Mazda does not view compliance as simply complying with legal regulations; the Company believes that internal guidelines and social norms (society's expectations and requests) apply as well. These ideas are specified in the Mazda Corporate Ethics Code of Conduct, which is the benchmark for ensuring that the Company's business operations are fair and honest. Overseas, Mazda's compliance guidelines require that employees not only follow international rules and all applicable laws, but also that they respect local history, culture, and customs.
Five principles of "faithful" behavior
- To comply with laws and regulations, company rules, common sense and sound practice in international society.
- To be fair and even-handed.
- To fulfill the company's social responsibilities.
- To fulfill your own duties truthfully.
- To be honest.
Guidelines
- Comply with laws and regulations and the company rules. In a situation where such rules are not clearly defined, make a judgment considering their spirit.
- Treat employees, customers and clients fairly and justly. Do not obtain from or give anybody an unjust benefit and/or favor taking advantage of your business position.
- Make distinctions between public and private affairs, and never pocket or abuse the company assets.
- Keep confidential information. Never infringe on any intellectual property right, whether it belongs to Mazda or another party.
- Seek to develop, manufacture and sell products taking human safety and the environment into consideration.
- Act with a view to seeking sound profits.
- Respect human rights and human dignity.
- State the truth honestly and timely in reporting internally and/or to the public.
In 1999, Mazda established the Ethics Advisory Office to handle employee inquiries about compliance and conduct investigations on ethical matters. In September 2007, the scope of the office was expanded to include domestic and overseas Group companies, and it was renamed the Mazda Global Hotline as a contact point for receiving information. The Mazda Corporate Ethics Code of Conduct states that "Persons who report incidences of violation of the law and persons who cooperate in investigations of alleged violations shall not be subjected to retribution or disadvantageous treatment."
To ensure that all employees are aware of this hotline, Mazda has distributed cards with the contact information to all head office employees, and introduced the hotline to Group companies in Japan and overseas via the Company Intranet.
In teaching employees about compliance, Mazda expects much more than just obedience to laws and rules alone; Mazda employees are expected to understand why those strictures are important, adopt them as personal standards, and work hard to spread their acceptance and apply them at all times. In a word, Mazda teaches integrity, and conducts a wide range of compliance-education activities to foster its widespread adoption.
Compliance training is provided to all new employees, including mid-career hires, as well as newly appointed managers. In FY2010, some 719 individuals undertook this training.
The Company uses its Intranet to raise employee consciousness of compliance issues. For example, Mazda distributes a case study series entitled "Learning from other Companies," which highlights problems at other companies in terms of compliance and risk management and some of the outstanding solutions used to solve them. Another Intranet-based study tool is a monthly series entitled "Compliance Communications," which draws on familiar situations to prompt better understanding of compliance. Every month some 3,000–5,000 employees read these materials. Some of this information is also shared with Group companies, which apply them in their own compliance education activities.
To support highly transparent management throughout all Group companies, Mazda promotes the strengthening of compliance among its dealers in Japan.
The following CSR training programs were implemented in FY2010:
- CSR Committee meetings are convened in conjunction with the Mazda Dealership Association in order to discuss basic policies and measures related to compliance and internal controls, and request cooperation of all Mazda dealerships.
- Questions regarding compliance were added to the Self-Diagnosis Checklist on Internal Controls, which is deployed throughout the Mazda Group. Group companies use the checklist to confirm the status of their compliance with related laws.
- In FY2008, Mazda began distributing "Compliance One-point Lessons." Based on actual incidents, these lessons explain how the causal factors behind incidents were uncovered and describe the measures taken to prevent their recurrence.
- Specialized e-learning programs for each job category are implemented in order to promote employee understanding of compliance and internal controls.
- The Mazda Global Hotline internal reporting system can be used for immediate reporting of problems related to compliance, internal controls, and other issues.
Mazda promotes integrity and fairness in business activities throughout its entire supply chain.
For its suppliers, Mazda publishes the "Request for Thorough Compliance with Labor Related Laws." This document calls on all Mazda partners to strictly abide by all labor laws and to prohibit forced labor, child labor, and abuse or coercion of workers.
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