The CEO of any company will certainly tell you how important a sound Code of Conduct and documents detailing appropriate business behaviors is to your business. As the CEO of Chipotle, I too, agree that such documents are a key factor to keeping this business profitable while still maintaining integrity. Although the Code of Conduct created for our company has a wide range of information, I would like to focus on the aspects that affect the majority of our employees, the front line staff. While the other aspects should not be overlooked or considered of less importance, I feel it’s important to take a closer look at those pieces that affect the largest population of our employees and those three areas will be the protection of company assets, being professional in activities and communications with the public and eliminating any forms of discrimination or harassment within the organization, at all levels. The protection of company assets is of utmost importance to our business as we strive to ensure that we are being as “green” as possible and causing as little damage to the environment as possible. Additionally, as a company, we want to protect our proprietary information because, as you may imagine, we want to remain profitable and continue to keep our customer base without losing them to competitors. Our employees are trained on how to properly use the equipment and this process is continually assessed through daily production activities. Additionally, we do not permit our employees to use company equipment for personal use. This is to protect our equipment but also to eliminate the possibility that an employee could be injured and potentially have a negative experience as a result. One of the biggest and most important aspects of our Code of Conduct relates to the requirement that our employees act professionally and communication with the public in a positive manner. The reality is that our business is all about the customers – without them, we would have no business. Because of this, we stress the importance of all employees understanding how to be effective at communication and how to be professional. I often remind my employees that “with unemployment at record highs, the importance of professionalism in the workplace cannot be overlooked as a key to success and advancement.” (Employee Development Systems, Inc, 2010). How an employee interacts with fellow employees and customers really makes a difference and I hope that I have expressed the importance of this to each of my employees in a way that encourages them all to strive for success in both aspects; professionalism and communication with the public. The single most important aspect of our Code of Conduct would be the sections related to discrimination and harassment. As both a company and an individual, I will not tolerate behaviors that create a negative or hostile environment for any of my employees. I’ve ensured there is anonymity for the person making the complaint and we strictly forbid any forms of retaliation against an employee that reports an incident. While these areas of the code may not be unique to Chipotle, we feel that they are paramount to our company’s success. By requiring that each employee treat coworkers with nothing but respect and tolerance, we also ensure our success in dealing with the public. Failing to recognize forms of discrimination and harassment can be easier than it may sound so we offer continued training and documentation regarding this to eliminate any concerns. While some areas are relevant only to our company, anti-discrimination policies go even further because they are the law. As our Code of Conduct states, “every employee has the right, and is encouraged, to tell any Chipotle employee in a professional manner to stop behavior towards him or her that the employee believes to be discriminatory, harassing, and/or offensive.” (Chipotle Website, 2010). We do not take reports of behavior that violates these guidelines lightly and we investigate them to the fullest extent possible. At Chipotle, we take steps continually toward ensuring our employees are following not only these portions of the Code of Conduct, but all aspects of it. We offer new hire training to each employee during which they are required to read each part of the code and sign off individual to each section. We also offer on-going training on an annual basis to reinforce this behavior. Additionally, we make the consequences of violating the policies apparent to each employee through posted information throughout the locations and employee meetings. We must remain vigilant in keeping our employees abreast of the details in the Code of Conduct and we routinely provide updates to our staff that helps reinforce the policies. At Chipotle, we strive not to not only provide delicious and healthy food, but also to give back to the community. As part of our mission statement, we make every effort possible to reduce our carbon footprint and rely more on other methods to create a sustainable structure, but don’t make the mistake of thinking that is all we do for the communities in which we operate. We strive to be socially responsive and responsible and we take measures to achieve those goals. I’ve recently been pondering on some ways we can be more socially responsive in the community and I’ve come up with a few ideas. One suggestion would be to start donating to local community centers in areas where unemployment rates are high and school drop-out rates exceed the national average. By doing this, we would be visible in the community and can give back to those most desperately in need. Studies have been done to show that “even small improvements in self concept go a long way toward keeping children out of trouble.” (Science Daily, 2010). It is become of this factor that I believe giving back to the community will be beneficial. Secondly, I am considering the idea of a program that would make use of unused food at the end of each evening. By working with local shelters, we can easily bring a positive change to cities that struggle to feed the homeless population. Currently, products that are unused at the end of the evening are discarded and it seems that we could better use this leftover inventory to help solve a growing problem in our country. Lastly, I’ve been considering the prospect of partnering with local schools to offer healthy alternatives to the government produced “food” that is so often given to children in public schools. Although recent measures have been put in place to ban junk food from school vending machines, there is still an issue with the quality of food available through cafeteria serving lines. School lunches often consist of overly processed foods and can be heavy in carbohydrates (that, coincidentally, are also overly processed). By working with schools, we could offer fresh, natural and organic foods that eliminate preservatives. Ingesting large quantities of preservatives over a prolonged period of time can be dangerous for any individual. “The continued ingestion of certain chemicals has been linked to cancer, fatigue, memory-impairment, imbalanced motor-function, diabetes, thyroid problems, confusion and far more.” (Tischner, 2012). I’m passionate about offering healthier alternatives to not only our customers but also to the youth of our nation and I think a partnership with schools would be hugely successful. Ultimately, I want our company to be not only successful in terms of profits but I also want us to be a staple in the community and a pillar of ethical behavior for not only our employees but also our customers. We make continued efforts toward improvement and successes in non-traditional methods. We educate, train and develop employees to act in accordance with our goals. By remaining in the forefront of ethical actions and socially responsive activities within the community, I have confidence that we will continue to experience success. References
Chipotle Website. (2010). Code of Conduct. Retrieved from: http://ir.chipotle.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=194775&p=irol-govConduct

Employee Development Systems, Inc. Website. (2010). Importance of Professionalism in the Workplace. Retrieved from: http://www.employeedevelopmentsystems.com/pm-160-3-importance-of-professionalism-in-the-workplace.aspx

Science Daily Website. (2010, June 2). Youth Clubs Strengthen Kids’ Self Image to Keep Them out of Trouble. Retrieved from: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/06/100610131746.htm

Tischner, J. (2012, July 26). Know What Is In Your Food: Dangerous Preservatives and Additives. Retrieved from: http://creativebioscience.com/blog/know-what-is-in-your-food-dangerous-preservatives-and-additives/