Business Ethics

Situation:

A segment of the Banking community involved with foreign exchange trading was unhappy about issues related to the ‘ethical’ behavior of some of members.

The Association of these professionals wanted a common understanding amongst all members on what were the Best Practices in their business.

Actions:

A qualitative and a quantitative analytical process were executed to consult opinions from Association members, regardless of seniority. New tools were designed to measure the most delicate of ethical issues.

The process to define the concerns and turn them into lifelike situations which in turn, were measured and evaluated by all was accomplished successfully.

Specific situations where there was the least knowledge of what was to be expected were identified. These issues were prioritized and grouped into themes where communication and regulation efforts could be focused.

Results:

Tensions were calmed as issues of concern were addressed. The community was alerted to the specific nature of the inappropriate actions occasionally occurring.

Management developed training guidelines for all new members. Companies involved standardized their codes of conduct. Now some of these Best Practices are taught in the world banking center in Ontario.

Unlike the breaches of trust in other countries, this Canadian banking community has proved over the time since the work that they are well self-governed and are practicing a high level of business ethics.