Introduction
In light of the company’s rules and regulations, every employee is hereby required to adhere and obey the set guidelines that define the company’s way of operation. It is the decision of the board of directors and the company to adapt the following business conducts and ethics. Promote sincere and moral behavior, with fair dealing and the moral management of conflicts of interest. The company is committed to promote full, fair, accurate, appropriate, and explicable disclosure as well as compliance with relevant laws and legislative policies and regulations. The intention of the company is promote timely internal exposure of infringement of this Code.
The company will also guarantee the security of the Company’s genuine trade interests, as well as commercial prospects, property and classified information. In addition, the company will be committed to avert and deter wrong during within its operation frameworks. Employees are required to be familiar with the requirements of the Code of ethics and to act in obedience to these principles and procedures (McDonald, 2014).
The Company’s guiding principles in the Hilton Hotels Corporation Code of Conduct are different requirements. They apply to officers and workers of the Company and are not components of this Code (McDonald, 2014).
The company’s mission statement, vision, values, and guiding principles
Mission
The Hilton hotel has had at least three mission statements since its inception. The statement kept on changing as the company grew bigger. The original Mission statement was, “To create rewarding customer experiences that build long term loyalty to our Family of Brands, drive business to our hotels, and spread the warmth of Hilton hospitality worldwide” (McDonald, 2014 p. 2).
As the company’s presence increased around the globe, its statement needed to change to have a more business-oriented approach. This is what led to the creation of the second mission statement. It stated, “We provide business and leisure travelers with a choice of excellent hospitality products that offer good value for money, while assuring a good return to owners and shareholders and inspiration to employees” (McDonald, 2014 p. 2).
The most recent mission statement displays the company’s high status as renowned service provider in the hospitality industry. It states, “We will be the preeminent global hospitality company – the first choice of guests, team members, and owners alike” (McDonald, 2014 p. 3). Employees need to be involved in teambuilding activities to enhance good customer relations. The company knows how important it is for the employees to receive training in order to serve better.
This prompted the company to establish Hilton University where its employees shall be getting specialized training to enable them to perform their duties in a professional manner. This was the most impressive progress the company had seen in years. Through the university, a lot of growth has been seen and improvement in employee performance realized.
The Hilton University portal is online based and it is only accessible to the company’s employee (McDonald, 2014). The curriculum offers several programs, which are designed to enhance guests experience and keep all employees in good shape. The program also enhances operational competence as well as increase cooperation among other programs (McDonald, 2014).
Values
Hilton hotel’s values are uniquely composed in each letter of the name. H stands for hospitality, which represent its core business. I symbolize integrity, which ensures that workers are at all times involved in the right activities at the right time. L is for leadership signifying the company as the global leader in the hospitality industry. T on the hand stands for teamwork. The company’s policy emphasizes on teamwork where employees are expected to work together in harmony to advance the company’s goals.
Letter O stands for ownership, which means employees, are owners of their actions and they should always take responsibility for it. Lastly, the letter N simply means now and this is how the company operates. The company does its functions with a great sense of importance and elevated levels of moderation (McDonald, 2014).
Vision
Hilton hotel has an ambitious vision to “fill the earth with the light and warmth of hospitality” (McDonald, 2014 p. 4). The company seeks o be the best and globally competitive luxury hotel of choice. They offer opulence as exceptional as every visitor who uses their services. As the most modern-day opulence hotel, the company created a proud & well-known heritage with an enormously up to date approach. Primarily, Hilton is all about presenting inimitable experiences for keen travelers.
Distinctiveness sets them apart from its challengers. Hilton avails a platform for clients to relax and unwind their busy schedules hence creating an effect of a luxurious vacation (McDonald, 2014).
Objectives
The company has worked so hard to define the company’s brand to attract a global recognition. The company seeks to maintain a balanced score card while driving its business to greater and new heights. The company appreciates the importance of people to its operations.
They have one guiding principle, which says: “The Company’s guiding principle is the Golden Rule, and as such Four Seasons strives to have a long-lasting, positive influence on the communities where we operate and on the people we employ and serve around the world. We believe that this is integral to our success as a company. This commitment is expressed consistently in our actions, through three main areas of focus” (McDonald, 2014 p.3).
An ethical decision framework to assist employees in making choices
The Code of Business Conduct and Ethics of Hilton Hotels and each of its auxiliaries are relevant to all human resources, as well as officers and have to be stringently practiced. If this is not followed, the consequences are dire and may result in punitive action, up to and including termination of contract (McDonald, 2014). The Company is dedicated to the maximum values of ethics and trade behavior. The Company performs its trade as a good corporate national and meets the terms of all laws, policies, and conventions appropriate to it or the conduct of its trade.
This binder and set of behavior preside over our interaction with clientele, traders, investors, opponents, the neighborhood in which we function, and with everyone at all our administrative levels. The Code is an expression of our core principles and symbolizes a structure for decision-making (McDonald, 2014).
