ETHICAL AND CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITIES

Ethical and Corporate Social Responsibilities

Ethical and Corporate Social Responsibilities

Introduction

This paper will contain the evaluation of the ways in which AVIVA Groups fulfils its ethical and social obligations. Aviva is Europe's leading service provider of pension products and life insurance with significant positions in different markets around the world. It is ranked number six as an insurance group based on its gross profit worldwide. Their main services include fund management, general insurance and long-term management (Crane 2008, 76).

Ethical Code of Conduct

Aviva has very clearly stated its ethical and corporate social responsibilities in its profile. Their main ethical concerns include:

Providing complete information to customers about what products and services the company is providing.

Value your customers and look for different approaches with suppliers to mutually provide services to the customer.

Provide a discrimination free environment for the employees.

Provide a secure and safe environment to the employees.

Show complete intolerance to financial crimes.

Take strict actions against market abuse. Outsiders are not allowed to use any information which is not available publicly.

None of the employees are allowed to disclose any information that is not publicly announced.

Improper payment are not permitted in AVIVA.

Confidentiality should not be violated at any cost. Without having proper authority none of the employees are to make use of any confidential information.

Employees are supposed to be honest while recording any transaction carried on related to the organization (Kakabadse 2006, 9).

Corporate Social Repsonsibilities

The company has also focused on its corporate social responsibilities. The Corporate social responsibilities of the organization contain two major features:

Focuses on demonstration of management's high standards of business conduct, integrity and ethics.

It replaces the existing policies: human rights, standard code of conduct, diversity, community investment, sponsorship and CR.

Focusing on CSR awareness.

Unfortunately company has some issues concerning its corporate social responsibilities which, on the other hand can also affect its business code of conduct. Following are the challenges which AVIVA have to face: (Habisch 2005, 98)

• The management do not portray their commitment to integrity, high standards of business conduct, and ethics, which may result in unethical behavior by commercial or staff decisions-making being made with no regard to the group's reputation and corporate social responsibilty implications

• Staff is not sufficiently aware of the group's corporate social responsibilties standards and vision

• The group fails to create a culture at workplace that harnesses respects and celebrates differences. This may affect the group's ability to retain and recruit the best people, which in turn may be affecting the group's ability to fulfill its business goals

• The group fails to put CSR in the businesses e.g. by failing to keep a high level of CSR understanding among the local CSR nominated managers and regional CSR contacts across its worldwide businesses. This may adversely affect the group's ability to implement its CSR strategy

• The activities of business that does not fulfill the standards of CSR

• Employees are not informed of CSR activity and standards (Owen 1997, 65)

• Increase in the group's carbon dioxide emissions that compromise the group's global carbon neutrality ...