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tanishka00
Hi,
can anybody help me in getting a presentation on ethics at work place
which should contain the following :
i.e., ethics at work place or
business ethics at work place
what is the role of HR in ethics at work place.
regards,
saroj

From India, Delhi
sajukurian
Hi I am a consultant in the field of business ethics, vision and values and CSR. I also teach business ethics partr time. Pl get in touch Saju Kurian 9845153430 Saju Kurian
From India, Bangalore
svsrana
41

check out the code of ethics meant for professional managers from All India Management Association, shud be avl on their website.
in a similiar vein various professional bodies have their code of ethics eg Instt of engrs, Pest control association of India, American society of heating refrigeration n airconditioning etc...
if you want to set one for your company, read "Global Reporting Initiative" or Social Accountability SA 8000 .....
ethics cant be forced rather they are a snapshot of ur organsiation's culture.... delve deep into the culture n find out the prevalent values..
next take steps to weed ut undesirable n strengthen the required ones...
remember value is not a set of staements mounted on a board in the reception area...
feel free to ask implementation difficulties
surya

From India, Delhi
svsrana
41

am encl the ethics of my former workplace...

This is just an indicator to show how how much we care for your employees, cutsomers n like....

surya vrat

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

BT’s code of practice

for sales and marketing

The purpose of our code of practice

1 Ofcom is the regulator for the telecommunications

(or ‘phone’ as we will say here) industry.

2 Ofcom has told companies who provide phone services

(‘phone companies’) to produce a code of practice (which we

will call a ‘code’). The code will apply to phone companies

who sell and market phone services to residential customers

(also called consumers) or small businesses (defined by

Ofcom as a business employing 10 or fewer employees).

We, BT, are one of these phone companies.

3 Phone companies must produce a code to cover situations

where a customer transfers their phone call service or phone

line service (or both) from one phone company to another.

An example is a transfer to or from us to another phone

company.

4 The transfer in question must be for the customer’s ordinary

fixed phone line, which is sometimes called a ‘narrowband’

or ‘dial-up’ line. This does not apply to transfers for mobile,

cable or ‘broadband’ lines. Broadband is a high-speed

connection to the internet through your phone line. With

broadband, you can use your phone and internet at the

same time. You cannot use your phone and internet at the

same time with a narrowband line.

5 All phone companies, including us, who supply these calls

or lines must have their code in place, and keep to it, by 26

May 2005. Each code must reflect certain guidelines set by

Ofcom (‘Ofcom’s guidelines’). However, phone companies

can adopt other standards of behaviour on top of those set

out by Ofcom. This is what we have done in our code.

6 Ofcom has the power to take action against a phone

company to enforce the code in cases where:

• a phone company has no code in place;

• a code does not properly reflect Ofcom’s guidelines; or

• a phone company fails to keep to those parts of its code

that reflect Ofcom’s guidelines.

Ultimately, Ofcom may fine the phone company concerned.

7 This is our code.

8 Our code sets out the standards of behaviour that we, our

employees and other people acting on our behalf (called

‘salespeople’ here) will keep to in marketing and selling

our phone services to our residential and small-business

customers. This code applies to transferring customers’

call services or lines (or both), as described in paragraph

3 above. Unlike other phone companies, our code also

applies when we provide you with a new or extra phone line.

Finally, our code applies when we provide you with a new

broadband line, or transfer your existing broadband line to BT.

9 Our code sets the standard of behaviour you can expect

from us whenever we contact you for sales or marketing

purposes. This code also describes some of our internal

procedures for recruiting and training salespeople (please

see appendix 1 for details).

Mis-selling

10 Ofcom introduced the need for codes because, in its view,

phone companies mis-selling fixed-line phone services is a

significant problem in the UK. Ofcom felt that the previous

protection (in 2004) was not good enough. There is no

legal definition of ‘mis-selling’. In general terms, BT and

other companies understand mis-selling to refer to sales

and marketing practices that are misleading, deceitful or

where the phone company applies too much pressure on

you to transfer. Most people agree that these practices are

unacceptable, and most of them are illegal.

