Quaker Service Australia (QSA) originated as a commitment in 1959. Its purpose was to relieve the people who were affected by war. Mostly, the volunteers were involved in running the operations. Today, QSA is recognized as a not-for-profit international agency for development and has several projects, partners, and people to its credit. The organization is concerned with the peace, equity, justice, and compassion of the world. It implements sustainable projects in the communities that experience a low quality of life.
Identification of Ethical Lapses
Quaker Service Australia is an organization that provides service and aid to the communities overseas. It comprises of ‘Quakers’ in Australia. Quakers refer to “the Religious Society of Friends”. It is a charity exempted of tax by the government. It organizes and directs the Quakers to achieve the goals. The organization focuses on providing people with sufficient skills that enable them to earn enough money to sustain their lives (Deasey, 2002). QSA is based in Sydney operating the central office that is governed by a Management Committee. There are other offices in different parts of Australia that work in coordination with the central office.
The organization is growing and expanding in its operations. However, certain ethical issues are arising in their workplaces, and they need to be addressed. The employees of the company demonstrate certain behaviours that suggest implementing a comprehensive program to reform their ethical practices. The survey reports have indicated that evaluation of the ethical standards is not taken seriously. It is generally believed that the employees of the company are mostly volunteers and they render their services for the noble cause of people's welfare around the globe. Therefore, the ethical behaviours are not judged with scrutiny. The management has little control over the activities of the employees.
The unethical behaviours demonstrated by the company employees are not substantial to a great extent. There are a few who involve in serious deviations of the ethical code. However, such behaviours and activities can cause other employees to get involved as well. Since the company is growing and more volunteers tend to be a part of it, the employees’ ethical code needs to be implemented rigorously.
The ethical lapses found in the analysis include various activities deviating from the code of conduct (Greenlee, Fischer, Gordon, & Keating, 2007). A few people indulge in alteration of documents and financial reports. A considerable number of employees have been observed in providing incorrect facts and figures to the public. Misreporting of the working hours is becoming a normal practice by more than twenty per cent of the workforce employed. The expected standard of courtesy is not followed by many people although they work for a human service organization. This profession demands integrity, dignity, and selflessness. However, plenty of evidence indicates people who give priority to their interests and ignore the cause of organization in case of conflict. The most prevailing unethical behaviour observed in the workplaces of the organization is misconduct. The employees behave unacceptably and show a non-professional attitude. Misconduct varies in degrees from minor wrong-doings to serious conflicts. Quaker Service Australia has to deal with this ubiquitous behaviour by reinforcing its regulatory code.
Broad Aims of the Project
The information acquired from the reports related to the ethical misbehaviours emerging in the organization suggests that the issue has to be the focal point of efforts made by the management. Planning a comprehensive, result-oriented project is essential for accomplishing complete reforms. This project would aim to uplift the ethical sense and responsibility of the company's employees. A department has to be dedicated to ensure the stated objectives of the project are achieved by following the company standards.
The project includes activities that will promote the ethical behaviours of the company. The project will target the conduct that intends to violate the organisation’s standards of ethics and give respective solutions. Necessary steps will be suggested to eliminate the chances of financial frauds, which are suspected to happen in the company’s workplaces. The management, who is still not active concerning the issue, can take many initiatives in revising and implementing the ethics standards. Training programs are needed to create an understanding of the importance of the issue, especially in the human service sector.
The aforementioned department of ethics establishment would be concerned about incorporating organizational ethics into the work-life of employees. Its efforts will affect the decision making by the employees at all levels. People at work will be expected to show ethical carefulness while they make decisions. The department shall focus on engaging all employees of the organization to observe the ethics code. These efforts are pivotal in reducing the misconduct of the employees and saving the grace of the charitable organizations.
The project is long-term and it comprises various periods, both short and long, to accomplish the tasks. The short-term aims include creating an ethical morality in employees from top to bottom of the hierarchy, reducing the unethical behaviours and misconduct, and establishment of a clear set of the ethics standards of the company. The long-term objectives of the project entail: incorporation of ethics in employees everyday work life, observation of ethics code by employees every time they make decisions, and enhancement of the organization’s goodwill.
The not-for-profit organization's culture is different from the business organizations. Business organizations are focused on generating profits. They hire employees to make money for them. On the contrary, the not-for-profit organizations work for relatively noble causes related to human welfare. They have employees that are supposed to rise above personal interests and dedicate themselves for the superior human values. Therefore, it is usually understood that they are aware of the demands of their work positions (Drucker, 2012). This assumption is the cause of weak implementation of the ethics code in the human service organizations. The project developed in this report will address the unethical behaviours observed in the organization and present a plan for successful implementation of the ethics code to enhance goodwill.
