| Business Ethics and Environmental Management | Individual assignment | Code of Ethics for Ceylon TV Channel (Pvt) Ltd. | | HDBM-F-112112 |

2/27/2012

Introduction
Telecommunication is a well established and a rapidly growing industry in Srilanka. Television, as an almost 100percent penetration medium, provides an ideal platform to television viewers to involve and participate and to get updated on current events and ongoing situations.
Ceylon TV Channel (Pvt) Ltd.
Ceylon TV Channel (Pvt) Ltd. Is a privately owned, local television station in Srilanka. The channel is On-air broadcasting as a Lifestyle and Entertainment Channel.
Ceylon TV Channel's focus is on quality lifestyle and entertainment programming, while at the same time being a news provider and updating people with the current situations and events happening around the country and worldwide. The station's high quality original programming, together with its stylish presentation of acquired programming, provides a distinct TV channel to the viewers. Ceylon TV Channel has a unique and highly visible studio set up that will integrate with its programming presentations.

Vision
Ceylon TV Channel Channel’s vision is to become a television channel for Srilankans that provides a new standard of television, focused on the people of Srilanka.
Mission
Ceylon TV Channel Channel’s mission is to become Srilanka’s leading channel in innovation and quality of programming, relevant and constantly evolving while protecting and enhancing the cultural values of the country.

The Ceylon TV Channel Team
The staff of Ceylon TV Channel are those with a high level of experience in the media field with a strong knowledge of the local market, people whose intelligence and enthusiasm are coupled with an innate creativity and efficiency. Ceylon TV Channel seeks to employ staff that understand the pulse of the country and how to reach its people. Our team consist with those who think out of the box, who have a direct interest in what is going on in and out of the country and who wish to make a positive change to the broadcast landscape.
Ceylon TV Channel hires people with a variety of talents and train them both culturally and operationally, creating a new breed of channel, one that is different, one that matters. People who appreciate excellence in management will recognize unique strengths and creative synergy. People who are young, dynamic, and professionally trained, people who can identify accurately with our target customers, with whom we share many values.
As the CEO of Ceylon TV Channel I have introduce a code of ethics to make this task easier, with more effectiveness and in an efficiency manner. Also I have appoint a supervisor with the title, “Inspector General on discipline” to inspect and maintain the code of ethics introduced.

Code of ethics that should be followed by the Ceylon TV Channel Team
For all the employees * The new code of ethics should be Honesty practiced at all times. * All employees must report to their work stations 10 minutes earlier and should not leave till the job is completely finished. In an emergency case that could not avoid they must repost to their senior manager and to the Inspector General on discipline. * All employees must respect the workplace and private property of their fellows. * No confidential Company information must ever be revealed to third parties. * No employee may enter the private working domain of another employee (desktop, desk drawers, email, and computer documents) without express permission from their senior manager and the knowledge of the other employee who owns the specific working domain. * No employee may withhold knowledge where the withholding of that knowledge will allow another employee to fail or otherwise suffer. * Company property must never be taken for personal use. * All managers should take the responsibility of the employees who works under them. * Any employee soliciting or accepting any commission, payment, gift, service, favour or any other advantage in connection with his/her work will be immediately terminated without any compensation. * All employees should wear decently respecting to the dress code and the presenting host mustn’t wear ant tight, short, transparent and deep cut out fits that cause unnecessary attentions and cultural issues. * Whole Ceylon TV Channel Team should follow the industrial rules and regulations appointed by the law and the government. * All the members should attend to the meetings called and must report to their senior manager or the Inspector General on discipline if they won’t attend, with acceptable reasons (only if it is an unavoidable reason)

The board of directors * Each member of the board of directors will abide in all respects by Ceylon TV Channel Code of Ethics and all other rules and regulations of the association and will ensure that their membership in the association remains in good standing at all times. * Each member of the board of directors will at all times obey laws and regulations and will provide or cause to provide the full cooperation of the association when requested to do so by those institutions and their persons set in authority as are required to uphold the law. * Members of the board of directors will conduct the business affairs of the association in good faith and with honesty, integrity, due diligence, and reasonable competence. * Except as the board of directors may otherwise require or as otherwise required by law, no board member shall share, copy, reproduce, transmit, divulge or otherwise disclose any confidential information related to the affairs of the association and each member of the board will uphold the strict confidentiality of all meetings and other deliberations and communications of the board of directors. * Members of the board of directors will exercise proper authority and good judgment in their dealings with association staff, suppliers, and the general public and will respond to the needs of the association's members in a responsible, respectful, and professional manner. And should not promote any employee for favorable manners. * Members of the board of directors should go through all the details of broad casting programs before approving them. And any of the programs should not harm the culture of the country or mislead our audience. * Should pay much more attention when selecting sponsors for children’s programs and advertising terms during children’s programs. * Commercials which include actual or implied sex will not be accepted.

