Cheesecake Factory Code of Conduct

Professor Mandiveyi
December 15, 2013
Introduction to Business
Bus 100

Abstract
This paper discusses key areas of interest within the Cheesecake Factory’s code of conduct, which will also identify the significant importance of the code of conduct and why it is important to the success of the Cheesecake Factory. This paper will also explain how the code of conduct can be implemented by the company, checks and balances to measure adherence to the code, and lastly, three ways the restaurant can engage in socially responsive activities in the community in which it operates.
The Cheesecake Factory has a rather large code of conduct. There are a few specific ideas within the code of conduct that is of significant importance to the Cheesecake Factory’s business. It is imperative that this code of conduct is established because staff members must understand the Cheesecake Factory’s ethics and belief system in comparison to other organizations because it may differ with regards to cultural content, values, and ordering of beliefs (McShane & Von, 2005). The first significant idea in the code of conduct is conflict of interest. The company specifically states that an employee must avoid situations in which a conflict of interest would exist or have the appearance of a conflict of interest. This is extremely important to the business because it will prevent employees from having the appearance of giving preferential treatment to relatives, contractors, and business interests. If the company were to allow such behavior it could open them up to poor business transactions that may not be profitable as well as hinder the current relationships they have formed with approved business partnerships. A common example of this is if a general manager of a location had a relative who was a whine salesman it would be improper for that GM to utilize that family member to prepare and sell orders of whine to the restaurant.
Secondly, the code of conduct has provisions that guard against solicitation. The non-solicitation clause states that all employees and guests should not feel pressured to purchase or participate in goods and services that are non company related. This is to help avoid a situation where the company’s interest and brand is inadvertently meshed with another company’s interest and brand. This can become a major issue with a business because it can inadvertently open a business up to undue legal liabilities. For example, if an employee is selling cosmetic products within the restaurant and the products cause a customer to have an allergic reaction the company can be held liable because they gave the appearance they were endorsing the products to the customer. These two specific areas are extremely important to the viability of the business because they can both open the company up to undue liability and are often two areas within a code of conduct that can easily be misinterpreted.
The key steps that can be taken by the employer to insure that the code of conduct is followed are first by making the staff members aware of the code of conduct. This can be done quite simply by making it an integral part of the hiring process where the employee has to sign that they read the code of conduct as well as being provided with a copy. This ensures that all employees are made aware of the doe of conduct as well as having a copy readily available when they are faced with a situation they believe may have implications within the code of conduct.
The Cheesecake Factory must then hold employees accountable to the code of conduct. This can be done through action notices and verbal reprimands when there are violations if the code of conduct. For example, the code of conduct strictly prohibits conflicts of interest. If the prior example we stated were to happen between the GM and the whine salesman it would be imperative that the employee is written up stating the violation as well as the possible consequences of their actions. It will be important to identify the violation on the code of conduct as well as referencing their signing of the code of conduct indicating they were aware of the policy.
In addition to this it is important that the Cheesecake Factory creates an environment where ethics is valued. This is through the encouragement of good decisions through praise as well as privately reprimanding unethical situations. This is imperative because ethics provide an employee values that will determine whether their actions are right or wrong as well as if the outcome of such decisions will be good or bad (Kinicki & Kreitner, 2004). When you create the proper environment for ethics to thrive you can ensure that a code of conduct is upheld and feverishly followed.
Lastly, the Cheesecake Factory has a multitude of opportunities that could allow it to be more socially responsive in the communities in which it operates. The first idea is that the Cheesecake Factory can simply donate leftovers each evening to local food shelters in order to provide food to the homeless. The company can also offer community events that help within the community such as cookouts or fundraisers that help benefit the city in which they operate. Lastly, the company can provide internships to teenagers help them learn how to cook in the kitchen. All of these ideas provide opportunities for the Cheesecake Factory to positively affect the communities in which they operate. These socially responsive ideas will also help integrate the company into the community and in the long run create a long term bond with the citizens of the community. References
Kinicki, A. & Kreitner, R. (2004). Organizational behavior. New York: The McGraw-Hill Companies.
McShane, S. L., & Von Glinow, M. (2005). Organizational behavior: Emerging realities for the workplace. New York: The McGraw-Hill Companies.