Program Logic Model
Project Name
“Implementation of New Ethics Code in Quakers Service Australia”
Program Objective:
To suggest activities that ensure the management uses sceptical decision making while considering the ethical issues of the organization, and mitigates the misconduct and unethical behaviours at workplaces.
Problem statement
The assumption that employees of human service organizations are morally better than those of the business organizations is the cause of the less effective implementation of ethics code in the organization, leading to emergence of unethical behaviours in workplaces.
Inputs
The management’s decision to focus on the ethics code revision, establishment and implementation.
Efforts made for the foundation of a dedicated department of ethics.
Efforts necessary for finding funds for the project.
Information gathered from the reports related to the research conducted on ethics in peer organizations.
Outputs: Activities
The establishment of a management committee to supervise the project.
Development of the ethics code that encompass all aspects of the ethical problem.
Recruiting staff for the ethics code implementation department.
Motivating the employees to learn and observe the ethics code.
Disseminating warning to the employees that disciplinary actions to be taken against the non-observers of ethics code.
Outputs: Participation
The management of the company to plan, run, and complete the project.
The newly recruited staff dedicated to the implementation of the project.
All employees of the organization from top to bottom of the hierarchy.
Specialist professionals or consultants to give advice on new ethics code development as well as its successful implementation.
Short-term outcomes
0-10 weeks
A dedicated department consisting of a management committee is in place.
Revision of ethics code of the organization starts.
Recruitment of required consultants, professionals, and lower staff continues.
Training sessions of the employees commence.
Resources for funding the project are identified.
Medium-term outcomes
The department of ethics builds a reputation and becomes effective to the full extent.
The ethics code has been established and implemented.
All the required staff for efficient working of the department has become active in their positions.
Employees know the new ethics code and the consequences of violating the principles therein.
The project gets the required funds from the resources approached.
Long-term outcomes
The company enjoys a good ethical reputation.
The management looks into every issue that is related to ethics and conduct sceptically.
The ethics code is being observed in decision making by all employees of the company.
The misconduct and unethical behaviours have reduced to a very little number.
Assumptions:
A human service organisation’s employees should not be considered to be better than those of a business organization as per their moral values.
The establishment of a dedicated ethics department will ensure successful implementation of the ethics code.
A revision of the ethics code will standardize the efforts made for reforming the unethical behaviours of employees.
Consultancy, professional workforce, and sufficient funds will ensure steady progress of the project.
External Factors:
Critiques who give their feedback on the company's efforts to deal with the unethical behaviours.
Resources for gathering information necessary for the project implementation.
Resources of funds needed to carry out the project.
The research companies who have information of the contemporary ethical lapses observed at workplaces.
The government and legislative authorities that will influence the company in the development and implementation of the ethics code.
Stakeholders to be considered for Project Implementation
Internal Stakeholders
The internal stakeholders of the company that should be considered for the successful implementation of the project include: the top management executives, the management executives appointed to lead the department of ethics, the middle managers (the section specialists) of the department, lower staff of the department, and all employees of the organization ranging from top-level to the bottom level.
The top executives of the company have been considered as the internal stakeholders because they would be the originators of this project. They understand the need, before the others, for revising the ethical standards to sceptically govern the unethical behaviours taking place within the organization. They will set the very basic strategy for the development and implementation of the project. They will establish the department of ethics that would be dedicated only for the well-planned implementation of the project.
The executives selected to head the department of ethics will plan, supervise, and evaluate the project implementation according to the strategy provided by the top management of the company. They will recruit the required managerial staff to work as the leaders in every function of the department. These managers will further recruit staff for all the lower positions of the department. These are the specialist professionals who manage separate sections. The lower staff interacts directly with the external as well as the internal stakeholders.
The employees, in general, of the company, are also the stakeholders of the company (Jones, 1997). They are the target of the project. The revision, establishment, and implementation of the ethics code will be carried out for their sake. The unethical behaviours and misconduct problems have arisen due to their negligence. They will be subjected to disciplinary actions in case of any violations of the code. The basic assumption of the program logic model developed for the project implementation is concerned with them. They are usually expected to behave more ethically than the other people. Since the reality is different, the need for new ethics code with no compromise on its observation is felt very strongly.
All the aforesaid stakeholders will be considered in developing the communication strategy for the implementation of the project. They will be assigned their respective roles. They will be subjected to follow the model presented in this proposal. All of them shall be liable to follow the outcome of the project. They have their role in the development of the plan, and they will share the consequences of the project success.
External Stakeholders
The stakeholders include the entities who will fund the project, the consultants whose expertise will be sought frequently, the public of the country, and to an extent the critiques who will give feedback. The project needs funds for compensation of the appointed staff, and to carry out the activities required. The organisation uses the donated funds as the main source of money needed. Therefore, the public of the country and the financing institutions will be approached to serve the purpose. The effective marketing campaigns for raising the funds can also be run, if needed. The critiques have an important role in keeping the project in the right direction.
