Duties of an Employee in Organisation

The Corporation is dedicated to four purposes: to manage the institutions owned for the benefit of the shareholders, to provide its customers and the public with superior financial services, to conduct its affairs in a sound and profitable manner, and to contribute to the continuing growth and well being of its communities.

Every employee is expected to maintain the honesty, integrity and impartiality in his work. The main moral duty of the employee’s is to work towards the goal of the firm and avoid those activities that might harm those goals.

For example, the finance minister is entrusted with funds and his responsibility of managing those funds in a way that will minimize the risk while ensuring a suitable rate of return for the company’s shareholders. Financial managers have this contractual duty to the firm and its investors because they have given him responsibility to provide the firm with their best judgement and to exercise their authority only in the pursuit of the goal of the firm and not for their own personal benefits. Financial manager fails in contractual duty to the firm when they misappropriate funds, when they waste or squander funds, when they are negligent or fraudulent in the preparation of financial statements, when they issue false or misleading reports, and so on.

It is very important for every employee to understand his duties and responsibilities towards firms and his acts should be for betterment of firm and not for his personal interest. Employees duties to firm are depicted into “Law of agency”- that is, the law specifies the legal duties of “agents” (Example: employees) towards their “principals” (Example: employees). Example. section 385 of the law “an agent is subject to a duty to his principal to act solely for the benefit of the principal in all matters connected with his agency”.

According the “Law of agency”- There are certain duties an agents owes for his principal:

Duty to undertake the task or tasks specified by the terms of the agency (that is, the agent

must not do things that he has not been authorised by the principal to do);

A duty to discharge his duties with care and due diligence; and

A duty to avoid conflict of interest between the interests of the principal and his own (that

is, the agent cannot engage in conduct where stands to gain a benefit for himself to the

detriment of the principal).

There are several ways in which the employee might fails to live up to the duty to pursue the

goal of the firm: The employee might act on a “conflict of interest”, the employee might steel

from the firm, or the employee might use the position as leverage to force illicit benefits out of

others through extortion or commercial bribery.

1) Conflicts of interest:

Employees owe loyalty to the Corporation. There can be no self-dealing or self-interest in any

transaction. Conflicts of interest occur when an individual or organization is involved in multiple

interests, one of which could possibly corrupt the motivation for an act in the other. Conflicts of

interest occur when employees in a certain job have an interest that might motivate them to do

that job in a way that may not be in the best interests of the firm.

For E.g. an official of a corporation is involved in Conflicts of interest if he holds stock in one of

the companies submitting bids for construction of contract he oversees. His interest in seeing

the value of the stock improve may tempt him to give the contract to the construction company

in which he hold stock, although it may not offer the best terms to the corporation for which he

works.

Conflicts of interest classified as follows:

1) Objective conflicts of interest: Conflicts of interest that are based on financial relationships.

In which an official who controls an organization causes it to enter into a transaction with

the official, or with another organization that benefits the official. The official is on both

sides of the "deal."

2) Subjective conflicts of interest: Conflicts of interest that are based on emotional ties or on

relationships. In which a spouse, child, or other close relative is employed (or applies for

employment) or where goods or services are purchased from such a relative or a firm

controlled by a relative. For this reason, many employment applications ask if one is related

to a current employee. If this is the case, the relative could then recues from any hiring

decisions. Abuse of this type of conflict of interest is called nepotism.

3) Outside employment, in which the interests of one job contradict another.

4) Potential Conflicts of interest: Occurs when an employee has an interest that could

influence the judgements made for employer if employee were performing a certain task for

the employer bun not yet been given that task to perform.

5) Actual Conflicts of interest: When an employee has an interest that might influence the

judgements she makes for the employer when performing a certain task for the employer an

d has actually been given that task to perform.

How to Avoid Conflicts of interest:

Conflicts of interest can be avoided by eliminating 3 conditions a) employee is engaged in

carrying out a certain task on behalf of the company and b) the employee has an interest in the

outcome of that task and c) the interest does or reasonably might affect the independent

judgement the employee is obligated to exercise on the company’s behalf in performing that

task. For example, that I have a Conflicts of interest I own one of companies that submits bids for

construction contract and I am the one who choose which company will get the contract. Then I

will eliminate the Conflicts of interest in one of the three ways:

1) I can get out of performing the task that creates the Conflicts of interest, in this case

choosing who gets the contract. That is I can ask my boss to recuse me from the task of

choosing who gets the contract or I can recuse myself.

