1.4 Ethics & Integrity

Code of Conduct and Conflict Management

All personnel are required to adhere to the organization's formal Code of Conduct. This is not optional; it is a condition of employment.

Core Principles: Honesty, transparency, compliance with all local and international laws, and the unwavering protection of company and customer confidential information.
Whistleblower Protection: The organization maintains a confidential reporting mechanism for ethical violations. Retaliation against whistleblowers is strictly prohibited.

Personnel must proactively disclose any situation that could compromise — or appear to compromise — their professional judgment.

Mandate: Any personal financial interest, familial relationship, or outside employment connected to a supplier, customer, or competitor must be formally disclosed.
Recusal: Individuals with a conflict of interest must recuse themselves from decision-making processes involving the conflicting party.

The integrity of the supply chain is critical for preventing fraud, ensuring material quality, and guaranteeing reliable delivery.

Prohibition: Offering, soliciting, or accepting bribes, kickbacks, or gifts of significant value to influence purchasing or business decisions is strictly prohibited.
Policy: Gifts and entertainment must be nominal in value, transparent, and infrequent. Any exception requires explicit management approval.

Objective Criteria: Procurement and sourcing decisions must be based solely on documented supplier performance metrics—specifically PPM (Quality) and OTD (On-Time Delivery)—and total cost of ownership. Personal relationships or favoritism are not valid criteria.
Competition: Suppliers should be treated fairly and given equal opportunity to compete for business based on merit.

Intellectual Property is the lifeblood of the organization and its customers. Protecting it globally is a primary responsibility.

Requirement: Confidential information, including component samples, schematics, BOMs, and manufacturing files, must never be shared with suppliers or third parties without a fully executed Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) in place.
Release Control: Only Design Engineering or authorized program management personnel have the authority to release technical data packages. Unauthorized sharing is a severe security breach.

Mandate	Criteria	Verification Action
Code of Conduct	All personnel have signed and acknowledged the Code of Conduct.	Annual HR audit verifies 100% completion of ethics training and acknowledgment.
Conflict Disclosure	Potential conflicts of interest are formally disclosed and managed.	Review of disclosure forms ensures appropriate recusals are in place.
Procurement Integrity	Supplier selection is driven by objective data (PPM, OTD).	Audit of purchasing records confirms decisions align with supplier scorecards.
IP Security	NDA required before sharing any technical data.	Document control system blocks release of files without confirmation of active NDA.
Anti-Corruption	Zero tolerance policy for bribery and kickbacks is actively enforced.	Internal audits review expense reports and supplier interactions for compliance.