Analysis of Retail Food Group Business

Introduction

The main purpose of the assessment is to analyse the business of Retail Food Group which has the main operation of providing different food products to the customers. The company has made a name of itself in the market as one of the leading brands providing food and beverages to the people of Australia.The company provides quality food products and services to its customers and for such reasons the business has achieved growth in the operations of the company.(Rfg.com.au. 2019)

The assessment would be reflecting on appropriate code of conduct practices which would help the management of the company to maintain control and quality over the operational process of the business. Code of conduct refers to a guideline which is established by the management of a company in order to ensure that ethical standards are being followed and efficiency in the work operations is maintained. The code of conduct in this assessment would be designed for Retail food Group ltd and the same would be prepared considering the major factors which are applicable to the business in terms of ethics.

Code of Conduct

Code of Conduct is the practice which is followed by a business for ensuring that the employees are well behaved and manner in the workplace(Pearson, Seyfang and Jenkins 2013). The code of conduct needs to be followed by employees in the operation process of the business and in case of any breach of such conduct, disciplinary actions would be taken against the individual. The assessment considers the business of Retail food Group ltd and the policies of the business towards ethical and sustainable development of the business(Sethi 2016). The management of the company is dedicated towards promotion of sustainability and ensure that the needs of the customers are considered. The business has its own guideline for maintaining ethical standards in the business.

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The annual reports of the business show that the new chairmen of the company is trying to make amends for the past scandals and also wants to implement a strict code of conduct so that the operations of the business are in compliance with ethical standards of the business. It is to be noted that the primary focus of the business is to keep the bank and other stakeholders of the business satisfied with the operations of the business.(Shaw and Barry 2015)

The ethical code of conduct which is followed by the business would be including the following elements which are essential for the operational process of the business.

Discrimination

The business of Retail food Group ltd is dedicated towards maintaining harmony and good behaviour in the organization and every step is established. The work environment of the business ensures that no discrimination of any sort would be tolrated and it is also the policy of the business to provid  equal opportunity  to the employees of the business so that they are satisfied and motivated to perform well. The management of RFG ltd realizes that in order to retain top employees in the business, equality needs to be promoted and any act of discrimination needs to be punished (Cavico, Muffler and Mujtaba 2013). The workers of the business would not be engaging any kind of discrimination as the management aims to monitor such incidents and if found guilty than disciplinary actions would be taken against the employee who was engaged in such discrimination(Bell, Bryman and Harley 2018).

Some anti-discrimination policy decided by management are as follow:

• The management of the company considers the welfare of the employees and therefore has formulated appropriate strategies so that the employees are motivated in the business(Coll et al. 2013).
• In order to ensure that equality is maintained the management of Retail Food Group has introduced EEO and Anti-discrimination Policy and Workplace Bullying and Harassment Policy.
• The management also has appointed supervisors and also takes feedbacks from the employees whether they are facing any issues relating to workplace.

Exploitation

The welfare of the employees is the primary concern for the business and therefore incidents which involves exploitation of the employee is highly discouraged in the organization. One of the strict policies which has been introduced by the management of RFG ltd is related to any sort of harassment which is caused to the employee of the business. The employees are the life force of any business and therefore the management of the company pays proper considerations on the needs of the employees and also ensure that the employee of the business is successful.(Boda and Zsolnai 2016)The management of the company effectively recognises the threats of violence, assault, sexual harassment and have set appropriate disciplinary actions for such cases, worst case scenario being termination of the contract. The management of Retail food Group ltd would be responsible for the following aspects towards an employee of the business:

• The health and safety of the employee are the primary concern for the business and the management would be taking all steps for ensuring a safe and sustainable working environment is created for the business.
• The management of the company would be creating an efficient work environment so that the employees are motivated to work effectively in the business.
• The management of the company is dedicated to equality practices in a business and ensure that there is no discrimination or bullying of the employees. In addition to this, the management of the company also believes that employees should be included in decision making process of the business.

