American Express (AmEx) was founded in 1850 by Henry Wells, William Fargo, and John Butterfield. Currently, the company operates in more than 130 countries worldwide and employs over 58,300 staff (American Express, 2009).
Although in the very beginning the company developed without any visionary strategy and it was all more a matter of fortune and came down to taking advantage of opportunities, yet ever since it was founded, AmEx has operated within a set of certain principles, hard-and-fast rules that are binding to all company's employees. The rules have been slightly modified over the 150-year history, but most importantly, all company's activities have had to be conducted in accord with these rules.
In order to reflect the articulated values even better, AmEx President J.C. Fargo compiled a set of principles, regulations, and instructions for employees. It included both technical rules of business conduct and employee behavior patterns. It was a forerunner to the currently existing and binding AmEx Code of Conduct. The rules for equal treatment of customers went down in history. "Irrespective of whether they are rich or poor, man or woman or child, black or white, bringing big or small profit to the company – they must be treated politely and respectfully." (Massengill, 1999:3)
Today, the key values of American Express are known as the "American Express Blue Box Values." Blue Box is the present-day logo of American Express. The American Express Blue Box Values reflect the following creed:
"All our actions and decisions must be based on and guided by these core values:
• - Placing the interests of customers first;
• - The constant pursuit of quality in everything we do;
• - Treating our people with respect and dignity;
• - Operating in a manner that reflects the highest standards of integrity;
2 - Teamwork – from the smallest unit to the enterprise in its entirety; - Being good citizens in the communities in which we live and work.
One of the most revered core value is "treating our people with respect and dignity" (Massengill, 1999:5). It is manifested through a number of actions, practices, and procedures. The company has developed special programs to ensure equal treatment for employees, equal internal promotion opportunities, objective employee assessment, as well as to ensure better preventive measures for health and safety at work. They must be in accordance with local law requirements and meet the highest possible safety and employee protection standards. Employees are made aware of safety procedures as well as informed on how to avoid risk at the workplace and how to report misconduct. They are encouraged to come up with new ideas to enhance workplace safety. Employees are also obliged to keep all information about other company employees confidential. They may not disclose any information about other employees (in particular such as those regarding pay, employee assessment, performance, absence, etc.) either to some other AmEx employees or persons outside the company. Another proof for acting in accordance with this value is striving to employ staff irrespective of their gender, race, skin color, age, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, marital status, or citizenship. In this respect, AmEx is considered to be one of the most exemplary organizations in the world. It is also evident that the company policy forbids anyone from taking advantage of their position to intimidate or harass employees, not even to mention sexual undertones. Religious beliefs, political views, and sexual preferences are not to be discussed in the company because this could hurt someone's feelings. The Code of Conduct precisely also regulates those issues related to devoting time to political and charitable activities (which will be discussed in more detail later). It is important, too, that any cause of any form of discrimination may result in disciplinary termination! Employees are trained so that they avoid stereotypes and treat everyone equally. Employees should approach others without prejudice and making judgments about them. It is particularly important in certain cultures such as India (where people coming from different castes might work in one AmEx office). AmEx allocates special funds for employee team-building and programs that are supposed to fight existing stereotypes and prejudice.
Questions:
- Based on your knowledge about the process of managing core ethical and business values, please explain what actions, practices, and tools can be applied by a modern organization to ensure more effective implementation of behaviors consistent with its core values. Please describe this phase of the process in detail and use illustrations from the case to support your answer. Your response should be both theoretical and practical. (10 marks)
- "Responsibility of an individual" and "Integrity" there are two examples of XYZ's Corporate Core Values. Based on your knowledge about the process of managing ethical and business values, please develop those two core values of XYX Corporation. (10 marks)
Sample Solution