Article Type : Research Article
Authors : Saleh YAB
Keywords : GECOL; Non-Profit public sector institutions; Social responsibilities; Corruption; Internal audit; Independence; Managerial economics
In a developing country such as Libya, the culture of CSR is
almost completely non-existent, especially in the NPPSIs. The features of this
thought are not clear to most NPPSIs including the GECOL until it is adopted.
Purpose: This study aims to achieve the following: 1) Defining the features of
CSR thought in the NPPSIs; 2) Determining how to evaluate the extent of these
NPPSIs ’commitment to their responsibility; 3) Trying to use the proposed ideas
to evaluate the social performance of the GECOL in a scientific and logical
way.
Method: Theoretically, the researcher used the idea of the
purpose of establishing the institution in determining the content of economic
responsibility, and the idea of economic capacity in determining the type of
philanthropic responsibility. Practically, to evaluate the extent of the
institution’s commitment to its social responsibilities, the researcher used
the method of comparing the actual social responsibility performance with the
desired and planned social responsibility performance. To evaluate economic
responsibility, the researcher suggests adopting one of the concepts of
managerial economics - the lost opportunity cost and economic savings.
Data: To evaluate the social performance of the GECOL, the
researcher relied on the information contained in the reports of the Internal
Audit Department - Benghazi Plain, as a source of information, as well as
personal interviews with the employees in that department.
Results: Theoretically, this study was able to define the
features of CSR for NPPSIs, along with a description of how to evaluate the
social performance of these NPPSIs logically. On the practical level,
unfortunately the result was disappointing, which is that: The GECOL is not
committed to its economic and ethical responsibilities towards the Libyan
society, but it is incompletely committed to its non-material philanthropic and
legal responsibilities.
Originality or Value: The researcher expects that this study
will receive great attention from officials in the Libyan state and leaders of
the GECOL. The researcher also expects the development of methods and
procedures-that internal audit departments can use in NPPSIs in Libya-
including the GECOL, to keep pace with the process of promoting social
responsibility ideas in the NPPSIs.
Scholars have increasingly been studying the impact
of CSR as a business strategy in for-profit institutions. The results
frequently indicate benefits to the organizations such as enhanced reputation,
increased sales, and reduced reputation damage during crises. Little is known
about the impact of CSR on organizations from the non-profit sector [1]. The
research confirms that establishing the institution plays a major role in
determining the impact of social responsibility on these institutions. The aim
of establishing a profit-making institution is to achieve profit (economic
gains for owners). To achieve this goal, institutions are forced to adhere to
their social responsibilities in order to enhance the competitive advantage
that maximizes profit, especially in developed countries where markets are
competitive. As for the purpose of establishing a non-profit institution is to
provide free or almost free services with high quality to those who deserve it
and at the lowest possible cost. While carrying out activities for this
purpose, compliance with all local laws and international instruments, noble human
values, codes of ethics and professional conduct rules must be observed. The
final result of these institutions’ commitment or lack of commitment is
reflected in the satisfaction or dissatisfaction of society with the
institutions’ performance. Failure to adhere to social responsibility may mean
wasting economic resources, public money and human resources, and the growth of
negative phenomena such as corruption within society. Moreover, the lack of
commitment to social responsibility also negatively affects the country's
economy. This happens when the services - provided to those who deserve it, are
of low quality. The matter that prompts people to buy these services from other
countries as is the case in Libya, and the consequent economic problems represented
in the exit of hard currency outside the borders of the state. Therefore, the
impact of the commitment to social responsibility is not on the non-profit
institution in the public sector, but on society, as a financier of this
institution, and not as is the case in the for-profit sector institutions,
where the most affected party are the owners. Compared with the private sector,
the reader will note that few scientific writings have reviewed the issue of
the social responsibility for NPPSIs, for the following reasons:
·
Many governments
resorted to privatization in the 1980s and 1990s to remedy the perceived
problems of providing public services
·
Mostly, public sector
institutions are directly subject to government oversight and its regulatory
agencies;
·
Mostly, the activities
carried out by these institutions are harmless to the environment;
·
There is no material
philanthropic responsibility in such institutions;
·
The lack of interest of
scholars in issuing scientific initiatives to define the content of the
economic responsibility of these institutions -lack of clarity of economic
responsibility in these institutions.
The researcher believes that the reasons that led to
scholars' interest in writing on the topic of social responsibility for
profitable private sector enterprises are:
·
The for-profit private
sector institutions are far from the eyes of direct government oversight;
·
Environmental pollution
caused by the for-profit private sector institutions is much more than that
caused by public sector institutions;
·
Profitable private
sector institutions are more problematic in relation to rights and social
justice compared to public sector institutions;
The social
responsibilities of the for-profit private sector enterprises are defined and
clear, and not as is the case for public sector institutions.
