Running head: GENERAL ORGANIZATIONAL POLICY 1
General Organizational Policy
Institution Affiliation
Date
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Abstract
Employment policies are vital in shaping organizational culture and promoting
professional conduct at the workplace. They are also tied with an organization’s image and
failure to provide comprehensive policies on vital subjects may attract public wrath and legal
consequences. This paper discusses four critical facets of a general employee policy handbook:
dress code, code of conduct, equal employment opportunities, and technology use.
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Introduction
The modern workplace environment presents many issues that the management has to
assess carefully and design appropriate mechanisms to address them. Policies are vital
instruments that shape organizational culture and outline the type of conduct expected of
employees. There are numerous aspects of organizational operations that require the enactment
of policies to promote order and safeguard employees’ rights and dignity in that environment.
Effective human resource management depends on the management’s capacity to develop
comprehensive guidelines for employees and other company associates to adhere to when
engaging in the company’s business or acting on its behalf. A detailed employee handbook is
essential in preempting damaging instances of ethical and legal violations that may muddy a
company’s reputation and even attract legal sanctions. This paper discusses some of the main
policy recommendations that could create a more conducive working environment and reflect an
organization's legal and ethical obligations from a policy perspective.
Dress Code
Image is an essential concern for any organization, whether for-profit or nonprofit.
Employees are the face of the entity because they interact with clients and business associates
and carry out different activities on the organization's behalf. Therefore, it is vital to ensure that
employees project the correct image through their mode of dressing. Any organization must
inform its employees on what it considers to be appropriate dressing for different situations.
Different situations call for official or casual wear, depending on the goal sought by the
organization. A dress code is an essential tool for fostering a positive organizational image
(Entsuah, Abraham, & Kyeremeh, 2018). First, it creates a semblance of order as it shows that an
entity is competent enough to plan its internal affairs and forge shared ideals on the dressing.
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Good dressing ensures that an organization casts an image of professionalism as clients and
business associates who interact with the company employees will pick up on the group's
commitment to dressing well.
A dress code is a fundamental mechanism of reinforcing a positive organizational culture
by outlining the boundaries between acceptable and unacceptable behavior. It allows employees
the freedom to choose their preferred styles within the confines of acceptable professional and
industry standards. Such a move creates uniformity in the workforce and helps the employees
look more organized. Furthermore, a comprehensive dress code promotes transparency because
everyone knows what is acceptable and the dressing that will be frowned upon. It entrenches
cleanliness and good grooming into the organization’s psyche and clearly sets out the top
leadership’s expectations on individuals’ appearance. For instance, flip flops, backless tops, yoga
pants, and short shorts are considered inappropriate in most workplaces as they cast an image of
unprofessionalism. In the same breath, a dressing code ensures that people are dressed for
purpose. This means that people may embrace business formal wear, business professional,
smart casual, or casual wear depending on the tasks ahead.
While a dressing code gives an organization a good outlook, the management must be
careful to ensure that their dress code policy does not violate moral and legal principles. Dressing
is one of the most basic expressions of one's identity, and as a result, different cultures and
religions prescribe different modes of dressing. One’s clothes may represent their ethnicity or
religious beliefs. The legal framework prohibits employers from discriminating against their
employees, and if not careful, directives concerning dressing modes may well interfere with the
employees’ rights. Therefore, the management and human resource department must ensure that
dress code policies do not violate the religious and cultural rights of their employees.
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Accommodations should be made for members whose faith or culture expects them to dress in a
particular manner (Atkins, 2019). As such, the organization will maintain a professional dressing
outlook that embraces its employees' diversity and creates no impression of discrimination. Even
more fundamentally, an employer should not single individuals out or place an unreasonable
burden on employees of one gender. The legal precedent for this position comes from Cloutier
vs. Costco. The court held that employers must respect their employees' religious expressions,
and any contrary action must demonstrate that the action would cause the employers an undue
hardship (Cloutier v. Costco Wholesale Corp., 2004). The only instance where an employer can
enforce a dress code without considering religious or cultural beliefs is on matters concerning
safety. For example, an employer is justified to require all employees to wear pants if they work
in a warehouse or a factory setting because such a move increases safety.
Code of Conduct
A code of conduct is vital in any work environment because it denotes the scope of
acceptable behavior in the workplace. An organization brings people from different backgrounds
together, and inevitably, these differences are bound to manifest in how these individuals
perceive issues. While diversity is a good thing in general, divergent perspectives on acceptable
or offensive behavior are bound to create unnecessary friction in the workplace. Such conflicts
arise because what one individual may perceive as relatively normal behavior may turn out to be
extremely unsettling and insensitive to others. Therefore, it is vital to align employees’ behaviors
to the organization's core values to promote cohesiveness and improve productivity.
A code of conduct outlines what types of behaviors are acceptable and what employees
are prohibited from doing within the workplace. It also provides the much-needed clarification to
help employees in self-evaluation and equips them with sufficient information to help them stay
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out of trouble. For example, such codes may indicate that employees are not allowed to carry
specific materials outside the work environment owing to their importance to organizational
operations or the sensitivity of the information they bring. Similarly, it sets the stage for
harmonious co-existence by prohibiting negative behaviors like workplace violence. It also
outlines procedures for launching complaints on various issues within the work environment and
the remedial actions that the company may take if an employee contravenes the code of conduct.