11 One of the worst types of mis-selling is ‘slamming’.

Slamming happens when another phone company places

an order to transfer your phone calls service or your line (or

both) to themselves without your knowledge or permission.

Ofcom takes this practice very seriously. We are allowed to

cancel transfer orders if our customers believe that they have

been slammed.

12 As well as slamming, there are other types of mis-selling.

For example, a phone company could make exaggerated

claims about the savings you could make if you transfer

to them. Or, a phone company could apply too much

pressure on you to transfer, or even mislead you about their

relationship with another phone company. To reduce the

chance of you becoming a victim of mis-selling, you may find

it helpful to refer to the tips in appendix 2.

13 Most mis-selling in the UK arises from transferring call

services over narrowband lines, or transferring the lines

themselves, from us to other phone companies. The phone

services industry has set processes in the UK that apply to

these transfers. The processes have not stopped the growth

of mis-selling. Fortunately, most phone companies treat

their customers and potential customers fairly and honestly.

However, some phone companies, and salespeople working

for otherwise trustworthy phone companies, do not.

14 We take mis-selling very seriously. We are working with

Ofcom and the rest of the industry to reduce the mis-selling

of phone services. In light of the alarming increase in misselling

phone services, we believe that we should take the

lead in promoting responsible behaviour.

15 That is why we have extended our code to cover broadband.

It is also why we have decided that our code should cover not

only customer transfers but extra and new lines as well.

16 Our code is set out in detail below. We pride ourselves on

meeting all the standards placed on us, whether these are

legal, set by Ofcom or internal processes. We will regularly

review our processes and systems, and the performance

of our salespeople, to make sure that we continue to do

the things we say we will. Chris Waring, Head of Group

Regulatory Compliance, is responsible for making sure that

we keep to our code. If you would like to comment on the

code, or our complaints procedure, please e-mail Chris at

. Or, you can write to Chris at ppA6,

BT Centre, 81 Newgate Street, London EC1 7AJ.

Recruiting and training our sales people

17 We take great care in making sure that we recruit the right

salespeople. In many respects, they are the public face of

BT. It is very important to us that you have confidence in

them, and that they treat you fairly and politely. So, we

take all necessary steps to make sure that our salespeople

are professional, straightforward and trustworthy. When

we allow other companies we work with to promote and sell

our services to you, we make sure that they have the same

qualities. As you would expect, as a minimum we make

thorough checks on everyone who applies to become a

salesperson with us.

18 Once we are happy we have the right salespeople, we make

sure that they have all the training and briefing they need,

to give you all the information you need. As well as providing

initial training, we provide updates and refreshers for our

salespeople. These give them information on a whole range

of issues, such as our latest products and services, new legal

requirements, how we deal with complaints and, of course,

new codes of practice.

19 We recognise that these are parts of our business that you

don’t normally see. If you would like more details about how

we recruit and train our salespeople, please see appendix 1.

Customer contact

20 Most of our contact with customers, especially with

residential customers, takes place over the phone.

However, you may contact us in other ways. You can look

at the products and services featured on our website at

http://www.bt.com and order on-line. And, of course, there

may be circumstances in which we meet you face-to-face.

A. Phone calls

21 If we call you, we will let you know who we are at the

beginning of the call. We will also let you know why we

are calling, and how long we expect the call to last. If

you do not want us to continue, we will of course end the

call immediately. We will also take care not to abuse the

trust of potentially vulnerable customers by making sales

presentations to them.

22 We will not call before 8am or after 9pm, unless you have

asked us to.

23 We will give you accurate descriptions of the services we are

promoting. We will explain the main details and the price

(including extra charges) of the services. In some cases, we

may also refer to the services offered by phone companies

that compete with us. If so, the information will be factual.