2) I can eliminate the interest I have in the outcome of the task, in this case my ownership of

one of the companies that is submitting bids. That is I can sell or otherwise get rid of the

ownership in the company.

3) I can make sure that the interest I have cannot affect the obligation I have to exercise

independent judgement on behalf of my employer. For Example. I can leave my employer

and then I no longer have an obligation to serve him.

2) Commercial Bribes and Extortion:

Bribery, a form of corruption, is an act implying money or gift given that alters the behaviour of

the recipient. The bribe is the gift bestowed to influence the recipient's conduct. It may be

any money, good, right in action, property, preferment, privilege, emolument, object of value,

advantage, or merely a promise or undertaking to induce or influence the action, vote, or

influence of a person in an official or public capacity.

For Example: A purchasing agent is accepting bribe when accepting money from supplier who

gives it to receive favoured treatment in the agent’s purchasing decision.

Commercial Extortion: Occurs when an employee demands a consideration from person outside

the firm as a condition of dealing favourably with those people when the employee transacts

business for the firm.

3) Gifts

Officers, employees and their families may not solicit or accept gifts, fees, bequests, services or

entertainment from customers, suppliers, or prospective customers. A gift is regarded as any

type of gratuity, favour, loan, legacy, fee, compensation, or anything of monetary value. All such

gifts are prohibited except:

(1) Business entertainment and other courtesies such as meals, sporting events, and the like,

which involve no more than ordinary amenities and can be properly reciprocated by the

employee and charged as a business expense. Lavish or extravagant entertainment, such as

weekend trips, etc., should not be accepted unless reimbursement is made to the donor.

(2) Customer or supplier paid travel or lodging where the trip has a legitimate business purpose,

and where any such trips are approved in advance by the President.

(3) Unsolicited advertising or promotional materials that are generally available.

(4) Gifts received because of kinship, marriage, or social relationships and not because of any

business relationship

4) Employee Theft and Computers:

All employees, officers, and directors should protect Corporation property and assets and ensure

their efficient and proper use. Theft, carelessness and waste can directly impact the

Corporation’s profitability, reputation and success. Permitting the Corporation’s property

(including data transmitted or stored electronically and computer resources) to be damaged, lost

or used in an unauthorized manner is strictly prohibited. Employees, officers and directors may

not use corporate, bank or other official stationary for personal purposes.

Employee theft is often pretty; involve the theft of small tools, office supplies or clothing. At the

managerial level, petty theft sometimes occurs through the manipulation or padding of expense

accounts, although the amount involved are sometimes substantial.

White Collar Crime: Generic phrase for any unlawful, nonviolent conduct committed by

business and government professionals (“white collar workers”) involving fraud, theft or

other violations of trust committed in the course of one’s employment.

Examples of white collar crime include embezzlement, price-fixing, insider trading and stock

manipulation, antitrust violations, tax evasion, commercial bribery, racketeering, false

advertising, manipulation of business records for financial gain and other dishonest business

schemes.

Computer Theft: Employees in offices are provided with important information about

company and they have access to this information through computer. It is unethical to use

or copy such information gathered in computer bank by company.

Therefore misuse of the Corporation’s property (including data transmitted or stored

electronically and computer resources) to be damaged, lost or used in an unauthorized

manner is strictly prohibited.

Employees, officers and directors may not use corporate, bank or other official stationary for

personal purposes.

5) Trade Secrets:

A trade secret is a formula, practice, process, design, instrument, pattern, or compilation of

information which is not generally known or reasonably ascertainable, by which a business can

obtain an economic advantage over competitors or customers. In some jurisdictions, such

secrets are referred to as "confidential information" or "classified information".

“Proprietors information” or “Trade Secrets” (a)consists of non-public information that concerns a company’s own activities, technology, future plans, policies or records and that if known by competitors would materially affect the company’s ability to compute commercially against those competitors would materially affect the company’s ability to compete against the competitors, (b) is owned by the company because it was developed by the company for its private use which is purchased from its own funds.

Some of the companies have tried to avoid problem of trade secrets by having employee sign contracts agreeing not to work for competitors for 1or2 years after leaving the organisation.

6) Insider Trading:

Insider trading is the trading of a corporation's stock or other securities (Example. bonds or stock

options) by individuals with potential access to non-public information about the company. In

most countries, trading by corporate insiders such as officers, key employees, directors, and

large shareholders may be legal, if this trading is done in a way that does not take advantage of

non-public information. However, the term is frequently used to refer to a practice in which an

insider or a related party trades based on material non-public information obtained during the

performance of the insider's duties at the corporation, or otherwise in breach of a fiduciary or

other relationship of trust and confidence or where the non-public information was

misappropriated from the company.