Corruption

The management of RFG are quite strict towards depletion of ethical standard  in a business and would be taking severe action against employees who are engaged in such misconduct. The company follows a model whereby the company can maintain integrity, honesty and accountability in its approach. It has one of the practice of the management to cross reference any major decision taken with several individuals such as the line manager, operational manager and even supervisors. (Kumar and Steinmann  2015)

This ensures that a participative environment is created whereby everyone follows ethical standards in the operational process of the business.(Stachowicz-Stanusch and Simha 2013)

The code of conduct in the business is formulated with a view to ensure that such misconducts are dealt with in appropriate manner(Ibietan 2013).The business has appointed supervisors for monitoring the operational process of the business and also for ensuring that ethical standards are followed when such activities are performed.

Dishonest and Fraudulent Behaviour

Any kind of misconduct in the operational process of the business have a severe impact on the overall integrity and accountability of the business. The RFG has formulated a code of conduct so that transparency and accountability can be maintained. The code of conduct is formulated so that a health and ethical working environment can be created for the welfare of the employees.(Hess and Cottrell Jr 2016)

The Company’s commitment towards maintenance of the standards is taken very seriously and therefore any breach of code of conduct would be meet with disciplinary actions.

One of the major breach which is recognised by the company is fraud which can affect to the business and also have an impact on the integrity of the business.(Slade and Prinsloo 2013)

In such a case, the disciplinary action which can be taken by the business is very strict and it can lead to termination of employment also with legal charges  for fraud. It is the practice of the business of RFG to provide a handbook to the employee relating to code of conduct which is followed in the business and this also states what activities can be taken by the employee and which are prohibited. In addition to this, the management also would be conducting a routine audit for identification of any suspicious activities in the operational process.

Therefore, the analysis shows that the RFG is dedicated towards ethical practices in a business.

Whistleblower Protections

The whistleblower are individual who report to the authority  regarding any breach of ethical code of conduct. A whistleblower may be an employee, manager or even staff member and they can report to the authorities regarding any malpracticesin the business.(Dixon 2016)

It is therefore important for the business to protect the interest of such individuals. Some of the steps are taken by the RFG for supporting the Whistleblower of the business are listed below in details:

• The management of the company assures the Whistleblowers that there name would not come up if they have reported against any breach of code of conduct(Armstrong and Francis 2015). This shows that the company  assures security to the individual.
• In case the top  executives of a business are involved in unethical conduct than the Whistleblowers would have the option to contact the independent directors in order to report breach of ethical standards in the business.
• The management of the company has opened has helpline number  which contacts directly to the senior manager so that the Whistleblowers can report to the management regarding any breach of ethical standards in the business while at the same time maintain his secrecy.

Therefore, the management of the company is dedicated towards appropriate protection of the whistle-blower and also provides assurance regarding the safety and securityof the employees of the business.

Enforcement

The code of conduct which is formulated by the management of the company are to ensure that THE EMPLOYEES of the business follows an ethical code of conduct in the operations of the business.(Fortin and Richardson 2013)

It is important for the management of the company to enforce the code of conduct in the business and the supervisors are to pay attention whether the practices are being followed or not in the operational process .(Lawrence and Weber 2014)

The implementation process of the code of conduct would be done by the senior management and proper control and supervision would be implemented so that every employee follows the ethical code of conduct. These practices would allow the management of the company to appropriately set up an environment which follows all relevant ethical standards in the business.

Conclusion

The above discussion shows the importance of code of conduct in the operational process of the business and how the same helps the management of the company to set up appropriate ethical practices in the business. It is to be noted that the code of conduct is considered to be an important part of the business policies as the same provides guidance to the employees regarding ethical code of conduct of a business. The above discussion provides an idea regarding the code of conduct of the business of Retail Food Group and what actions would be taken by the management of the company in case there is a breach in the ethical standards of the business.

Reference

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