LO3. Record and Present Information

Information Sheet 3.1: Reporting Requirements to a Range of Audiences

Audience Analysis

Audience analysis involves identifying the audience and adapting a speech to their interests, level of understanding, attitudes, and beliefs. Taking an audience-centered approach is important because a speaker’s effectiveness will be improved if the presentation is created and delivered in an appropriate manner. Identifying the audience through extensive research is often difficult, so audience adaptation often relies on the healthy use of imagination.

Audience Analysis Factors

Audience expectations

When people become audience members in a speech situation, they bring with them expectations about the occasion, topic, and speaker. Violating audience expectations can have a negative impact on the effectiveness of the speech. Imagine that a local politician is asked to speak at the memorial service for a beloved former mayor. The audience will expect the politician’s speech to praise the life and career of the deceased.

Knowledge of topic

Audience knowledge of a topic can vary widely on any given occasion, therefore, communicators should find out what their audience already knows about the topic. Never overestimate the audience’s knowledge of a topic. If a speaker launches into a technical discussion of genetic engineering but the listeners are not familiar with basic genetics, they will be unable to follow your speech and quickly lose interest. On the other hand, drastically underestimating the audience’s knowledge may result in a speech that sounds condescending.

Attitude toward topic

Knowing audience members’ attitudes about a topic will help a speaker determine the best way to reach their goals. Imagine that a presenter is trying to convince the community to build a park. A speaker would probably be inclined to spend the majority of the speech giving reasons why a park would benefit the community.

Audience size

Many elements of speech-making change in accordance with audience size. In general, the larger the audience the more formal the presentation should be. Sitting down and using common language when speaking to a group of 10 people is often quite appropriate. However, that style of presentation would probably be inappropriate or ineffective if you were speaking to 1,000 people. Large audiences often require that you use a microphone and speak from an elevated platform.

Demographics

The demographic factors of an audience include age, gender, religion, ethnic background, class, sexual orientation, occupation, education, group membership, and countless other categories. Since these categories often organize individual’s identities and experiences, a wise speaker attends to the them. Politicians usually pay a great deal of attention to demographic factors when they are on the campaign trail. If a politician speaks in Day County, Florida (the county with the largest elderly population) they will likely discuss the issues that are more relevant to people in that age range – Medicare and Social Security.

Setting

The setting of a presentation can influence the ability to give a speech and the audience’s ability and desire to listen. Some of these factors are: the set-up of the room (both size and how the audience is arranged), time of day, temperature, external noises (lawn mowers, traffic), internal noises (babies crying, hacking coughs), and type of space (church, schoolroom, outside). Finding out ahead of time the different factors going into the setting will allow a speaker to adapt their speech appropriately. Will there be a stage? Will there be a podium or lectern? What technology aids will be available? How are the seats arranged? What is the order of speakers?

Voluntariness

Audiences are either voluntary, in which case they are genuinely interested in what a presenter has to say, or involuntary, in which case they are not inherently interested in the presentation. Knowing the difference will assist in establishing how hard a speaker needs to work to spark the interest of the audience. Involuntary audiences are notoriously hard to generate and maintain interest in a topic (think about most people’s attitudes toward classes or mandatory meetings they would prefer to not attend.)

Egocentrism

Most audience members are egocentric: they are generally most interested in things that directly affect them or their community. An effective speaker must be able to show their audience why the topic they are speaking on should be important to them.

Information Sheet 3.2: Legislation, Policy and Procedures Relating To the Conduct of Evaluations

Evaluation policy

An evaluation policy outlines the definition, concept, role and use of evaluation within an organization. 

The policy document is often a fairly brief document, which is supported by more detailed guidance, guidelines or a procedures manual.  Sometimes the policy document is structured around a number of key principles.

Evaluation policies should also ‘include the institutional framework and definition of roles and responsibilities; an explanation of how the evaluation function and evaluations are planned, managed and budgeted; and a clear statement on disclosure and dissemination.

Why it is important to review policies and procedures

Effective policies and procedures, including the manual as a whole, are living documents that must grow and adapt with a company. While the core elements and the intent of a policy will likely remain the same — keeping people, equipment, assets, and information safe, for example — the details of how to make it happen need to adapt to the changes in the industry and the organization.