Notice: In Libya, after the February 17, 2011
revolution, the economic and security conditions deteriorated, which negatively
affected the performance of public sector institutions financed by the Libyan
public treasury - including the GECOL. To this day, the electric power
transmission lines copper cables are still exposed to theft by the armed gangs
of the copper trade. There is no doubt that, the repeated attacks on energy transmission
networks and the civil wars that destroyed many power transmission stations in
Libya, and the deterioration of the economic situation in Libya, the low level
of state revenues contributed to the deterioration of the GECOL’s performance
at all levels and its failure to fulfil its obligations towards all
stakeholders. The external circumstances affecting the performance of the GECOL
cannot be considered a justification for exempting the GECOL from
accountability for the extent of its commitment to its social responsibility,
as there are other considerations that can be adopted to judge the social
performance of the GECOL. A statement of the extent of the GECOL’s commitment
or non- commitment to its social responsibility towards all stakeholders will
depend on the logical and scientific evaluation through which the social
performance of the GECOL can be judged. In general, the culture of CSR is not
prevalent within Libyan society. In a more precise sense, the culture of social
responsibility is almost non-existent in profit and non-profit organizations.
Wasting public money, corruption, mediation and favouritism are all bad
characteristics that characterize the non-profit public sector in Libya. The
low level of services provided to the public has created a state of discontent
among the general population in Libya. Libyan society’s dissatisfaction with
the poor performance of the NPPSIs, especially in recent years, is due to the
poor services provided by these institutions to the beneficiaries. The GECOL,
as a non-profit public sector institution is not immune to all of this. There
are signs indicating that the GECOL is not committed to its social
responsibility towards all stakeholders, including the following, for example:
·
The Libyan society's
dissatisfaction with the poor services provided by the GECOL to its customers,
especially after the February 2011 revolution, the frequent power cuts to
consumers for long hours every day;
·
The resentment and
complaint of the employees of the GECOL resulting from their failure to obtain
their material and moral rights and their harsh criticism and calls for reform
that never cease on all social media, which often amount to the point of
describing the GECOL’s leaders as the corrupt elite, which put more than one question
mark about all the leading personalities of the GECOL;
·
Frequent dismissals and
appointments in leadership positions (replacement of leaders) that take place
at the level of senior management and the executive management of the GECOL;
·
The reluctance of most
suppliers of goods and services to deal with the GECOL as a result of its
inability to pay their financial rights on their due dates. All the information
referred to above indicates that the GECOL is not committed to its social
responsibility towards the Libyan society. This saying can be accepted in one
case: external environment conditions (economic and security conditions)
surrounding the GECOL help to adhere to social responsibility. To remove this
confusion, a scientific and rational evaluation of the GECOL’s social
performance must be conducted. Achieving this goal is not easy. There are two
problems, namely defining the features of the thought of CSR for NPPSIs, which
are not clear, and also determining how to evaluate CSR in the NPPSIs.
To promote and entrench the social responsibility
idea in all NPPSIs in Libya, the features of that thought must be defined for
these institutions. The main features of this thought are unclear to NPPSIs,
especially since the thought of CSR was mainly associated with the institutions
of the private sector (the for-profit sector) and was developed through them.
The culture of social responsibility of profit and non-profit organizations has
not yet been entrenched within Libyan society. A adopting the CSR idea by the
NPPSIs in Libya is still like a cake in the sky. This thought did not have a
good chance to be a scientific subject taught in universities and higher
institutes during the eighties and nineties of the last century and up to the
present time. This deficiency contributed to the low knowledge level about this
thought among most of those working in the NPPSIs. The general idea or public
perception in most people’s minds about the concept of CSR is limited to
charitable donations made by private sector institutions to the communities in
which they operate. At the same time, the thought of CSR goes further than
that. This misconception may be responsible for the lack of a clear vision of
social responsibility in the NPPSIs. The absence of a social responsibility
culture with clear features in the Libyan society in general and in the NPPSIs,
including the GECOL in particular contributed to these institutions’ lack of
interest in instilling CSR ideas within their walls and buildings. That is why
the NPPSIs do not disclose their social performance and social responsibility
policies in their financial reports and statements. In the future, if that
culture and idea of social responsibility are allowed to take root in the
NPPSIs, another problem will arise, which is how to evaluate the social
performance of these institutions to determine the extent of their commitment
to their social responsibilities. Based on the previous, the problem of this study
can be precisely defined as follows: Without definite assertion, and as a
result of the GECOL’s poor performance, which has become a source of anxiety
and discontent in the Libyan community, it can be said that: The GECOL is not
committed to its social responsibility towards all stakeholders. Due to the
existence of many bad environmental conditions inside the Libyan state,
especially after the revolution of February 17, 2011, which may have
contributed to producing this poor performance, this saying the GECOL is not
committed to its social responsibility will remain a mere conclusion. To
confirm or deny this conclusion, the social performance of the GECOL must be
evaluated scientifically and logically. In the absence of previous experience
regarding the evaluation of the social performance social responsibility of the
GECOL, as well as in the absence of clear features of CSR thought in the
NPPSIs, how can the GECOL’s social responsibility performance be evaluated?
