Procedures for Ethical Behavior
Walmart has an official statement of ethics which is meant to be applied to not only the associates and directors employed by the organization but also third parties. These third parties include suppliers, consultants, public relations firms, contractors and all other third party companies who conduct business with Walmart in any fashion. Due to the fact that Walmart does conduct business in several countries the statement of ethics may be modified to coincide with the laws and customs of each country.
To conform to the statement of ethics written out by Walmart, associates expect to follow the laws written by their city, state, and country at all times. These employees are also responsible for not only reading the Guiding Principles but also understanding and using those principles every-day. Employees do not expect to memorize these policies; however they are expected to learn those that apply directly to their jobs. If an employee has a question or concern they should not be afraid to ask help from a manager or report any inappropriate conduct. If there was anything to happen and an investigation would take place with Walmart employees, the employees are expected to cooperate with and ensure the investigation remain private and come up front with any news that any employee’s may have.
Along with these requirements of employees, Walmart has additional responsibilities for managers to ensure the ethical behavior is conducted. If an ethical issue is brought to a manager’s attention, it is their job to report this to the
References: Keown, A. J., Martin, J. D., Petty, J. W., & Scott, D. F., Jr. (2005). Financial management: Principles and applications (10th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.