Regular policy review and revision are an important part of every policy and procedure management plan, and it’s something your company should put time, energy, and resources into.

Why do you need a policy review process?

Outdated policies can leave your organization at risk. Old policies may fail to comply with new laws and regulations. They may not address new systems or technology, which can result in inconsistent practices. Can you imagine a policy that still addresses whether you can bring in floppy disks from home or discusses the proper use of fax machines? Yet there are probably policy manuals out there that still have this information in them.

Bottom line, regularly reviewing your policies and procedures keeps your organization up to date with the latest regulations and technology, as well as consistent with the industry’s best practices. Your policies are more consistent and effective, and they help protect the organization, the employees, and the people you serve.

And if you’re in a high-risk or highly-regulated industry, such as healthcare, public safety, banking, or financial technology, you should be conducting regular policy reviews anyway. However, it’s a smart idea for every organization, regardless of how regulated you are.

Regular policy and procedure review

The best way to proactively review your policies and procedures is just to schedule time into the corporate calendar.

As a general rule, you should review every policy between one and three years. But most policy management experts recommend that you review all your policies every year.  Good policy management software will let you set up workflows in order to collaborate with your policy review committee, gather feedback, and track approvals. It can even automatically remind people to read and review policies, send out signature reminders, and integrate with your training management program.

Information Sheet 3.3: Organizational Values, Ethics and Codes of Conduct

What is a code of conduct?

A code of conduct is a set of values, rules, standards, and principles outlining what employers expect from staff within an organization.

Often codes of conduct take big picture ideas tied to the business’s overall mission and core values and relate them to the behavior and practices they desire from staff on a day-to-day basis.

Creating a code of conduct is a statement from leadership laying out their expectations and communicating the ethical principles they feel are most fundamental to success. Generally, it reflects the culture already present, or the culture leadership is looking to promote.

A code of conduct is closely related to a code of ethics, to the extent where the phrases are often interchangeable.

However, while there is tremendous overlap, there is also a slight nuance between the two

  • A code of ethics is broader, providing a set of principles that affect employee mindset and decision-making.
  • A code of conduct offers principles defining the ethics of a business, but it also contains specific rules for employee actions and behavior.

Generally, both are combined into a single document, and an organization rarely has a different code for each.

A code of conduct in practice can range from big picture ideals to specific rules. For example, a code of conduct can outline how employees should behave to reflect the organization’s wider mission, but it can also define fixed regulations related to internal practices such as dress code or break policy.

A code of conduct could emphasize ethical attitudes and staff communication policies to prevent conflict or harassment while also outlining the consequences for poor behaving that violates the code.

Why create a code of conduct

With a code of conduct in place, the organization has a framework to inform ethical decision-making for each and every stakeholder. While it isn’t a turn-key solution to every dilemma an employee faces, it shows staff the organization’s guiding principles and helps them make better choices in their daily activities.

By creating a code of conduct:

  • The staff understands what rules and expectations management has. It defines how to act while at work, how to communicate both internally and externally, and helps employees be successful at the company.
  • The organization has concrete company policies to help compliance.
  • Potential customers and business partners understand the values of the organization.

What to include in a code of conduct

While all businesses are different, and no two codes of conduct are the same, recurring factors and themes are found among successful ones.

Your organization’s specific purpose for adopting a code of conduct will define the scope to aim for. Some choose to focus on only the most essential values and guidelines to not overburden employees with information they may forget. Some seek to be more comprehensive and produce documentation covering as many aspects as possible.

Your code of conduct should include information in some form regarding:

  • The values your organization believes in
  • Guidelines for behavior
  • Day-to-day business practices
  • How employees should interact with outside parties

It is also essential to define the procedures and consequences of code violations where applicable. It may be more challenging to identify a code of conduct violation when it comes to company values.

However, employees should know the disciplinary processes for fixed rules (harassment, tardiness, etc.).

Finally, codes of conduct are typically prefaced with a letter from the CEO that provides a personal touch and emphasizes the leadership team’s commitment to the principles and rules it contains.

Listed below are important factors to consider for inclusion in code of conduct.

