Chapter 3: Ethics and Social Responsibilty

            Ethics plays a huge role in businesses worldwide. The ability for a compnay or organiztion to maintain morals and be able to make ethical decisions is essential to the company's success. To Tiffany & Co., maintaing proper ethics is very important. The company has a Code of Conduct which provides the directors of the company, the CEO, the CFO, and all other officers of the company with a list of principles which they are expected to follow. Some of the priciples within the Code of Conduct state that all must comply with applicable law, promote honest and ethical conduct, report any code violations and suspected illegal or unethical activities to the company directors, responsibly use and control all company assets, and that they must not use their company position for personal gain or benefit. This code contains many more priciples which are all to be followed for the business's success.

            Corporate social responsibilty, or CSR, is a business's concern for society's welfare. In order to protect our society and preserve it, it is imperativie that companies accept their social responsibility. Tiffany & Co. is an example of a company who accepts social responsibilty and makes a point of paying close attention to it. Within the company, there is a committee known as the Corporate Social Responsibility Comittee. The committee is made up of at least two independent directors and one employee director. According to the company website the purpose of it is to "review and evaluate the management's goals, initiatives and practices for social responsibility and to recommend goals, initiatives and practices for social responsibility to the Board of Directors." The commitee is given many duties and responsibilities. Some of these include identifying issues that may affect the business's operations, brand image, or reputaion of the company and to provide an oversight of the company's social resposibility to customers, the nonprofit sector, industry partners, and shareholders. Tiffany & Co. is aware that with the changing of the times comes changes in responsibilities, and in so doing allows there to be some flexibilty within its terms.

           Tiffany & Co. is a very well known company which prides itself on its prestigiousness. By strictly adhering to its Code of Conduct and its knowledge of its social responsibilty, they are able to maintain its reputation. This allows the company to hold on to its much valued customers and continue to progress.