Any comparisons we make will be fair and unbiased.

24 We will of course be happy to answer any questions you may

have.

25 If you show an interest in any of the services we are offering,

we will let you know about any cancellation rights that may

apply. If you are a residential customer, you will be able to

cancel without charge at any time up until we provide the

service. If you are a business customer, you can usually

cancel up until we provide the service. However, you may

have to pay us any costs for the work that we have done in

preparing to provide the service.

26 We will let you know when you are making a contract with

us. By law, contracts do not need to be signed (or even

made in writing). So, in many cases, when you order a phone

service over the phone and we agree to provide it, a contract

is made between us there and then which we must both

keep to.

B. On-line at www.bt.com

27 You will be able to access the same range of information

as described above. If you order a phone service from us,

we will send you an acknowledgement quickly.

C. Face-to-face

i Residential customers

28 If you are a residential customer, there may be some limited

situations in which you have face-to-face contact with us for

sales and marketing purposes. However, please note that it

is not our current policy to promote and sell our services to

residential customers by visiting your home when you have

not asked us to. This is sometimes called ‘doorstepping’ or

‘doorstep selling’. We think that, unless you have agreed

to a visit from us, it is not appropriate for us to visit you.

We are trying to persuade the rest of the phone industry to

take this view too. So, please be wary if anyone visiting your

home offers you phone services and claims to be from or

linked to us.

29 However, you can rest assured that if we do visit you, we

will take appropriate steps to make sure that you can be

certain that the salesperson represents us, and that they will

deal with you in a professional way. We will take reasonable

steps to keep ourselves informed of any local authority or

password schemes that relate to doorstep selling. We will

also take care not to abuse the trust of potentially vulnerable

customers by making sales presentations to them.

30 We will not visit you before 8am or after 8pm, unless you

have asked us to.

31 Each of our representatives will have an identity badge.

This will show his or her name and the name of their company.

The badge will also show a photograph of the representative

and a unique identification number. This information will be

displayed clearly (and can be provided in Braille if you ask).

32 If the timing of the visit is not convenient, or if at any stage

you want to end the discussion, we will of course leave your

home immediately.

33 We will give you an accurate description of our phone

services. We will explain the main details and the price

(including extra charges) of our services. In some cases,

we may also refer to services offered by phone companies

that compete with us. If so, the information will be factual.

Any comparisons we make will be fair and unbiased.

34 We will of course be happy to answer any questions you

may have.

35 If you show an interest in any of the phone services we are

offering, we will let you know about any cancellation rights

that may apply. As a residential customer, you will be able

to cancel without charge at any time up until we provide the

service. You may also have the legal right to change your

mind up until about seven days after we have visited you.

ii Business customers

36 For business customers, we believe that visits from other

traders promoting their services are a normal part of

everyday business. So, we may visit our customers’ business

premises to promote our phone services without making an

appointment. If we do this, we will apply the same standards

of behaviour as we would for our residential customers.

37 As a business customer, you can usually cancel your contract

up until we provide the phone service. You may have to pay

us any costs for the work that we have done in preparing to

provide the phone service.

Entering into contracts

38 As we have explained above, by law, contracts do not have

to be signed or even made in writing. Standard terms and

conditions (called ‘conditions’ here) apply to all the phone

services we provide for residential customers. You should be

aware that a contract can be made without you having to fill

in an order form or sign a contract (although if you order online,

we may ask you to confirm that you accept the relevant

conditions).

39 For business customers, in many cases you will have to fill

in an order form and sign a contract. We will make sure that

any forms you have to sign are straightforward. We will also

make sure that the purpose of each form is clear to you. In

particular, any forms that are part of a contract will contain

clear wording to tell you this (next to the signature box, if any).

40 If someone wants to enter into a contract with us, we will

take reasonable steps to make sure that they are 18 or over.

