Corporate ethics

Institute of World Hospitality Management Membership & Ethics

Membership of the Institute of World Hospitality Management is available to every bona fide company which has an involvement with the Hospitality industry.

Membership shows that the members understand and honour their responsibility to their guests, suppliers and the general public to provide service at fair rates, with clarity in terms and conditions, to conduct business ethically and with integrity.

The members of the Institute of World Hospitality Management agree to abide by the following code of ethics and empower the Institute of World Hospitality Management Board of Directors to act upon and enforce the following:

Section 1. Preamble
The mobility of employment, capital, products and technology is making business increasingly global in its transactions and its effects.

Law and market forces are necessary but insufficient guides for conduct.

Responsibility for the policies and actions of business and respect for the dignity and interests of its stakeholders are fundamental.

Shared values, including a commitment to shared prosperity, are as important for a global community as for communities of smaller scale.

For these reasons, and because business can be a powerful agent of positive social change, we offer the following principles as a foundation for dialogue and action by business leaders in search of business responsibility. In so doing, we affirm the necessity for moral values in business decision making. Without them, stable business relationships and a sustainable world community are impossible.

Section 2. General Principles

Principle 1. The Responsibilities Of Businesses:
Beyond Shareholders toward Stakeholders
The value of a business to society is the wealth and employment it creates and the marketable products and services it provides to consumers at a reasonable price commensurate with quality. To create such value, a business must maintain its own economic health and viability, but survival is not a sufficient goal.

Businesses have a role to play in improving the lives of all their customers, employees, and shareholders by sharing with them the wealth they have created. Suppliers and competitors as well should expect businesses to honour their obligations in a spirit of honesty and fairness. As responsible citizens of the local, national, regional and global communities in which they operate, businesses share a part in shaping the future of those communities.

Principle 2. The Economic and Social Impact of Business:
Toward Innovation, Justice and World Community
Businesses established in foreign countries to develop, produce or sell should also contribute to the social advancement of those countries by creating productive employment and helping to raise the purchasing power of their citizens. Businesses also should contribute to human rights, education, welfare, and vitalization of the countries in which they operate.

Businesses should contribute to economic and social development not only in the countries in which they operate, but also in the world community at large, through effective and prudent use of resources, free and fair competition, and emphasis upon innovation in technology, production methods, marketing and communications.

Principle 3. Business Behaviour:
Beyond the Letter of Law Toward a Spirit of Trust
While accepting the legitimacy of trade secrets, businesses should recognize that sincerity, candour, truthfulness, the keeping of promises, and transparency contribute not only to their own credibility and stability but also to the smoothness and efficiency of business transactions, particularly on the international level.

Principle 4. Respect for Rules
To avoid trade frictions and to promote freer trade, equal conditions for competition, and fair and equitable treatment for all participants, businesses should respect international and domestic rules. In addition, they should recognize that some behaviour, although legal, may still have adverse consequences.

Principle 5. Support for Multilateral Trade
Businesses should support the multilateral trade systems of the GATT/World Trade Organization and similar international agreements. They should cooperate in efforts to promote the progressive and judicious liberalization of trade and to relax those domestic measures that unreasonably hinder global commerce, while giving due respect to national policy objectives.

Principle 6. Respect for the Environment
A business should protect and, where possible, improve the environment, promote sustainable development, and prevent the wasteful use of natural resources.

Principle 7. Avoidance of Illicit Operations
A business should not participate in or condone bribery, money laundering, or other corrupt practices: indeed, it should seek cooperation with others to eliminate them. It should not trade in arms or other materials used for terrorist activities, drug traffic or other organized crime.

