Review your leadership structure, and identify the process by which you can prop

Question

Review your leadership structure, and identify the process by which you can propose a policy change and how that proposal would navigate through leadership to get approved.

Identify a policy in your organization that you think could be created or amended to improve organizational governance, operations, or compliance with federal or state regulations.

Write a 700- to 1,050-word paper that outlines your policy proposal ideas and includes the following:

Provide an analysis of how your policy change would improve the organization.

Evaluate what changes in the organization would need to be made to implement the policy change.

Explain how you would advocate for your policy change while using the approval processes in your organization.

Explanation / Answer

Leadership can be hard to define and it means different things to different people. In the transformational leadership model, leaders set direction and help themselves and others to do the right thing to move forward. To do this they create an inspiring vision, and then motivate and inspire others to reach that vision.

In short; Leadership means effective people management and for an efficient management, an organization needs an ethical and compliant culture,

Without an ethical and compliant culture, organization will be at risk. More and more, culture is moving from a lofty, “squishy” concept to something that should be defined, measured and improved.

So what is Compliance?

Compliance is the set of processes and organization uses to ensure that employees and the organization as a whole abide by internal rules of conduct and external rules and regulations. It may include the company’s written values, its ethics policy, the employee handbook, and policies for complying with legal obligations (like taxes and corporate reporting). In large organizations, it may include or be housed within a general counsel’s office. In smaller organizations, compliance tends to reside, informally, within the functions of the chief executive officer, chief financial officer, and head of HR.

The Importance of Compliance in an Organization

In any organization, there are certain government regulations and standards that one need to comply with. There are rules governing everything from healthcare to retirement portfolios to sexual harassment and more. Failure to adhere to these rules can result in serious penalties.

It may seem like a hassle, but these rules are in place to protect the workers, making sure they receive fair treatment and aren’t exploited. Therefore, it’s essential that leader knows what the rules are and what leader need to do in order to ensure compliance within the organization at all times.

Compliance is important for many reasons:

A Corporate Compliance Program

So how do leader ensure compliance within the organization? The best way to make sure leader cover all areas adequately is to establish a corporate compliance program within company. Such a program would handle training and education in a variety of capacities, so that all employees know their rights and responsibilities under the law.

By training the employees to know what to look for, it makes it more likely that they’ll recognize and report instances of non-compliance, so that company can deal with it quickly. This helps avoid a variety of potential problems, from fraud and abuse to corporate waste to discriminating and more.

To implement such a program, first a leader need someone to run it: typically a HR manager or committee who knows the various facets of compliance as they apply to the organization and can oversee it day to day. They will create a comprehensive list of all important areas and how to make company compliant within them.

It’s important that the person or group in charge of the program have ultimate authority in compliance matters. If the leader, a board member, or another high ranking executive is non-compliant in some way, they need to be held accountable, without fear of repercussions. That’s the only way such a program works.

Areas of Compliance

So what are some of the areas in which the organization needs to implement measures of compliance, and what do some of these measures entail? Here’s a very brief overview of some of the most important ones.

ACA. Companies with more than 50 full-time employees must provide those employees with access to healthcare under the Affordable Care Act. Employees need to be educated on their options, and the cost of the plan must be reported to the IRS.

EEOC Reporting. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission makes it illegal for employers to discriminate against anyone based on race, age, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or a variety of other factors. Proving compliance in this area requires employers to maintain and report certain records about their hiring practices—and even more detailed records if the organization has a charge filed against it for failure to comply.

Sexual Harassment Training. Sexual harassment in the workplace is being taken more seriously than ever in today’s society. There are a variety of courses available for employees, to show them how to conduct themselves and what constitutes unacceptable behaviour, as well as what to do and how to report it if they are sexually harassed.

Fiduciary Rule. Do the company offer an IRA, 401(k), or other type of investment portfolio for the employees? Who oversees those investment? Relatively recent changes to the law state that any financial advisor must adhere to the fiduciary rule—i.e. they must place their client’s interests ahead of their own when providing investment advice. Does the person or organization handling your employees’ retirement accounts and other investments comply with these regulations?

Overtime. How much overtime are company employees allowed to work? How much do they get paid for working above and beyond normal hours? What are leader’s responsibilities in that situation? What do leader need to provide for them? Overtime rules can differ depending on where company is located, but it’s important to know them before asking employees to stay late.

These are just a few of the issues that a leader needs to be aware of when it comes to compliance. Proper compliance doesn’t just protect the employees. It protects leader as well, from lawsuits and other penalties. It’s important to make sure that employees know that they’re safe from exploitation, discrimination, and harassment, and that they have legal recourse if they ever face these things. Giving them that peace of mind will help make your company a much better working environment for everyone.

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