Producers * Produces should keeping with the principle of due accuracy and impartiality, ensure that significant mistakes made in the course of any broadcast is acknowledged and corrected on air immediately. Corrections should also be scheduled in such a way that they attract enough viewer attention and are not concealed. * Programs that produce must not have the effect of provoking or abetting any religion, race, gender, language or political conflicts. * Should pay much more attention when producing children’s programs. And the advertisements shown during both children’s programs and religious programs. * Programs shall not use dialogues, actions and other similar manifestations which are obscene, blasphemous, profane or derogatory.

Presenting host * Performers in programs shall always observe decency and proper decorum. All hosts/casts/regular on-air personalities shall be properly dressed for their program, taking into account not only what is fashionable but also what is decent and proper for the medium.

* Performers in the programs shall not be allowed to perform while under the influence of drugs or liquor.

* In live interviewing programs the host must tell subjects why the invited guests are being interviewed and ensuring they know when they are speaking on the record.

* When accepting telephone calls to be aired on a program, care will be taken to ensure principles of fairness, integrity, balance and diversity of individual expression.

* The tone and content of programming must not abuse, misrepresent or incite discrimination, hatred or violence against any individual or identifiable group based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, mental/physical disability, marital / family status, or political affiliation.

* Matters of personal privacy will not be portrayed without the subject’s expressed consent or volunteering.

Supporting crew * When persons are telephoned from a program, they shall be informed of the purpose and context of the interview, and their permission will be obtained before the call is broadcast. * The background setup should always match with the programme broad casting and should give special attention on religious programs and children’s programs. * Should not point the camera where it make uncomfortable for the host and the guests. * Persons whose voices are to be broadcast shall be so advised before they are on air.

Advertising and Sponsorships * No advertising in which the primary purpose is the raising of funds, for whatever reason, can be broadcast without the authorization of the Board of Directors. * The message must adhere to all applicable laws and codes regarding television advertising in Srilanka. * The sponsor and the sponsor’s product or service will be identified only at the beginning and end of programs, and according to an approved verbal and visual format.

The code of ethics Introduce to the company. * Our channel must not intrude on private lives, or personal affairs of individuals, unless there is a clearly established larger and identifiable public interest for such a broadcast. The underlying principle that news channels abide by is that the intrusion of the private spaces, records, transcripts, telephone conversations and any other material will not be for salacious interest, but only when warranted in the public interest. * We must provide for neutrality by offering equality for all affected parties, players and actors in any dispute or conflict to present their point of view. * Television news has greater reach, and more immediate impact than other forms of media, and this makes it all the more necessary that our channel exercise restraint to ensure that any report or visuals broadcast do not induce, glorify, incite, or positively depict violence and its perpetrators, regardless of ideology or context. Specific care must be taken not to broadcast visuals that can be prejudicial or inflammatory. Equally, in the reporting of violence (whether collective or individual) the act of violence must not be glamorized, because it may have a misleading or desensitizing impact on viewers. * Accuracy is at the heart of the news television business. Viewers of any tv channel expect speed, but it is the responsibility of Ceylon TV channel, to keep accuracy, and balance, as precedence over speed. If despite this there are errors, we should be transparent about them. Errors must be corrected promptly and clearly.

All the employees have the right and the obligation to seek and obtain guidance about any issue regarding the new code of ethics introduce by contacting the Inspector General on discipline or the human resource manager. Employees may also can give their feed back through the Inspector General on discipline or by straightly putting an appointment with me.

Reporting illegal or unethical behaviour
Employees should report to the Inspector General on discipline or the human resource manager regarding any illegal or unethical behaviour going on in the organization premises immediately.

Jayani Thalwattage. |