Athletes, organizations and even myself all have codes of conduct that should be followed. But what is a code of conduct? A code of conduct is a set of rules outlining the responsibilities of proper practices for an individual, party or organization.
Professional athletes are always in the public eye. That’s why it’s important for them to live by a good code of conduct. Some people may look at them as powerful people. Take Michael Jordan for example. Jordan testified in the trial against James Bouler, a convicted drug dealer, in 1992. Jordan was asked why Bouler had a personal check for $57,000 that was signed by Jordan. Jordan first said the check was a business loan before changing his story to say it was to pay for a gambling debt.
A short time later the National Basketball Association did an investigation to see if Jordan had violated any league rules. Did he violate the NBA code of conduct? That question was never answered. As I watched him during his college and professional career he was well-respected, not just as an athlete, but also as a person. Jordan earned his respect not just on the basketball court, but also in the community, and he did it through his code of conduct.
We, as self-employed contractors, have a code of conduct we must follow. Read page two of this paper. Of the ten rules, #3 and #10 are the most important to me. They speak about respect, racism, prejudices, supporting the mission of Street Sense and the Street Sense community. They are the most important because, if followed, they help show the good character, conduct and dedication of us as people and vendors. All ten are important and needed. But what if we didn’t have a code of conduct in place? That’s almost like saying, “What if there were no rules in sports?” My thought is that my code of conduct not only represents me, but Street Sense as a whole. We should respect the code of conduct at all times, because you never know who is watching.
As for myself, I try to show a good code of conduct at all times because it shows the community the person that I am. Having a code of conduct in place is important, because it helps keep things in order and make individuals responsible for their actions.
Why write a code of conduct? To convey the importance of the code of conduct and to encourage people to be the best that they can be. Remember your code of conduct, good or bad, can affect others.
