h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

The Conservative party has issues guidelines to it's MPs on how behave.

Frankly, I'm gob-smacked that they need to be told.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-26986411

Amongst other things they should not use their position to bully, abuse or harass employees or assume a threatening or intimidating style or discriminate against them.

I hope this doesn't come as a surprise to too many of them.

Mind you, it IS voluntary. Thank goodness!

PP.

It's funny how we sometimes assume that the values
we espouse are universally known and accepted. I've
had a hard lesson over this past winter as I took on
the task of re-writing the ancient out-of-date By Laws
of my British Car club.

I managed to reduce a lot of legalese gobblegook down from
17 pages to four and proudly took it to our Board of Directors
for final approval before taking it to our Annual General Meeting
for official ratification. Easy-peasy I thought.

Then, someone on the board said something about needing a
"Conflict of Interest" clause so I pointed out the clause I had
written which gives the Board the right to dismiss any member
(without naming any specific crimes or breaches of faith).

What a can of worms that opened up. Almost to a man
the rest of the board suddenly turned on me demanding we list all
the reasons for dismissal and create a whole new section to be
called Code of Ethics and Conduct. Many are from corporate or
professional backgrounds and apparently feel a need to have
their Ethical Behaviours dictated by Holy Writ.





So, yeah, I can see a need to occasionally remind people of
what they may or may not do when representing the name of any
organisation they belong to - but I maintain that anyone who
gets old enough and crazy enough to own an antique British car
and declares their desire to participate in our social interactions
and all the camaraderie there-in, really ought to have an innate
sense of Ethics that does not need spelling out via a list of sins,
crimes and offenses worthy of dismissal.

Similarly, a political party ought to know what is and isn't proper
behaviour and good citizenship. But... as you say, the gobsmacking
truth is that some people need to be reminded.


~jwf~

PS: Sorry to prattle on at such length but your story touched
a nerve and reminds me that this phenomenon of needing to put
in (legal and possibly binding) writing a whole lot of stuff that used
to come naturally to anyone brought up under the Common Law
and Fair Play traditions of the English speaking peoples.

So to answer your OP question in brief, YES I know how to behave
and I may just have to pull a hissy fit and resign my position on the
Board and disassociate myself from these wannabe lawyer fools
who have watched too much Courtroom drama on tv.

Any business will have guidelines on what they consider ethical behaviour for their employees. Most of it is completely obvious. I'd expect a political party to do the same.

The problem is that a certain percentage of any population will have no clue about how to behave. If you chew them out about something inane they've done, they won't get what you're talking about. This comes up a lot in Internet discussion boards and blogs. Webmasters and moderators need to wear armor sometimes .

Did they include any guidelines about selfies?

*note to self*
Add to By Laws the egoistic practice of taking pics
of self unless the car predominates the photo image.
See contrasting examples/degrees of self indulgence:
http://public.fotki.com/azahar/h2g2_friends/johnfulton2.html
http://public.fotki.com/azahar/h2g2_friends/yellowtr6.html

~jwf`

Those are cool pictures, jwf.

Isn't this just an employer listing every single possible means by which they could be sued if they don't?

That's my default opinion these days.

Deb

It's a pointless exercise because no one can possibly foresee every possible case that may arise.Which is why insurance companies have relied on God clauses or force of nature clauses to wriggle out of payment which is another example of rotten behaviour IMHO.

If you burn enough calories, the exercise is not pointless.

>> listing every single possible means by which they could be sued <<

Egads, you've rumbled the end result of the Great Conflict of Interest
and Code of Ethics and Conduct Debate.

As members of the Board delved deeper into the manifest of human
failings and anticipated more and more potential bad behaviours from
our 'fellow' members, it was moved that the Board should acquire
liability insurance that would render us relatively immune to such
law suits as might inevitably arise when we put forth new By Laws.

I was outnumbered 10 to one on a motion to purchase such insurance
(in the amount of several millions should we happen to kill a young
neurosurgeon with a large family).

My parting shot was something like:
"It's just a Car Club for Chrissake!"


~jwf~

You seem to be a lightning rod for such tings, jwf

Either that, or you're spectacularly unlucky. I shall make a point of not standing too close to you during the next rain storm. .

*careful... I have relatives in Chelsea and the Cape*

~jwf~

Of course you do!

And I notice that they aren't very close to you in thunderstorms either .

But maybe I should try to behave .