Download Case Analysis on Accenture's Code of Business Ethics

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Case Analysis on
Accenture’s Code of Business Ethics
Gretchen P. Montoya, ECE
Ateneo de Davao University
BA 932: Business Ethics, Corporate Social Responsibility and Good Governance
Oliver G. Victoriano, DBA
July 1, 2021
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Case Analysis on Accenture’s Code of Business Ethics
I.
Executive Summary
Over the years, the ethical issue can be an unforeseen event and considered one of the
challenges a business is bound to face. Despite having existing laws and policies to guide
employees within the company, these alone cannot dictate and deter employees from being
unethical. Ethical employees can differentiate right from wrong, consistently go over what is
right, and always apply good ethical conduct to co-employees and clients (Barr, 2020). To
alleviate these arising ethical issues, Accenture opts to revisit its existing Code of Business
Ethics. Accenture is a leading company that provides various professional technology services
from strategy management to consultation in digital technology and operations. With its global
workforce of over 500,000 across 120 countries working remotely to more than 40 industries,
the company wants to specialize in the employee's skills and reinforce their core values in
handling various clients (Jones, 2021). Code of Business Ethics of the company is evident with a
lengthy and comprehensive document. Despite having this, leaders of the company think there
is in dire need to revise the code. They aim to revamp the existing Code of Business Ethics that
would empower employees to create sound decisions, innovate solutions, make good ethical
behavior, and impose best practices towards their clients, stakeholders, and partners.
Furthermore, with the advent of digital technology, the Ethics and Compliance committee
reinvented the code from a mere document to a mobile tool that is interactive and user friendly
that aids its global workforce act responsibly and with integrity (Knowledge, 2019).
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II.
Problem Statement
General:
Unethical decisions and business practices may cause harm to other employees, clients,
and stakeholders. In addition, outdated policies and programs of the company concerning
business ethics may draw uncertainties during decision-making. Anent to this, Accenture’s
Ethics and Compliance committee realized that the existing policies and programs of the
company are outdated and did not keep pace with the constantly changing nature of the
business and the technology. With the problems presented, it behooves the leaders of
Accenture to revisit the existing Code of Business Ethics to provide a revised code that is more
coherent, user friendly, and accessible.
Specific:
Internal and external issues rose upon revisiting the existing Code of Business Ethics of
Accenture. Leaders of the company had undergone challenges and difficulties as they review
the code. With the following problems identified below, a revamp of the current code of
business ethics is essential.
a. Existing regulations and business ethics policies do not comply with the new
processes.
b. The current code of business ethics was too comprehensive and time-consuming
to review.
c. The current code is a lengthy document and may cause ambiguity to the
employees of different generations.
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III.
Objectives of the Study
General:
This study aims to revamp the existing Code of Business Ethics of Accenture that would
govern and empower the global workforce to help improve the business’ services and
reputation by making sound decisions, innovating solutions, and cultivating good values and
principles toward the clients, stakeholders, and partners.
Specific:
This study specifically aims to:
a. Revise the code to focus its contents on the new compliance processes to guide
employees when faced with challenging scenarios while also serving public
commitments among external clients.
b. Revise the code to organize more intuitive issues and topics to help employees find
answers more quickly.
c. Revise the code to make it interactive, user-friendly, and easily accessed, even with
mobile devices.
IV.
Situational Analysis (SWOT)
Strengths – Opportunities Strategic Options
Weaknesses-Opportunities Strategic Options
(Offensive and Proactive Actions)
(Defensive and Proactive Actions)
a. Utilize the capabilities and skills of the
a. Integrate language translation in
leading workforce to revise the code
revamping the existing code to ensure
that will guide the employees in
better understanding across the global
dealing with business ethics dilemmas
workforce.
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while serving public commitment for
b. Invest in the learning and development
external clients and stakeholders.
of the workforce to cope with the fast
b. Use its presence on the internet and
evolution of technology and transform
other social media platforms in
the conventional documents into a
creating and promoting the company’s
state-of-the-art application.
business ethics to gain clients.
