisation’s Code of Ethics [online]. Florida: The Institute of
Internal Auditors Inc. Available from: http://www.theiia.org/intAuditor/in-the-
industry/2010/gaming/assess-your-organizations-code-of-ethics/ [Accessed 28 April 2013]

Schwartz, M. 2001. The nature of the relationship between corporate codes of ethics and behaviour,
Journal of Business Ethics, [online] 32(3):247-262. Available from: < http://0-
search.proquest.com.oasis.unisa.ac.za/docview/198049874?accountid=14648> [Accessed 03
May 2013]

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