Section 3. Stakeholder Principles
Customers
We believe in treating all customers with dignity, irrespective of whether they purchase our products and services directly from us or otherwise acquire them in the market. We therefore have a responsibility to:

provide our customers with the highest quality products and services consistent with their requirements;
treat our customers fairly in all aspects of our business transactions, including a high level of service and remedies for their dissatisfaction;
make every effort to ensure that the health and safety of our customers, as well as the quality of their environment, will be sustained or enhanced by our products and services;
assure respect for human dignity in products offered, marketing, and advertising; and respect the integrity of the culture of our customers.
Employees
We believe in the dignity of every employee and in taking employee interests seriously. We therefore have a responsibility to:

provide jobs and compensation that improve workers' living conditions;
provide working conditions that respect each employee's health and dignity;
be honest in communications with employees and open in sharing information, limited only by legal and competitive constraints;
listen to and, where possible, act on employee suggestions, ideas, requests and complaints;
engage in good faith negotiations when conflict arises;
avoid discriminatory practices and guarantee equal treatment and opportunity in areas such as gender, age, race, and religion;
promote in the business itself the employment of differently abled people in places of work where they can be genuinely useful;
protect employees from avoidable injury and illness in the workplace;
encourage and assist employees in developing relevant and transferable skills and knowledge; and
be sensitive to the serious unemployment problems frequently associated with business decisions, and work with governments, employee groups, other agencies and each other in addressing these dislocations.
Owners / Investors
We believe in honouring the trust our investors place in us. We therefore have a responsibility to:

apply professional and diligent management in order to secure a fair and competitive return on our owners' investment;
disclose relevant information to owners/investors subject to legal requirements and competitive constraints;
conserve, protect, and increase the owners/investors' assets; and
respect owners/investors' requests, suggestions, complaints, and formal resolutions.
Suppliers
Our relationship with suppliers and subcontractors must be based on mutual respect. We therefore have a responsibility to :

seek fairness and truthfulness in all our activities, including pricing, licensing, and rights to sell;
ensure that our business activities are free from coercion and unnecessary litigation;
foster long-term stability in the supplier relationship in return for value, quality, competitiveness and reliability;
share information with suppliers and integrate them into our planning processes;
pay suppliers on time and in accordance with agreed terms of trade; and
seek, encourage and prefer suppliers and subcontractors whose employment practices respect human dignity.
Competitors
We believe that fair economic competition is one of the basic requirements for increasing the wealth of nations and ultimately for making possible the just distribution of goods and services. We therefore have a responsibility to:

foster open markets for trade and investment;
promote competitive behaviour that is socially and environmentally beneficial and demonstrates mutual respect among competitors;
refrain from either seeking or participating in questionable payments or favours to secure competitive advantages;
respect both tangible and intellectual property rights; and
refuse to acquire commercial information by dishonest or unethical means, such as industrial espionage.
Communities
We believe that as global corporate citizens we can contribute to such forces of reform and human rights as are at work in the communities in which we operate. We therefore have a responsibility in those communities to:

respect human rights and democratic institutions, and promote them wherever practicable;
recognize government's legitimate obligation to the society at large and support public policies and practices that promote human development through harmonious relations between business and other segments of society;
collaborate with those forces in the community dedicated to raising standards of health, education, workplace safety and economic well-being;
promote and stimulate sustainable development and play a leading role in preserving and enhancing the physical environment and conserving the earth's resources;
support peace, security, diversity and social integration;
respect the integrity of local cultures; and
be a good corporate citizen through charitable donations, educational and cultural contributions, and employee participation in community and civic affairs.

Members’ advertising and promotional materials will be clear and will not intentionally deceive or misrepresent their company products and services as actually provided.

Members will take actions to ensure that representations made on behalf of their company by employees or agents are accurate and to prohibit false representations being made on their behalf.

Members will comply with their regulatory obligations and cooperate fully with all regulatory agencies.

Members will supply accurate and timely billing and customer service and deal with enquiries and any complaints honestly and fairly.

Members will ensure timely payment for services rendered in accordance with the agreements and/or tariffs between themselves and their suppliers.

Members will not falsify orders for service without customer authorization.

Members will ensure that they and their staff are fair and honest in comments regarding competitors and do not make insinuations, accusations, or incorrect implications on a competitor’s service to gain an unfair competitive advantage.