Strengths – Threats Strategic Options
Weaknesses – Threats Strategic Options
(Offensive and Reactive Actions)
(Defensive and Reactive Actions)
a. Use its vast delivery network to reach
a. Offer new ideas and services to the
out to clients and other stakeholders
clients to gain a competitive advantage
as part of the analysis in revising the
that helps further improvements of the
code.
company.
b. Utilize the highly-trained and
b. Invest in new technologies to keep at
diversified workforce to keep up with
par with the evolving technology of
the fast-changing technology as far as
society.
developing an application or tool is
concerned.
V.
Strategic Alternatives
1. Formulate a new code reducing the contents of the existing code to make it more
understandable and specific that would still serve its purpose on guiding employees
in handling business ethics dilemmas.
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2. Roll out the code from the top management down to the rank and file employees.
Leaders from the ethics and compliance committee can convene to regularly
monitor and evaluate how these codes are being used in reality.
3. Develop a system or application that will specifically answer questions and concerns
of the employee efficiently and quickly. For example, a system with its content
narrowed down to different topics to help employees’ navigation efficiently and
effectively.
VI.
Analysis and Conclusion
Formulation and implementation of an effective code of business ethics are essential.
Companies can employ various strategies to attain the company's objectives, specifically in
dealing with business ethics.
The existing format of the code was described as a long and comprehensive document
that presents information in its broadest sense. It may be hard for new employees to deal with
such documents and have a hard time searching for the information they need.
As such, it is suggested to formulate a new code reducing the contents of the existing
code to make it more understandable and specific that would still serve its purpose in guiding
employees in handling business ethics dilemmas.
Another strategic alternative course is rolling out the code from the top management
down to the rank and file employees. It is but proper that all employees across the board are
well-oriented with the policies and principles of the company. Consequently, management from
the ethics and compliance committee can convene to regularly monitor employees if they are
abiding by the guidelines and regulations of the company. Also, management should evaluate
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how these codes are being used to achieve the company's goals while serving customer
satisfaction.
Often, it would be time-consuming and challenging to read the entire document only to
look for a particular topic, especially for newcomers. With this mindset, the company should
develop a system that would focus on the specific steps that an employee should take in
resolving different business ethics dilemmas. An approach to be developed should be
interactive, user-friendly, and more accessible to various company generations. It should
answer the questions and concerns of the employee quickly and more efficiently. Furthermore,
it should be organized with its content narrowed down to different topics to help employees'
navigation efficiently and effectively.
VII.
Recommendation to Management
With the above analysis, the last strategic alternative course action is therefore
recommended. It suggests developing a system that is organized, understandable, and is easy
to use and navigate. It should be designed to purposely guide the employees on how to handle
difficult situations accordingly. The system's content should be coherent and answers explicitly
all the queries and issues that the users will ask. Furthermore, it should be interactive and
intuitive. It should include facts, resources, policies and programs, scenarios depicting ethical
dilemmas, events, and more. In essence, it should be referred to as a tool to help employees
better understand the company's moral position and standards and use it in their daily
decision-making. Apart from that, since it is a system with a database, the company leaders
should consider all the issues and questions being asked by the employees to improve its
business ethics further.
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References
Jones, S. (2021). Accenture Fact Sheet Q3 FY21 | Accenture. Accenture.
Barr, E. (2020, October 29). 6 Ethical Issues in Business and What to Do About Them.
SpriggHR. https://sprigghr.com/blog/hr-professionals/6-ethical-issues-in-businessand-what-to-do-about-them/
Knowledge, H. W. (2019, May 24). Can Ethics Bots Help Companies Forge Useful Codes of
Conduct? Forbes.https://www.forbes.com/sites/hbsworkingknowledge/2019/05/24/
can-ethics-bots-help-companies-forge-useful-codes-of-conduct/?sh=2f1e81d413d5