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Restrictive standards in Telethon’s CEO may hinder the development of business in certain countries and cultures. For instance, Standard 2. N working condition may be difficult to achieve in underdeveloped countries where labor force is inexpensive. Standards 3. 6 on gifts and business courtesies, similarly, also can drive Telethon out of markets with business courtesy conventions. Under such circumstances, standards should be adjusted to ensure both legal and ethical business conduct and the best interest of company. Generalization Generalized and vague statements of obligation cause ambiguousness, which unsurprisingly led to the impression that codes of ethics are a rhetorical Public
Relation device manipulated by companies to pacify critics whilst maintaining business as usual. Standard for human rights, for example, declares that Telethon supports and respects conventions on human rights but fails to clarify what conventions refer to. Another example, Conduct 2. 3 states “does our utmost” but is vague and powerless under the question on how to define “utmost”. Besides, considering specific business conduct and conventions in various departments, CEO is merely general instructions that need interpretations and communications to members in each department.
Lack of follow-thorough For a CEO to be effective, follow-through tends to be more influential on employee behavior than the mere presence of a code. Although there are explicit rules to ensure the participation and discipline of employees, there is no follow through measure in the form of a clear and consistent assessment. Instead of requiring line managers to understand the CEO for better business decisions and creating and ethical atmosphere, standardized and quantified assessing criteria should be generated and communicated to employees to ensure follow through of the CEO.