If the contract in question is to transfer a phone service

to BT, we will try to get confirmation that the person we

are dealing with is either the account holder or someone

authorised to make the order.

41 When you enter into a contract with us, we will let you know

how you can use any cancellation rights that you may have.

42 You can get a copy of many of our conditions at www.

www.bt.com. You can find our price list for

phone services at <link no longer exists - removed>

homepage.htm. If you would like written details of our

prices, please ring us on 0800 800 150 for residential

customers and 0800 800 154 for business customers.

Preference services

43 ‘Preference’ services allow you to say that you do not want

to be contacted by certain organisations offering you certain

services or goods by, for example, phone, fax or post.

We will of course respect your wishes if you have registered

for the telephone preference service, the mailing preference

service or the fax preference service. In each case, if we

do not have your permission to contact you, we will not

do so for marketing purposes. Also, we will not send you

marketing e-mails if you have told us that you do not want

to receive them.

Advertising

44 Our advertising will be legal, decent, honest and truthful.

It will meet the British Code of Advertising, Sales Promotion

and Direct Marketing, which is managed by the Advertising

Standards Authority. It will also meet the Radio Advertising

Standards Code and the TV Advertising Standards Code.

Finally, as one of the founder members of the Direct

Marketing Association, we will meet their Direct Marketing

Code of Practice.

Transferring calls and narrowband lines

45 As we explained in paragraph 9, these transfers to and from

BT will follow set processes in the phone industry (which also

apply to transfers between other phone companies). We will

of course follow these processes carefully. If you transfer

from BT, we will send you a standard letter confirming the

transfer. We have agreed the content of this letter with

Ofcom and the industry. You will also receive a letter from

the phone company which you are transferring to. Our letter

will also include a BT number for you to ring if you believe

you have been slammed (see paragraph 11).

46 If you transfer to BT, we will send you a letter by first-class

post within five days of accepting your order. The letter

will include details of the phone service and the lines to

be transferred. It will also include the date for providing

the service, and information about how you may end the

contract once the service has begun. You should also be

aware that under the industry-agreed process, you are

allowed to cancel your order without charge up until shortly

before the transfer is due to take place. This right applies no

matter whether you are a residential customer or a business

customer. This right is separate from any legal rights you

may have to cancel.

Our legal responsibilities

47 Finally, we will keep to all our legal responsibilities that

apply to sales and marketing. The law is there to protect

you. In appendix 3, we have put together some answers to

frequently asked questions about rights and responsibilities.

These of course apply no matter which phone company has

contacted you. So, just in case you become a victim of misselling,

you may find this information helpful. However, this

information is provided for general background purposes

only. You should get your own legal advice where necessary.

Complaints

48 We will do everything we can to follow our code at all times.

However, despite our best efforts, things can sometimes go

wrong. If they do, we want to know so we can put them right

as quickly as possible. So, if you have a complaint about our

sales or marketing activity, please call us on the appropriate

number:

• If you are a residential customer, please phone

0800 800 150 Monday to Saturday, 8am to 8pm.

• If you are a business customer, please phone

0800 400 400 Monday to Saturday, 8am to 6pm.

Our customer service advisers will try to sort out the problem

while you are still on the line.

49 If you prefer to put your complaint in writing, please

address it to the Customer Service Manager, BT Customer

Correspondence Centre, Durham, DH98 1BT. We will

normally respond to your letter by phone. We will gladly

confirm any particular points in writing, if you want us to.

50 Our customer service advisers will aim to deal with your

complaint as quickly as possible. If you are not happy with

the way we have handled your complaint, please ask to

speak to the manager. The manager will review it and try to

sort out the matter. If, after contacting the manager, you

feel that we have not dealt with your complaint properly,

you should ask for your case to be reviewed by a more senior

manager.

51 If you are still not satisfied with the way in which we have

dealt with your complaint, you may contact our Complaint

Review Service. You can contact this service on the following

numbers:

• Residential customers – 0800 545 458

• Business customers – 0800 555 257

If you prefer, you can write to the Complaint Review Service.

