Eskom's Code Of Ethics Case Study

Eskom:
Eskom started in 1923 and was known to be the Electricity Supply Commission. During 2002, Eskom was transformed into a public company and was largely owned by the government. Eskom generates about 95% and 45% of electricity used in South Africa and Africa respectively. They generate and transmit electricity to not only residents but also to the industrial, mining, agricultural and commercial sectors present in South Africa and Africa (Eskom, 2008, 1). During 2014, Eskom had approximately 46 919 people working for them. They achieve racial equity in both middle management and higher management at 70.6%. Eskom’s customer bases accumulates to 5 232 915 (Eskom, 2014: 1).

What is ethics?
Ethics, in the Oxford Dictionary (2015), can be

Eskom strives towards the highest standard of ethical conduct in everything it performs. According to the, The Way, Eskom’s directors and employees apply their code of ethics in their day to day activities even if there are no rules that govern those decisions (Eskom, 2008: 2). Eskom obeys with the necessary laws and regulations and they take into consideration the interests of their stakeholders. Their operations and actions are driven based on good corporate governance such as responsibility, accountability, fairness and transparency (Eskom, 2008, 1). Transparency, in the Cambridge Dictionary (2015), can be defined as a situation in which business and financial activities are done in an open way without any hidden secrets. Eskom portrays their transparent actions by communicating openly with everyone; striving towards keeping promises; portraying accurate information and protecting confidential information (Eskom, 2008: 3). Accountability on the other hand is when someone is solely responsible for the actions they perform and should be able to give a valid reason why they performed those actions (Cambridge Dictionary, 2015). There are six distinctive values present within Eskom and will be dealt with in more detail

Values can further be described in the Oxford Dictionary (2015) as the standards of behaviour. According to the Integrated Report of Eskom, the six values present are zero harm; integrity; innovation; sinobuntu; customer satisfaction and excellence (Eskom, 2014: 34). Eskom strives towards ensuring that no harm is done with regards to their employees; contractors; the public and most importantly the environment. Eskom demonstrates their commitment by contributing 132, 9 million rand towards Corporate Social Investment drives and projects (Eskom, 2014:1). With regards to integrity, Eskom commits themselves towards achieving honesty, not only in their conduct and actions but also when working with their employees and customers (Eskom, 2014: 34). Eskom tries to encourage their innovation by being results orientated. Sinobuntu in Eskom is defined as being caring (Eskom, 2014: 34). One of the most predominant values in the business world is customer satisfaction and should be present within every business. Eskom is committed towards meeting and exceeding the needs and wants of customers who invest in their products and services. Excellence is what drives Eskom towards achieving their goals as they would like to be recognised for their professionalism and standards of work (Eskom, 2014: 34). Eskom’s main purpose is to provide viable electricity so that the economy can grow and also to better