Ruby Tuesday Code Of Conduct

Ruby Tuesday: Ethical & Socially Responsive Business

Ruby Tuesday opened its first restaurant in 1972 near the University of Tennessee’s campus. Almost 40 years later, the company has grown to roughly 800 locations across the United States and around the world and is comprised of more than 40,000 team members (Ruby Tuesday, n.d.). Ruby Tuesday’s mission is “Quality. Passion. Pride," and to uphold such strong values, it was compulsory that a code of conduct and ethics was established (Ruby Tuesday, n.d.). Key areas that our company focuses on are complying with laws, rules, and regulations- particularly harassment and discrimination. Confidentiality is also an integral part of our code of ethics. Appropriate steps will be taken to assure that

individuals employed by our business follow the code of conduct. Furthermore, as a company that prides itself on having a family type atmosphere, it is paramount that we partake in socially responsive activities in the communities we are located in to emphasize our commitment to our customers.
Compliance with laws, rules, and regulations is paramount for Ruby Tuesday and is an essential component in our Code of Conduct. Complying with the laws, rules, and regulations includes preventing harassment and discrimination, improper payments, keeping employees safe, and environmental compliance. Also, adhering to these laws, rules and regulations help the company avoid penalties, fines, and lawsuits that shed a negative light on our business.
Harassment and discrimination, in particular, cause many issues within the enterprise. Productivity due to harassment and discrimination causes lost work time, decreases employee morale, and can lead to a higher turnover rate. If one does not adhere to Ruby Tuesday's code of ethics regarding harassment and discrimination, the company could face hefty attorney fees and possible criminal charges. In May 2015, Ruby Tuesday had to pay $100,000 to settle an EEOC Sex Discrimination Lawsuit. According to the EEOC’s website, "The federal agency charged that Ruby Tuesday denied two male employees the opportunity to work as servers in the busy resort town of Park City, Utah in the summer of 2013. According to the EEOC's suit, Ruby Tuesday posted an internal announcement within a nine-state region for temporary summer positions with company-provided housing and the chance for greater earnings. However, the announcement stated that only females would be considered, purportedly because of concerns about housing employees of both genders together. Ruby Tuesday only selected women for those summer jobs, therefore blocking two male employees from transferring to the resort." (U.S. Equal Opportunity Commission, 2015). Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employers from giving more advantageous terms and conditions of employment to one group of individuals based on gender. Due to this particular suit, Ruby Tuesday provided extensive training to managers and employees and was required to report these efforts to the EEOC and post reminders of the resolution to the company's website. This lawsuit is one example of what can happen when employees are not properly trained on national, state, foreign, and other applicable regulatory agencies' laws/regulations. (U.S. Equal Opportunity Commission, 2015).
Company confidentiality is a crucial component of Ruby Tuesday's code of ethics.

Confidentiality has several different levels that include employee, management, and business information. Employee data includes personal identifying information, disability and medical information, etc. Keeping this material confidential is important because the information could lead to criminal activity to include fraud or discrimination; this can result in decreased productivity and affect employee morale. Management information covers impending layoffs, terminations, workplace investigation of employee misconduct, etc. It should go without saying that sensitive data should only be available to management. Lastly, the business portion includes business plans, company forecasts, and special ingredients/recipes, information that would not be readily available to competitors. Employees and managers should receive training on how to properly handle confidential information (Jules Halpern Associates, LLC,

2010).
Having a company code of conduct is essential, but it is equally important to make sure the code of conduct is understood and adhered to by all employees.

Ruby Tuesday should have mandatory online training courses to new hires as well as "refresher" training for current employees. Staff should be required to complete the training by a certain due date to ensure it is done in timely fashion. Having a company intranet and a company handbook is another way that Ruby Tuesday can implement its code of conduct; This would ensure that employees have easy access to the information should they have any questions. In conclusion, once employees have gone through proper training courses, having them sign and acknowledge that they have read and agree to abide by the code will be valuable if the code is violated and disciplinary action needs to be

taken.
Three ways that Ruby Tuesday can engage in socially responsive behaviors in their communities is by becoming involved in local charities, using only NON-GMO (genetically modified organisms) ingredients in their food preparation, and creating a mobile application to be more interactive with their customers. As reported by Knowledge@Wharton, “More than 75% of consumers say that social responsibility is an important factor in their purchase decisions, and 70% say they are willing to pay a premium for products from a socially responsible company” (Knowledge@Wharton, p. 266). Becoming active in a local charity is a wonderful way to get involved with the locals in the community. Perhaps Ruby Tuesday could take part in building Habitat for Humanity houses. Donating any leftover food items at the end of the night to a local food bank is also another way to 'give back' to the local neighborhood. In addition to helping the community, committing to cooking/preparing food with only NON-GMO is not only socially responsive, but it is also very progressive. With all of the research that has been conducted on GMOs and the impact on consumers' health, switching to only non-GMO ingredients would show customers that Ruby Tuesday cares about providing high-quality, healthy ingredients. Lastly, creating a mobile application will provide easier access for the restaurant to interact with customers. Updating menu offerings would be easy through the mobile application, and could be used together with the loyalty program offered by the company. Being technologically savvy will also reduce printing costs for sending coupons via direct mail to customers. Ruby Tuesday can reach more consumers at a lower cost and limit the environmental impact due to printing.
Ruby Tuesday is a restaurant whose passion is people—be that the thousands of employees or the guests visiting their establishment. A business code of ethics was conceived to secure positive employee morale that translates to the forward-looking customer experience. All members of the Ruby Tuesday team will have access to company intranet and are inclined to complete regular training to secure their knowledge and retention of the code of conduct. Because Ruby Tuesday wants guests to have an ‘at home' feel while dining at our establishment, it is important that we engage in socially responsible behaviors such as getting involved in community service programs, providing a healthier menu by only using non-GMO ingredients, and by creating a mobile application that will increase customer interaction. Here at Ruby Tuesday's, we are certain that by following our business code of ethics and engaging the communities we are located in, we can continue to grow and remain one of America's favorite places to dine.