Code of Ethics Guidelines

Disclaimer:

The term “certified” shall only be used for personnel certifications based on requirements. “Certificate holder” applies only to certificate programs based on GVU requirements. Certificate holders are not certified, licensed, accredited, or registered to engage in a specific occupation or profession.

1. Purpose:

This Code of Ethics outlines the highest values and ethical principles GVU commits to follow and defines the responsibilities of GVU professionals.

2. Scope:

This Code applies to all GVU professionals, including employees, trainers, examiners, invigilators, committee members, partners, distributors, certified individuals, and certificate holders.

3. Terms and Definitions:

GVU Professionals: Employees, trainers, examiners, invigilators, committee members, partners, distributors, certified individuals, and certificate holders.
Ethics: Standards and rules of conduct GVU Professionals are expected and required to meet.
Values: Beliefs GVU adheres to and strives to observe.

4. Introduction:

This Code reflects GVU’s unwavering commitment to the highest ethical standards, recognizing their importance in service provision and client loyalty. The Compliance Division ensures adherence to this Code by all GVU professionals. Additionally, it emphasizes professionalism, responsibility, competence, and fairness in interactions with internal and external stakeholders.

GVU believes achieving organizational success hinges on understanding client and stakeholder needs and expectations. To achieve this, GVU fosters a culture based on integrity, professionalism, and fairness – its core values. These values are central to the organization’s global presence and growth, establishing its current reputation.

Strong ethical values are fundamental to healthy and strong relationships. Therefore, ensuring GVU professionals demonstrate behavior aligned with GVU principles and values is GVU’s primary responsibility. All GVU professionals are responsible for understanding and complying with this Code in their work for, on behalf of, and with GVU.

Every employee is responsible for understanding these principles and implementing them successfully in their areas of operation or relevant procedures. Anyone unsure about any procedure or requiring clarification is encouraged to contact GVU, which will gladly provide detailed explanations.

5. Applicability:

This Code applies to all GVU professionals. Non-compliance by certified trainers, individuals, certificate holders, and partners may result in revoked certifications, certificates, or licenses. GVU emphasizes this Code’s significance, aiming to inspire exemplary professional conduct in service provision.

GVU professionals are responsible for:

Displaying professional behavior with honesty, accuracy, fairness, and independence in service provision.
Acting in the best interests of their employer, clients, the public, and the profession in accordance with this Code and other professional standards.
Demonstrating and developing competence in their respective fields, continuously improving their skills and knowledge.
Providing services only for those they are qualified for, adequately informing clients about the nature of proposed services and any relevant concerns or risks.
Informing their employer or client of any business interests or affiliations that might influence or impair their judgment.
Preserving the confidentiality of information of any present or former employer or client during service provision.
Complying with all applicable laws and regulations in the jurisdictions where services are conducted.
Respecting the intellectual property and contributions of others.
Not communicating intentionally false or falsified information that may compromise the integrity of a GVU certification or certificate program evaluation process.
Not falsely presenting themselves as GVU representatives without a proper license or misusing GVU logos, certifications, or certificates.
Not acting in ways that could damage GVU’s reputation, certifications, or certificate programs.
Cooperating fully in inquiries following a claimed infringement of this Code.

6. Integrity:

GVU recognizes the critical importance of honesty and integrity in service provision. Therefore, GVU remains firmly committed to providing services with absolute honesty, accuracy, and integrity.

If GVU professionals encounter any potential circumstance that violates this Code, they should ask themselves the following questions:

Is this course of action illegal or unethical?
How am I involved?
Which principles or rules are being infringed?
Could this action undermine my professional and personal character?
Does this action involve being untruthful or unsafe?
Could this action damage GVU (directly or indirectly) or its reputation?
Does this action have a legitimate business purpose, and is there any alternative?

If the proposed course of action fails any of these tests, GVU professionals should seek advice and reconsider their decision.

Ignoring a problem is never acceptable. Consulting with a supervisor or the Compliance Division can help ensure adherence to this Code and maintain GVU’s ethical standards.

7. Respect and Dignity:

GVU values its relationships with stakeholders and treats them with respect and dignity. It ensures that no behavior or decision taken by GVU is in any way offensive or discriminatory, always adhering to fundamental human rights principles.

GVU treats its stakeholders with utmost respect, regardless of race, gender, age, religion, or sexual orientation.

It does not tolerate any physical altercations, harassment, discriminatory, or offensive behavior based on individual differences. GVU encourages freedom of speech and expression of opinions by cultivating a work environment with a strong emphasis on multicultural awareness and tolerance.

8. Impartiality:

Maintaining complete impartiality is crucial for GVU when providing services. Its policies and procedures are designed to guarantee impartiality and ensure services are delivered impartially.

GVU invests considerable effort in checking every information source to avoid potential conflicts of interest and preserve impartiality. The goal is to inspire and maintain full confidence in GVU’s services.