Please phone the appropriate number for the address.

As you can see, we aim to deal with your problems without

outside help. However, you may of course refer your

complaint to a court.

52 If you are not satisfied with the outcome of our review of

your complaint you may be able to refer the matter to Otelo.

Otelo is the Office of the Telecommunications Ombudsman.

Otelo provides an independent service for dealing with

disagreements relating to most products and services that

we offer to residential customers and small businesses.

Otelo also deals with those services we offer to disabled

people (including free directory enquiries, access to our

TextDirect textphone service, and the national phone relay

service, Typetalk).

53 Otelo can award compensation in individual cases. It may

investigate complaints in the following circumstances.

• You receive a final ‘deadlock’ letter from us (after we have

completed our own internal investigation) which means

that we have responded to your complaint but you are

not happy with our response . You must then refer the

complaint to Otelo within six months of receiving the

deadlock letter.

• You have not received a deadlock letter, but at least 12

weeks have passed since you made the complaint. You must

refer the complaint to Otelo within nine months of first making

your complaint to us.

54 Otelo’s contact details are as follows.

Otelo (Office of the Telecommunications Ombudsman)

PO Box 730

Warrington

WA4 6WU

Phone: 0845 050 1614 or 01925 430049

Fax: 0845 050 1615

E-mail enquiries to

Website: www.otelo.org.uk

Appendix 1– Recruitment and training

Recruitment

We take the recruitment of salespeople very seriously. As well

as keeping to current employment law, we check the following

when recruiting new salespeople.

• Behaviour and appearance.

• Any criminal offences (through a basic disclosure certificate).

• Photographic proof of identity.

• Qualifications (where necessary).

• Proof of entitlement to work in the UK.

• Proof of National Insurance number.

• Proof of address and written references for the past three years.

We keep our salespeople’s sales records (including all recordings

and notes on sales) for at least six months, even if they leave BT.

Also, if any of our salespeople leave us, we will take items such

as identification badges from them, and remove their access to

our systems.

For salespeople not based in the UK, we will apply the same

procedures as long as they do not break any relevant local laws.

All reward and payment systems for our salespeople are

documented and are designed to encourage responsible and

ethical sales practices.

Induction training

All of our salespeople receive thorough training to make them

aware of our range of products and services, and to make sure

they know about our legal responsibilities. Everyone dealing

with sales and marketing receives appropriate training. In our

contact centres, there are also regular briefings and refresher

training to provide updates. This training includes:

• arrangements for competition in supplying phone services

in the UK;

• the different phone options we provide and how these differ

from other competing phone products (price comparisons

with the services of other phone companies are done by

a dedicated team who are fully trained);

• the process for ordering the phone service;

• the relevant principles of consumer protection law;

• the prices we charge and other relevant conditions of

service (this includes methods of payment, the length

of the contract, and any fees for cancelling the agreement);

• the nature, and cost, of any extra services on offer;

• the process for cancelling the contract both during the

cooling-off period and at any time after the service has

started;

• our code and the benefits provided; and

• the procedure for handling customer complaints.

Appendix 2 – Tips on how to avoid

mis-selling

This code outlines the high standards that you can expect from

us when marketing and selling our fixed-line phone services.

Unfortunately, some phone companies, and salespeople

working for otherwise trustworthy phone companies, may not

treat their customers and potential customers as fairly and

honestly as we do.

To help you avoid becoming the victim of mis-selling and other

dishonest sales practices here are some tips.

If a salesperson visits you at home

• Ask to see the salesperson’s identity card and make a note

of his or her name and the company they represent.

• Call the company concerned if you’re not sure to confirm

the identity of the salesperson.

• Tell the salesperson if you don’t want to hear about their

offer, and don’t invite them in if you don’t want to.

• Don’t sign anything if you don’t want to, or be pressurised

if the offer is only available if you sign up immediately.

