System of Inquiry Paper
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System of Inquiry
Introduction
The System of Inquiry paper will be based on the Code of Ethics for St. Paul Travelers Companies, Inc. The formal 16-page document demonstrates a consistent process throughout an organization that has offices throughout the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. The System of Inquiry paper will demonstrate the careful alignment of the document and the organization’s goal and mission statement. The basic framework of why, how, when and for whom the document pertains to will be developed throughout the paper. The St. Paul Travelers Companies, Inc. is the second largest underwriter of commercial property casualty and personal insurance in the United States; therefore, the organization has a responsibility to ensure that the employees within exemplify the highest levels of appropriate corporate behavior. Why
A system of inquiry or code of conduct serves as a comprehensive document that details the guidelines that are considered acceptable for an employee of the company. The employees who adhere to the policy contribute to the organization’s overall success; the tool is used to evaluate decision-making, problem solving, and behavior in a business setting. All the employees within the company is responsible for acknowledging receipt and comprehension of the company’s code of ethics via electronic signature and the document is available on the company’s website for reference throughout the year. Employees have multiple resources to assist with the decision-making process, the local human resources manager, email addresses, and contact numbers for the compliance offices and a toll free compliance hotline.
The St. Paul Travelers has over 53,000 employees in offices throughout the world; the most efficient method of administering the code of ethics is through an electronic format using the company’s secure Internet. The code of conduct is posted to the company’s website with a brief introduction to the document from the company’s Chief of Compliance Officer. A notification of the document and a link to the web page is sent via electronic mail to all the employees. An electronic signature is a mandatory acknowledgement of receipt and acceptance of the stipulations within the comprehensive document within 30 days of the notice received via electronic mail. The completion notice becomes an addition to the employees’ corporate file. If an employee does not return an electronic signature within the stated period, the employee’s immediate manager and the department manager is notified. If the employee does not act upon the request within 90 days, the employee receives a formal warning in accordance with the performance warning disciplinary standards assuming insubordination.
The reinforcement of the code of conduct takes form in a mandatory ethics tutorial once every quarter. The text, Managing Business Ethics, and other management texts suggest that a frequent lesson in ethics is the most efficient process to encourage ethical corporate behavior. The same method and process used for the annual code of conduct is also used to communicate and encourage the completion of the ethics tutorials.
When
The code of conduct should be used as a reference to evaluate corporate decision-making, problem-solving and behavior. If an employee requires assistance when evaluating a decision regarding a questionable corporate matter, the answer should be available immediately either by a printed, or electronic version of the code of conduct or through the human resources department. Questionable matters may arise around some topics; conflicts of interest, political activities and contributions, and antitrust compliance are a few of the topics that are covered in the code of conduct for the organization.
Whom
The system of inquiry is available to individuals are considered St. Paul Travelers employees. The code of conduct specifies the target audience:
This Code of Business Conduct and Ethics (this “Code of Conduct”) refers to the “Company” and “St. Paul Travelers” in certain sections. The “Company” and “St. Paul Travelers” should be interpreted as the individual subsidiary of The St. Paul Travelers Companies, Inc. for which you work, as well as the enterprise as a whole. “Management” and “executive management” refer to management levels within the Company and “Management Committee member” refers to a member of the executive management team (2006).
The code of conduct includes specific language defining each level of individuals in the company, employees, officers, and directors. The target audience for the organization’s code of conduct should have a working knowledge of ethics