Another vital component of workplace conduct is sexual harassment, a term that denotes
unwelcome and inappropriate sexual conduct within the workplace. Given the power imbalances
in the workplace due to holding superior positions or having worked at a place for long, some
employees may humiliate or intimidate their colleagues into yielding sexual favors (Board,
2018). Such action is unethical as not only does it offend people's rights and dignity, but it also
affects the company’s image negatively and causes unnecessary friction at work that hinders
productivity. Sexual harassment is also a legal issue, and the different government levels have
legislated on the essence of having a sexual harassment policy in an organization. The United
States of America’s legislative framework on sexual harassment derives its force from the Civil
Rights Act of 1964 (Grossman, 2015). The Equal Employment Opportunities Commission
asserts that sexual harassment is unlawful conduct as it culminates in sex-based discrimination
(Shaw, Hegewisch, & Hess, 2018). Therefore, a company must enact sexual harassment policies
to provide internal mechanisms for redress to ensure that its employees are not discriminated
against and that the company avoids the legal problems that emanate from these horrendous acts
(Meritor Savings Bank, FSB v. Vinson, 1986). Therefore, such a policy will ensure victims have
recourse and that the perpetrators of sexual harassment shall be held accountable for their
actions.
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Equal Employment Opportunities
A vital aspect of a company's development is ensuring that all current and prospective
employees have equal opportunities to succeed in the workplace. The United States of America
is a cosmopolitan territory, and as a consequence, the workforce is bound to reflect this diversity
(Downey, van der Werff, Thomas, & Plaut, 2015). Globalization has also increased the pool of
workers from which organizations can recruit. It is essential to recognize that the most suitable
employees for an organization may have different characteristics. Consequently, an organization
must create a conducive environment that attracts the best employees from different backgrounds
because they are assured of being treated fairly.
Equal employment policies also shape current and prospective employees’ expectations
of their relationship with the company. First, it reinforces fair and objective recruitment practices
that not only benefit deserving candidates but also ensure that the company employs the best
workers available. It also sets out the criteria followed in promotion and guarantees that
deserving candidates shall not be denied an opportunity to advance up the corporate ladder. This
facet recognizes that career advancement is a motivation source for many employees. Creating a
positive organizational culture complete with fairness ensures that an organization can attract the
most skilled workers available despite their different characteristics and reduces employee
turnover because fewer employees will be dissatisfied with the organization (Barak, 2016). Equal
employment opportunities policies ensure that employees’ working conditions, wages, and
salaries are determined fairly without undue reference to irrelevant individual traits.
Equal employment opportunities are closely linked to the concept of discrimination in the
workplace. The Equal Employment and Opportunities Act provides eight main protected
characteristics that employers must be careful not to discriminate against their employees. These
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are race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, disability, and genetic information.
Additionally, states have enacted other laws to ensure that employees are protected on more
grounds, such as their marital status or credit information. The courts have held that employers'
criteria must be related to professional competency and should not border on individuals' gender,
racial, or other identity characteristics (Griggs v. Duke Power Co., 1971). Therefore, having an
elaborate policy on equal employment opportunities ensures that the company meets its moral
obligations and steers clear of legal trouble that emanates from such discrimination. A policy
enables an organization to dissociate itself from the actions of a rogue employee who disregards
standard policies to act fairly. It also sets the stage for the resolution of complaints and
improving the workplace environment for employees.
Technology Use
Technological advancement has radically shifted the modern employment environment.
The internet and gadgets like smartphones and computers have become essentials for
organizations and individual employees (Colbert, Yee, & George, 2016). Most workplaces have
become more digital and conduct most operations via such gadgets. In other instances,
organizations have provisions for working from home, and employees can use their gadgets to
log into the organization's system and complete their tasks from anywhere. While technology
injects a much-needed efficiency into organizational operations, it also elicits fears about
security, confidentiality, and productivity. Technology may have a disruptive effect on
organizational performance because it may present an avenue for time wastage (Fusi & Feeney,
2018). While such technologies may be convenient mechanisms for transmitting information,
they also expose employees to numerous distractions. For instance, employees may spend too
much time on social media at the expense of job duties (Charlier, Giumetti, Reeves, & Greco,
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2017). Therefore, acceptable technology use policies are vital in ensuring that employees adhere
to strict rules when using their organization’s software, network, and devices.
Acceptable technology use policies have become even more critical in recent years, given
the rising spate of cyber-attacks and data breaches perpetrated against different organizations. In
an age where e-commerce is gaining prominence and technology has become a vital cog in
organizations’ information management, data security and confidentiality cannot be understated.
A data breach may cause devastating consequences to a company’s operations, finances, and
public image. Furthermore, it may expose the organization to litigation in situations where such
breaches harm consumers. Technology use policies help an organization become more secure as
it educates its staff on things to do and avoid (Li, He, Xu, Ash, Anwar, & Yuan, 2019).
Furthermore, it creates a framework for detecting, reporting, and handling suspicious activities.
Conclusion
An employment policy is a fundamental document for any organization in the modern
business sphere. Such frameworks are vital in forging the desired organizational culture and
ensuring that each individual works in a conducive environment for self and professional
development. While there are numerous subjects that an organization can feature in its
employment policies, the paper highlights four main areas: dress code, workplace conduct, equal
employment opportunities, and acceptable technology use. These facets are instrumental in
ensuring that the workplace is favorable to all people despite their origins, religious beliefs,
sexuality, or gender. An employment policy advances professionalism by addressing the image
portrayed by an organization and ensuring compliance with industry ethical standards and legal
requirements. While capturing as many details as possible is essential, it is even more critical to
create a clear roadmap to implement it. Including and implementing guidelines on the four areas
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identified in this paper is essential in creating a more favorable environment for employees to
boost their satisfaction and raise their productivity levels.
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