9. Conflict of Interest:

A conflict of interest could occur if a candidate seeking GVU certification or completing a certificate program has a financial or personal relationship with any GVU employees.

GVU encourages all GVU professionals to report any potential conflicts of interest to the Compliance Division. Identifying, minimizing, and managing conflicts of interest is crucial. Additionally, documenting such conflicts and initiating further actions to resolve them is mandatory.

10. Confidentiality:

Any information acquired during service provision must be handled confidentially and protected at all times, regardless of the medium in which it is communicated, shared, or stored. Information security is essential for protecting information from a wide range of threats, ensuring business continuity, minimizing risk, and maximizing returns on investments and opportunities. GVU’s information security priorities are:

To understand and address strategic and operational information security risks
To protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of stakeholder information

GVU professionals are responsible for providing only accurate information. The teams ensure all shared or publicly distributed information complies with GVU’s Quality and Information Security and Data Protection policies. Sharing confidential information without prior consent is strictly prohibited. GVU professionals must understand the importance of information confidentiality and the consequences of sharing it without prior consent, for which they are held accountable.

11. Responsibility:

GVU understands that success cannot be achieved without addressing mistakes. Organizations cannot improve if they fail to identify and address those mistakes.

Therefore, GVU has implemented procedures to address issues, provide feedback, listen to stakeholder concerns, and resolve them effectively.

As part of its continuous improvement process, GVU ensures all issues are treated with priority and responsibility.

The teams are equipped to understand and address stakeholder concerns and needs. By training employees on root cause analysis and corrective action techniques, GVU ensures ongoing improvement.

Drawing from its extensive experience with ISO standards, GVU has implemented best practices in this regard. Its teams are proficient in analyzing and complying with international standard requirements, integrating them into established procedures.

GVU recognizes the detrimental impact of Code of Ethics violations on its reputation.

Therefore, it has implemented an adequate procedure to handle all forms of complaints. This applies to complaints or appeals received from candidates, certified individuals, and other parties concerned with GVU’s rules, policies, procedures, certification decisions, or overall operations.

This procedure covers the assessment of actions, responses, recommendations, and the role of the Appeal Board in reaching a conclusive settlement.

12. Competence:

All GVU employees are competent and qualified in their respective fields.

They are also aware of their roles and responsibilities to effectively fulfill organizational objectives and meet stakeholder expectations.

The primary strategy focuses on identifying the nature of problems through root cause analysis and providing solutions with a focus on efficiency and satisfaction.

GVU consistently provides training to its employees to enhance their knowledge and develop their skills, enabling them to continually meet stakeholder demands. Trainings and awareness sessions are conducted based on real-life scenarios to test approaches for dealing with diverse issues.

13. Anti-Bribery and Anti-Corruption:

GVU fully supports the global fight against bribery and categorically rejects any form of bribery or corruption, direct or indirect, including kickbacks, or the use of funds or assets for any unethical purposes.

This rejection also extends to other improper benefits given to or received from partners, distributors, certified professionals, certificate holders, accreditation authorities, and government authorities. In this regard, GVU promotes full compliance with anti-bribery requirements through local and international standards.

14. Code of Ethics Evaluation:

Compliance with this Code is essential for all GVU professionals. The evaluation and continuous monitoring are integrated into performance evaluations conducted for GVU employees and related stakeholders, such as trainers, invigilators, and examiners.

Any GVU professional who fails to comply with this Code will be subject to disciplinary measures, which may include termination of contract/agreement.

In severe cases, legal action may also be taken. For certified individuals, GVU certifications will be revoked, and for certificate programs, certificates will be invalidated.

In all cases, the person who violates this Code will have the right to be heard and defend themselves before a disciplinary measure is imposed.

15. Environmental Awareness:

GVU recognizes the potential harm unconscious human actions can inflict on the environment.

Therefore, it strives to improve its business processes to achieve an optimal level of environmental protection and operate in the most responsible manner possible.

16. Reach Us:

If any stakeholder witnesses a breach of this Code by GVU professionals, they are strongly encouraged to report it to the Chief Compliance Officer at the provided contact information. GVU is committed to thoroughly investigating each case to uphold the highest ethical standards.

GVU welcomes any questions, concerns, or issues regarding this Code. It is GVU’s pleasure to provide answers and explanations accordingly.

This concludes the deep rephrasing of the GVU Code of Ethics. I hope it is helpful and meets your expectations. Please let me know if you have any other questions or requests.

Version 1.0. Latest update: 2023-12-06

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Code of Ethics Guidelines

Disclaimer:

1. Purpose:

2. Scope:

3. Terms and Definitions:

4. Introduction:

5. Applicability:

6. Integrity:

7. Respect and Dignity:

8. Impartiality:

9. Conflict of Interest:

10. Confidentiality:

11. Responsibility:

12. Competence:

13. Anti-Bribery and Anti-Corruption:

14. Code of Ethics Evaluation:

15. Environmental Awareness:

16. Reach Us:

Next Steps

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Next Steps

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