• If you do agree to something, be careful about what forms

you are given to sign – be certain that you are only signing

for the service that you want.

• Ask how the savings being claimed are worked out and what

calls of the type you make will cost.

• If you are a residential customer, make sure you get a

written notice telling you about your right to cancel.

• Make it clear whether you are accepting or refusing the offer.

If a salesperson phones you

• Make a note of the salesperson’s name and the company

he or she represents, and the time and date of the call.

• Ask the caller to be very precise about what savings he or

she claims you will make – ask how the savings are worked

out and what calls of the type you make will cost.

• Don’t give out your bank account details to confirm your

identity.

• Be careful giving out your bank account details over the

phone unless you are certain who you are dealing with and

why they need the details (for example, paying by direct

debit).

• If you just want information on products, services or call

costs, say so clearly and never give out your bank account

details. Phone companies should give you details of their

service, without you having to order anything.

• Make it very clear whether you are accepting or refusing the

salesperson’s offer.

Appendix 3 – Questions and answers

about your general legal rights

The questions and answers below relate to issues that may

arise in selling and marketing fixed-line phone services. They

apply no matter which phone company has contacted you. So,

just in case you become a victim of mis-selling, you may find

this information helpful. However, it is provided for general

background purposes only. You should get your own legal

advice where necessary.

1 Can a contract be made without me signing anything?

Yes. Contracts can be and are often made over the phone,

face-to-face or on-line without you having to sign anything.

2 Do I have to be given any information before I enter into a

contract?

Only if you are a consumer (residential customer), and have

had no face-to-face contact with the phone company (for

example, if a contract is made over the phone or on-line).

Then, the phone company must give you some important

information before you enter into a contract. This includes

a description of the phone service, the price, your right to

cancel and any minimum term that applies. Most of this

information has to be confirmed in writing.

3 When do I have a right to cancel?

If you are a consumer (residential customer), you will

normally have a legal right to cancel without charge unless

the contract was made at the phone company’s normal

business premises. The cancellation period will normally be

for seven calendar days or seven working days, depending

on how and where the contract was made. You have no such

legal rights as a business customer.

However, under industry-agreed processes, both consumers

and business customers have the right to cancel without

charge up until shortly before the transfer is due to take

place, when transferring calls or narrowband lines to or

from BT. Clearly, this may be very significant for business

customers.

4 I was told I was dealing with a company that was ‘part of

BT’ or ‘associated with BT’. It turns out I was dealing with

a completely different company. What can I do?

There should be no problem if you still have a right to cancel

when you realise what has happened (see question 3) you

can simply cancel the contract. If not, you may still be able

to end it. Contract law says that if you have entered into

a contract as a result of a ‘misrepresentation’, you are

entitled to end it – but you will have to act quickly or you

may lose the right. This principle applies equally to other

misrepresentations of fact if they persuade you to enter into

a contract.

5 Can the terms and conditions apply if I haven’t seen them?

Yes. You may often have an opportunity to see the terms

and conditions before entering into a contract, but they may

still apply even if you don’t.

6 Am I bound by all the terms and conditions in a phone

company’s standard contract?

Not necessarily. Just because a condition is included does

not automatically mean that the phone company will be able

to rely on it. Some conditions may be challenged because

they are ‘unfair’. There are many types of condition that may

be considered to be unfair in consumer contracts. The scope

for unfairness in business contracts is considerably less.

Offices worldwide

The services described in this publication are subject to availability

and may be modified from time to time. Services and equipment

are provided subject to British Telecommunications plc’s respective

standard conditions of contract. Nothing in this publication forms

any part of any contract.

© British Telecommunications plc 2006

Registered office: 81 Newgate Street, London. EC1A 7AJ

Registered in England No. 1800000.

Designed by Unigraph Limited 22661/05/06.

Printed in England.

PHME 50315

From India, Delhi
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