Insider trading is illegal. During the past decade, a large number of stockbrokers, bankers, and

managers have been prosecuted for insider trading.

Insider trading is also unethical- nor merely because it is illegal but because it is claimed the

person who trade on insider information in effect “steals” information and thereby gains unfair

trade advantage over member of general public.

Employee Rights

All employees have basic rights in the workplace -- including the right to privacy, fair

compensation, and freedom from discrimination. A job applicant also has certain rights even

prior to being hired as an employee.

Those rights include the right to be free from discrimination based on age, gender, race, national

origin, or religion during the hiring process. For example, a prospective employer cannot ask a

job applicant certain family-related questions during the hiring process.

In most states, employees have a right to privacy in the workplace. This right to privacy applies

to the employee's personal possessions, including handbags or briefcases, storage lockers

accessible only by the employee, and private mail addressed only to employee.

Employees may also have a right to privacy in their telephone conversations or voicemail

messages. However, employees have very limited rights to privacy in their e-mail messages and

Internet usage while using the employer's computer system.

There are certain pieces of information that an employer may not seek out concerning a

potential job applicant or employee. An employer may not conduct a credit or background check

of an employee or prospective employee unless the employer notifies the individual in writing

and receives permission to do so.

Some important Employee rights are explained below:

1) Right to Privacy:

It can be defined as the right people have to determine what, to whom, and how much

information about themselves shall be disclosed to other.

There are two types of privacy; psychological privacy, which is privacy regarding one’s inner

thoughts, plans, beliefs, values, feeling and wants and physical privacy, which is privacy with

respect to one’s physical activities, particularly those that reveals one’s inner life an d those

involve physical or functions that are culturally recognized as private.

Three elements must be considered when collecting information that may threaten the

employee’s right to privacy: relevance, consent, and method.

Relevance: The employer must limit inquiry into the employee’s affairs to those areas that are

directly relevant to the issue at hand.

Consent: Employee must be given the opportunity to give or withhold their consent before the

private aspects of their lives are investigated.

Methods: The employer must distinguish between methods of investigation that are both

ordinary and reasonable, as well as methods that are neither. Ordinary methods include the

supervisory activities that are normally used to oversee employee’s work. Extraordinary

methods include device like hidden microphones, secrete camera spies etc. Extraordinary are

required if the circumstances are extraordinary.

2) Freedom of Conscience:

It is the freedom of an individual to hold or consider a fact, viewpoint, or thought, independent

of others' viewpoints.

Employees with a sense of moral responsibility who find that their company is injuring society in

some way will normally feel an obligation to get the company to stop its harmful activities and

consequently will often bring the matter to their superiors. If internal management refuses to do

anything about the matter, the employee has legal option to matter to government agencies.

3) Whistleblowing:

Whistleblowing is an attempt by a member or former member of an organisation to disclose

wrongdoing or by the organisation.

Example: A whistle blower once testified in a California court about how his boss had regularly

ordered him to discard some of the company’s toxic waste into a local storm drain rather than

dispose of it properly. Why, the judge wanted to know, had the man finally decided to step

forward after having participated in this illegal dumping for years. “Well,” the man explained, “I

was fishing with my grandson, and it suddenly occurred to me that the waste I was dumping was

going to pollute the water so that he might never be able to go fishing with his grandson.”

Whistle blowing has to do with ethics because it represents a person’s understanding, at a deep

level, that an action his or her organization is taking is harmful—that it interferes with people’s

rights or is unfair or detracts from the common good.

Whistle blowing also calls upon the virtues, especially courage, as standing up for principles can

be a punishing experience. Even though laws are supposed to protect whistle blowers from

retaliation, people who feel threatened by the revelations can ostracize the whistle blower,

marginalizing or even forcing him or her out of public office.

On the other hand, there have been occasions when the role of whistle blower has actually

catapulted people into higher office and has earned the respect of constituents. Other important employee rights include:

Right to be free from discrimination and harassment of all types;

Right to a safe workplace free of dangerous conditions, toxic substances, and other potential

safety hazards;

Right to be free from retaliation for filing a claim or complaint against an employer (these are

sometimes called "whistleblower" rights);

Right to fair wages for work performed.