1. Company values

Details and topics related to the values the company holds itself to. This section allows the company to show the ethics and beliefs most dear to them and how they put this into action. This could include but is not limited to:

  • Business ethics
  • Social responsibility
  • Environmental responsibility
  • Employee rights
  • Commitment and responsibility
  • Diversity and inclusion

2. Employee behavior

Within a code of conduct, leadership must explain to all employees what is expected of them in terms of behavior and performance. This could be related to how they treat the people around them and communicate or specifics related to how they perform their role. A company could cover numerous employee behavior topics within a code of conduct. Examples include:

  • Standards of professionalism
  • Discrimination and sexual harassment policies
  • Use of company assets
  • Use of social media
  • Communication rules
  • Disciplinary process

3. Internal practices

In this instance, internal practices refer to defined rules related to day-to-day business practices that are easy to explain. While similar to employee behavior, it is hard to define a simple black and white definition for “Standards of professionalism.” That topic requires more explanation to convey the expectation to an employee. Whereas a company’s rules related to attendance and punctuality is a set thing that is simple to understand. Examples of the internal practices a code of conduct could contain include:

  • Dress code
  • Annual leave/holiday time
  • Inclement weather policy
  • Break policy
  • Onboarding process
  • Job duties
  • Training guidelines
  • Rules related to time off through illness/injury
  • Attendance and punctuality
  • Use of phone while at work
  • Benefits
  • Chain of command
  • Legal compliance

4. External practices

Finally, a code of conduct; should define the expectations for employees when dealing with external parties. For example, this could be in relation to confidential company material or a level of courtesy and respect when dealing with customers. There are many examples of external practices a code of conduct may define, such as:

  • Confidentiality
  • Privacy
  • Intellectual property policies
  • Customer communication requirements
  • Conflict of interests

What Is a Code of Ethics?

A code of ethics is a guide of principles designed to help professionals conduct business honestly and with integrity. A code of ethics document may outline the mission and values of the business or organization, how professionals are supposed to approach problems, the ethical principles based on the organization’s core values, and the standards to which the professional is held.

A code of ethics, also referred to as an “ethical code,” may encompass areas such as business ethics, a code of professional practice, and an employee code of conduct.

Understanding Codes of Ethics

Business ethics refers to how ethical principles guide a business’s operations. Common issues that fall under the umbrella of business ethics include employer-employee relations, discrimination, environmental issues, bribery, insider trading, and social responsibility.

Code of Ethics vs. Code of Conduct

A code of ethics is similar to a code of conduct. Both are sets of professional standards to guide the behavior of an organization’s members.

However, there are some subtle differences: A code of ethics is used to ensure that members have sound and unclouded judgment. Examples include the legal codes that prohibit lawyers from accepting cases where they have a conflict of interest or those that prevent brokers from trading against their clients.

A code of conduct, on the other hand, guides the specific actions of a company’s employees. It may contain certain norms of professional responsibility, such as punctuality and accuracy. Most companies have an employee code of conduct, both to maintain professionalism and to prevent friction among their employees.

Types of Codes of Ethics

A code of ethics can take a variety of forms, but the general goal is to ensure that a business and its employees are following state and federal laws, conducting themselves with an ideal that can be exemplary, and ensuring that the business being conducted is beneficial for all stakeholders. The following are three types of codes of ethics found in business.

Compliance-Based Code of Ethics

For all businesses, laws regulate issues such as hiring and safety standards. Compliance-based codes of ethics not only set guidelines for conduct but also determine penalties for violations.

In some industries, including banking, specific laws govern business conduct. These industries formulate compliance-based codes of ethics to enforce laws and regulations. Employees usually undergo formal training to learn the rules of conduct. Because noncompliance can create legal issues for the company as a whole, individual workers within a firm may face penalties for failing to follow guidelines.

Value-Based Code of Ethics

A value-based code of ethics addresses a company’s core value system. It may outline standards of responsible conduct as they relate to the larger public good and the environment. Value-based ethical codes may require a greater degree of self-regulation than compliance-based codes.

Some codes of conduct contain language that addresses both compliance and values. For example, a grocery store chain might create a code of conduct that espouses the company’s commitment to health and safety regulations above financial gain. That grocery chain might also include a statement about refusing to contract with suppliers that feed hormones to livestock or raise animals in inhumane living conditions.

Code of Ethics in Different Professions

Certain professions, such as those in the finance or health fields, have specific laws that mandate codes of ethics and conduct.