Therefore, workers are supposed to comprehend the Code and act in harmony amid it. The Code is not anticipated to cover each pertinent law, decree or directive or present response to all problems that might occur. Therefore, the company eventually relies on every worker’s excellent wisdom of what is right. This includes logic of at what time it is appropriate to seek direction from others with reverence to the suitable course of behavior.
Questions concerning codes discussed in this set of laws ought to be directed to the manager, human resources division, the Chief Legal Officer or the private Ethics Hotline (McDonald, 2014). Workers must support business choice and actions on the superlative importance of the Company. For that reason, Company’s guiding principles forbids conflicts of interest (McDonald, 2014).
A conflict of interest emerges when an employees’ personal distress get in the way or seem to hamper his performance to achieve the company’s goals. A variance state of affairs can occur when a member of staff or a member of his/her relatives takes measures that may make it hard to carry out his/her Company work impartially and efficiently (McDonald, 2014).
Conflicts of interest also occur when a member of staff, accept inappropriate individual reimbursement as a outcome of his/her influence in the business. Such conflicts of interest can undercut our company’s decision and our duty to the business therefore threatening the Company’s trade and status. Consequently, all noticeable, probable, and definite conflicts of interest ought to be carefully shunned.
Available resources for obtaining guidance and for good faith reporting of suspected misconduct.
One of the Company’s most important properties is information (McDonald, 2014). Employees ought to uphold the discretion of information delegate to them not just by the business, but also by contractors, clientele and others associated with company. Classified information comprises of all non-public information that, if revealed, may be destructive to the Company or other people associated to it.
Examples of classified information consist of trade clandestine new inventions or selling tactics, client lists, research and growth ideas, industrialized procedures, or attainment or divestiture projections (McDonald, 2014). Employees ought to take steps to preserve private information by keeping such information protected, restricting right to use of such information to the relevant parties.
Classified information may be release to others when revelation is certified by the business or have to be made pursuant to laws or regulations (McDonald, 2014). The responsibility to safeguard classified information is constant, even after termination of service (McDonald, 2014).
The Company’s victory depend on creating prolific associations with each other as well as third parties based on sincerity, veracity, moral conduct, and reciprocated reliance. Every Employee should make an effort to deal reasonably with each of our clientele, suppliers, competitors, and other Employees (McDonald, 2014). No Employee should take unjust advantage of anyone through exploitation, disguise, cruelty of privileged information, distortion of material facts, or any additional unfair-dealing practices (McDonald, 2014).
Responding to Improper conduct
This Code will be imposed on a consistent foundation for everybody, devoid of regard to an Employee’s position inside the Company. If an Employee infringes the Company’s Code, he/she will be subject to punitive action (McDonald, 2014). Administrator of a disciplined member of staff may also be subject to penalizing action for their failure to oversee appropriately an Employee’s behavior, or for reprisal against a member of staff who reports any infringement (McDonald, 2014).
The Company’s rejoinder to misbehavior will depend on an amount of issues including whether the indecent conduct involved unlawful demeanor. Punitive action might contain warnings and probations, deferral, relegation, relocation, diminution in salary or instant termination of service. Employees must be alert that certain actions and lapse forbidden by the Code might be offense that might lead to criminal suit and, upon conviction, to fines and incarceration (McDonald, 2014).
Supplementary policies and procedures
Compliance
It is the Company’s guiding principle to meet the terms with all relevant laws and legislative rules and regulations (McDonald, 2014). It is an individual duty of each director, officer, and employee to hold fast to the principles and limitations forced by those laws, rules, and regulations. This includes laws concerning bookkeeping and assessment matters (McDonald, 2014). It is an infringement of national securities laws for a member of staff to deal in securities based on material information that is not yet openly revealed (McDonald, 2014).
An employee, should not possesses or release nonpublic information concerning the business or its trade (McDonald, 2014). Material actuality concerning a business is one that a sensible shareholder would be expected to deem significant in making a choice.
Exposure and Responsibility
The business authorities are in charge of applying this Code to accurate situations (McDonald, 2014). The commission has the power to interpret this Code in careful circumstances. Employee who turns out to be aware of any existing or probable infringement of this Code is obligated to alert the General Counsel punctually. If an employee is aware of such a looming infringement and deliberately fails to report it is considered to have infringed this code as well.
Complex issues concerning the process of implementing this Code ought to be addressed to the GC (McDonald, 2014). Employee who is uncertain of whether a circumstance infringes this Code ought to confer the condition with the GC to avoid potential confusion and humiliation later (McDonald, 2014).
Acceptable and unacceptable behaviors
Confidentiality
The company emphasizes on confidentiality and discretion of information as mentioned earlier. This includes information that affects the clients, the company, or the employees. Stringent measures have been put in place and punitive actions are clearly defined for such gross infringement. Release of personal and confidential information can have adverse or damaging effects on the company’s credibility.
This can potentially reduced its rating as the global leader in hospitality hence losing its reputation. In business, reputation is one of the fundamental selling points. People love to be associated with reputable organizations therefore protecting the integrity of the company is one of the most important activity.