The Project Team
The project team consists of the Department Head, the Project Managers, the Subject Experts, the Law Professionals, the Technical Staff, the Editors, the Marketing Professionals, the HR Executives, the Fund Raisers, and other clerical staff. All these will contribute to the implementation of the project.
The Department Head will supervise the activities of all the members of his team. He will be responsible for the positive or negative outcomes of the project. Any activity that is carried out in pursuit of the project objectives must be in the notice of the Head of Department.
The Project Managers will lead the work in the sub-projects related to the main projects. These subprojects will address the tasks needed for completion of the main project. The Project Managers will be responsible for their respective projects that include establishment of a dedicated department of ethics, development of new ethics code, compliance with law, dealing with the regulatory authorities, task of fund-raising, recruitment of staff, public relations, and others.
The Marketing Professionals will give their specialized services to assist their Project Manager in fund-raising. The recruitment professionals will assist their manager in finding and placing the finest staff for the positions. Other professional staff will also help their managers in completing their tasks.
The role of the Subject Experts, the Law Professionals, and the Editors is very crucial in the project implementation. These are the professionals who will give a new face to the ethics code. They will collectively work on the project and give out the required source of reference for the ethical evaluation. The Subject Experts are the professionals who will revise, amend, and update the code of ethics of the organization. The Law Professionals will check the updated version if it complies with the regulations. The Editors will review the document for correction of meanings, placement of useful words in the text, and efficacy of the language used for writing the code.
The Fund-Raisers will work for collecting the money needed. These individuals are directly involved in campaigns for fundraising activities. They can be marketers, volunteers, social workers, the company's employees at any level, or the company employees who have been hired for this specific purpose of fundraising. The clerical staff is needed for keeping the records, maintaining accounts, and information processing tasks.
Resource Implications
The salaries have to be managed by the department. For this purpose, the budget will be prepared. The staff recruited will be given salaries from the funds generated by this specific unit. This department has to be independent in the long run, even if it gets the necessary support from the company as well. The salaries to be offered should be competitive and attractive (Shields, et. al, 2015). The project is valuable, so should be the personnel working on it.
The salary of the Department Head would be from 150,000 Australian Dollars to 250,000 Dollars per annum. The Department Head will be given this salary because he is the most suitable and finest professional for this position. The salaries of the Project Managers will range from 90,000 to 145,000 Australian Dollars per annum. This range of salary is market competitive concerning their particular fields of expertise and relevant experiences. They are supposed to give the best of their knowledge, skills, and experience to the project. These professionals are responsible for the success or failure of their respective tasks.
The Specialized Professionals as discussed above will get salaries from 70,000 to 120,000 Australian Dollars per annum. They belong to different fields of expertise. They are the Ethics Code Developers, the Law Professionals, the Marketing Executives, the HR Managers, the Editors, and so on. These professionals will get their salaries competitive concerning the market offers. These experts are the main supporting agents behind the project. They will make the project a high profile project or a low profile one. Therefore, the company should make co compromise in selecting these professionals.
The Direct Costs of the projects also involve, other than the salaries of the staff, the costs incurred in the operations of the project. These operational costs include costs incurred in the development of the code, and the implementation of the code. There would be the Overhead costs as well. These costs include the expenses of rentals, utilities, transportation, etc. These costs would be assessed and applied at the real-time application of the project.
Timeline
The project will be planned to be completed in one year. The first three months are dedicated to establishment of the unit and other basic functions. The next three months are needed for proper activation of jobs as described in the above sections. These workings are necessary for the proper implementation of the project. All the employees once selected to work, they will make the project successful. The other six months comprise a period of proper working of the staff and the realization of goal. The code will have been developed by the end of this month. The employees of the organization will have received enough training.
Conclusion
The establishment of new ethical code is essential for the elimination of unethical behaviours from the company. People are in the habit of ignoring the principles of ethics in practical situations. The employees of NGO's are no exception. Therefore, the company has to make sceptical decision making in ethical issues. The successful implementation of project is possible by employing the suitable persons at work. The completion of project will ensure solution to the addressed problem.
Works Cited
Deasey, M. (2002). To do justly, and to love mercy: Learning from Quaker Service. Backhouse Lecture Committee.
Greenlee, J., Fischer, M., Gordon, T., & Keating, E. (2007). An investigation of fraud in nonprofit organizations: Occurrences and deterrents. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 36(4), 676-694.
Drucker, P. (2012). Managing the non-profit organization. Routledge.
Jones, D. (1997). Employees as stakeholders. Business Strategy Review, 8(2), 21-24.
Shields, J., Brown, M., Kaine, S., Dolle-Samuel, C., North-Samardzic, A., McLean, P., ... & Plimmer, G. (2015). Managing employee performance & reward: Concepts, practices, strategies. Cambridge University Press.
