Code of Ethics: Sony Corporation
Preamble
The Sony Corporation is dedicated to filling the world with emotion, through the power of creativity and technology. They pioneer the future with dreams and curiosity, while also contributing to the world with a sustainable vision. They’re most known for their ground-breaking electronics, extraordinary entertainment, and innovative services.
Sony participates in social media to listen, learn and share stories of the passionate people who help bring Sony to life. They use their mentions on social media to take advantage of the global conversation to improve service of their customers, to learn from their experience and to create better products and services, ultimately, a better company. They also love connecting to their customers and are always there to share and discuss all things Sony.
Although Sony is benefitting from social media, they must consider the numerous risks in its use, from misuse of company resources, to conflicts of interests and social crisis of others. A code of ethics will help Sony manage social media risks by simply outlining how its organization and their employees should conduct themselves via the web. Following the code of ethics below will also help protect Sony’s online reputation and encourage employees to also get involved in sharing about the company in their online platforms.
Code of Ethics
1. Sony will respond quickly and appropriately to direct questions, suggestions and criticism from customers on its social platforms.
2. Sony will acknowledge and take ownership of criticism made from customers on its social platforms. Instead of using automated replies, Sony will personalize each response to reassure customers that their criticism is being acknowledged. If situation escalates, the conversation will be taken offline via direct message.
3. Any photos or content that was not produced by Sony will be credited to sources. Credits will be given with the sources @ handle tagged in relevant postings. Credits will not be necessary if photos or content were produced by Sony.
4. Employees must protect the company’s confidential or proprietary information. They should never disclose sensitive information such as financial records, business performance, product releases or other information that it is the company’s interests to keep confidential.
5. In online discussions related to Sony, employees should not speak on behalf of the company unless specifically authorized.
6. Sony’s social media platforms are intended to foster productivity, efficiency and teamwork. Employees should refrain from discussing sensitive or inflammatory subjects that are not related to work and may lead to unproductive arguments, such as politics or religion.
7. During a company or social media crisis, Sony will release a public statement on the matter. They will be transparent and apologetic to help prevent further backlash against their brand and reputation.
8. Sony will be inclusive and be welcoming to all people no matter of their race, gender, ethnicity, etc. The company will not tolerate employees who are discriminatory or stereotypical towards any type of social group online or offline.
9. Sony and its employees will respect the rights of their users, in particular copyrights, privacy rights and data protection.
References:
https://www.sony.com/en/SonyInfo/CorporateInfo/purpose_and_values/
https://www.sony.com/en_us/SCA/company-news/social-media.html