Fair Dealing and protection of company’s assets
The company has had a wonderful past of succeeding through sincere business rivalry. The company does not search for cutthroat advantages through illegitimate or unscrupulous business dealings. Each employee ought to attempt to deal fairly with the Company’s clientele, suppliers, rivals, and staff. All employees should defend the Company’s properties and guarantee their proficient use. All Company possessions should be used only for genuine business functions.
Sincere and Truthful Behavior
Employees are expected by the company to perform their duties in utmost sincerity and honesty. Honesty necessitate, amongst other things, being truthful and frank. Dishonesty and subordination of code are contradictory to honesty. Employee must act with honor, including being truthful and sincere while still upholding the discretion of information requisite or reliable to the Company’s policies. Employees should carefully examine both the structure and spirit of laws and legislative rules and regulations, accounting values and the Company’s guiding principle (Martin, 2013). They should also stick to a high set of business moral principles.
Enforcement and implementation mechanisms that address the notion of accountability and discipline for unethical behavior
Unethical behaviors are those practices that cause trouble for the business, its employees, the suppliers, the investors, and everyone associated with it. To ensure that employee follow the set guiding principles, there has to be repercussion for infringement of the code. Some of these punitive actions have been mentioned earlier. However, disciplinary actions can take many forms. Nonetheless, the bottom line for any punitive action is to help in averting the occurrence of unethical behavior.
This is a deliberate effort by the management to keep the staff members in line and in full cooperation. To enforce or implement mechanisms that enhance accountability requires bold and stern punitive measure. Financial fines can be imposed on any member of the staff found to have grossly contravened the code of conduct. Employees seek for salary increment as opposed to a salary deduction. If contravening a code of conduct attracts penalties that reduce the employee’s income, they will try their best to avoid such behaviors.
This is very effective in any organization regardless of how much money the employees earn. Another strategy of avoiding unethical behavior is through legal suit. Employees can cause damages to the companies that withholding their income or terminating their terms of service may not resolve. For instance, if an employee leaks crucial financial information that compromises the credibility of the business, terminating their terms of service is not enough.
With an employee whose intention is to compromise the credibility of the business, his intentions cannot be hampered by the threat of losing his job. To avoid such extremes, it is therefore imperative to file criminal charges to the particular individual. This punitive action will scare employees from doing things contrary to the code of conduct hence reducing the chances of code infringement.
Prioritizing Compliance Prevention
Resource limitations require vigilant prioritization of behavior. Presently though, there is a disparity flanked by apparent significance of compliance behavior and the precedence with which they should be assumed. Research has proven that compliance the most important act that employees can perform to enhance productivity (Martin, 2013). In the meantime, actual plan precedence includes enforcement of guidelines and measures, intermediary supervision, and conformity risk watch.
This inconsistency between apparent significance and current priority is reflected by compliance officers expressed partiality to assign more program time to anticipatory work such as preparation and risk management (Martin, 2013). Compliance officers are heavily investing in thoughtless projects instead of focusing on actions that are more appropriate to minimize bad performance (Martin, 2013). Compliance conduct is a sure way of improving performance and achieving the organization’s set goals and objectives
Using Compliance and Ethics Cooperation
Cooperation helps in overseeing compliance conduct across the company and can enhance relations that improve limited traditions. More than 50% of the companies that have been assessed are using cooperation compliance strategies to foster effective organizational culture. The efficient formation of liaison systems can significantly enlarge the reach and visibility of compliance all over the business.
Increasing Individual and Staff Productivity
This study shows that committing finances in compliance and ethics has superior and positive effects on program effectiveness (Martin, 2013). However, staff skills cannot be overlooked even if the compliance is very essential. Staff must acquire improved contemporary skills. This includes company unit collaborations, excellent communication, as well as project supervision (Martin, 2013). Leading compliance and ethics programs already spend a lot in increasing the skills and competence of their staff through proper guidance syllabuses.
To increase staff productivity is the most fruitful strategy in creating an ethical workforce. Proper performance management systems must be assimilated in the company for maximum productivity. Employees will deliver as much as they know and motivated to deliver. Therefore, it is not enough to take employees through a training program to enhance their knowledge.
Having the knowledge is very progressive. However, being in a position to use the knowledge and have the willingness to do so is quite a different thing altogether. Therefore, even after training the workers, it is important to come up with incentives and motivational plans to ignite their willingness to work. A motivated worker will deliver more efficiently and training will therefore come in handy as the knowledge to perform is already assimilated.
Therefore, this research finds out that employees’ management is very fundamental in enhancing productivity. This also improves the personal drive. Employees will be self-driven when it come to working if they are well remunerated. Self-discipline will cause them to follow the code of conduct as stipulated in the company’s policies. This will enhance good relationship not only among the workers but also to the outsiders. Good relationships between all stakeholders in a business are vital for the progress and growth of its operations in general.
Poster
References
Martin, A. (2013). Four Traits of Leading Compliance and Ethics Programs. Web.
McDonald, A. (2014). Hilton Hotels Corporation. Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, 1(1), 1-5. Web.