Compliance &Ethics - Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics

y Laura Serra NovaEthics in the workplace:The Dominican Republicperspective»»In addition to the concerns and conflicts that arise during the hiring process, companies may overlook compliance management.»»Current laws in the Dominican Republic allow companies to establish internal manuals and procedures, as well as codes of ethics.»»Procedural justice has played an important role in establishing ethical standards, however, the perception required to implementsuch standards needs to be shifted in the right direction.»»State must set an example in order to mitigate the “produce-at-all-cost” mentality in the country.»»Great efforts have been made by the public and private sector to have an ethical business environment.Compliance & Ethics Professional May/June 2013Compliance is an untapped concept inthe Dominican Republic, mainly dueto the confusion this innovative areaof expertise supposes. Companies usuallyinterlink the legal functions with the tasks thatought to be the responsibility of a complianceprofessional, thus resulting in theincorrect allocation of positions andresources, and overlooking those withexperience in the field.The concerns and conflicts withinthe hiring process are one thing;another is the infrequently discussedSerra Nova area of compliance management andhow it affects employment ethics ineveryday life. The Labor Code and regulationsrelating to the rights of employees are usedto reflect some sort of corporate environmentthat eludes the written values and ethics manuals,previously considered almost a norm.Intrinsically linked are the failed nationalefforts of a few to amend and built a strongerchange to ignite a growing society towardsadapting to a globalized economic crisis ofhuman values. It is evident in the internalchallenges faced both by employees whomanage their personal assets and employers inthe management of their assets.The current legislation in the DominicanRepublic allows companies to establish internalmanuals and procedures or a code of ethicswhere ethical values are promoted to employees.The manuals can be registered with theMinistry of Labor for its approval (under articles129 to 134 of the Dominican Code of Labor)before the Institutional Ethics Committee thatfunctions under the supervision of the DirecciónGeneral de Ética e Integridad Gubernamental(General Directorate of Ethics and GovernmentIntegrity). As respectable as this is, the future ofcompliance in the Domincan Republic shouldinclude a set of rules that make it mandatoryto establish a code of compliance and ethics,approved by the Ministry, that furthers realconsequences for violations.So far, procedural justice would step in toestablish the ethical standards that guide thepractice of everyday tasks, but it is people’sperception of what is to be considered thecorrect approach for a given situation thattends to prevail. When the questionable activityby an employer or employee involves66 www.corporatecompliance.org +1 952 933 4977 or 888 277 4977