What are the features of CSR thought in the NPPSIs through which the evaluation
process can be successful? What are the evaluation results that can be
considered the first experience in the history of the GECOL and through which
the conclusion above will be confirmed or denied?
The purpose of the study
The theoretical side of this study aims to determine
the features of CSR thought in the NPPSIs. To achieve this goal, a precise
definition of social responsibility must be found, which must be in line with
the nature of the role of these institutions in contemporary societies. As well
as defining the dimensions of that responsibility, its types and the contents
of these types, with an explanation of how to evaluate social performance in
these non-profit institutions. Therefore, this study will be concerned with the
following issues:
·
Defining the social
responsibility of the NPPSIs and dimensions that responsibility logically and
accurately.
·
Determining the types
of social responsibilities of the NPPSIs and their contents.
·
How to evaluate the
social performance of the NPPSIs. As for the practical side, it aims to show
the results of the social performance evaluation of the GECOL logically and
accurately as the first initiative in the GECOL’s history regarding the evaluation
of its social performance.
The importance of studying
Defining the features of the social responsibility
idea of the NPPSIs by describing its theoretical construction and intellectual
content will contribute to the understanding and the adoption of this thought
by the Libyan authorities, leaders and workers in NPPSIs with ease and without
any difficulties. The adoption of this idea by the NPPSIs in Libya will improve
the performance of these institutions and push forward the wheel of development
and growth in Libya. Also, strengthening the presence of this thought in the
NPPSIs will contribute to developing social responsibility policies and
improving internal control systems to include how to evaluate the social
performance of these institutions through a specific package of procedures and
methods necessary for that.
The study methodology
The
theoretical part: The literature review
will include a statement of the content of the social responsibilities of the
for-profit sector institutions. In addition to the role of internal audit
departments in evaluating the level of commitment of NPPSIs to their social
responsibility, with reference to the five deviations that affect the quality
of these institutions ’commitment to their social responsibilities, namely:
·
The deviation from planned
economic performance;
·
The deviation from the
economic rationality;
·
The deviation from the
financial and administrative policies;
·
The deviation from the
codes of ethics and professional conduct rules;
·
The deviation from the
local laws and international instruments.
Method an Innovative Approach to Reinforce
the Theory of CSR
To determine the differences between the features of
the CSR in the for-profit sector and the non-profit sector, the researcher used
the idea of the goal of establishing the institution for the purpose of
determining the content of the institution's economic responsibility, as well
as adopting the idea of financial capacity economic capacity and the idea of
the goal of establishing the institution for the purpose of determining the
type of philanthropic responsibility of the institution. To evaluate the commitment
of the NPPSIs to their economic responsibility, the quality of financial
decisions must be evaluated to judge the efficiency of the administration in
using the available economic resources good use of public money and human
resources. This study indicated the importance of adopting the concept of lost
opportunity cost the concept of economic savings by internal audit departments
to evaluate financial transactions to judge the extent of commitment to
economic responsibility. To achieve this, the researcher developed a method
that simulates decision-making steps as follows:
·
Determining the desired
benefit of the financial transaction financial decision;
·
Determining the
available alternatives to achieve that desired benefit;
Choosing the best
alternative that achieves that desired benefit with the highest degree of
efficiency at the lowest cost. For example, to evaluate financial transactions
related to the purchase of hotel services providing accommodation for
delegations from outside the city of Benghazi. The desired benefit from this
transaction must be precisely defined, which is the provision of housing and
accommodation for the delegation. The alternatives available to achieve this
desired benefit are hotel accommodation - staying in the NPPSI?s houses -
renting a house for delegations. All of these alternatives achieve the same
quality of service. The ideal choice will depend on the cost factor and the
quality of service. The best alternative is the one that achieves the same
quality of service at the lowest cost. The researcher also used the necessity
criterion in evaluating financial deals. More precisely, was there a need to
conclude a financial deal? The researcher relied on some managerial economics
concepts to evaluate the quality of financial decisions and judge the
administration’s efficiency in the use of public money, such as the concepts of
effectiveness and efficiency, lost opportunity cost, and economic savings. As
well as evaluating the quality of financial and administrative policies by
studying the extent of their consistency with prevailing conditions, local laws
and international instruments. As for the evaluation of legal and ethical
responsibilities, the matter will depend on the extent to which the content of
decisions, policies, deals, practices, and behaviours is consistent with local
laws, international instruments, codes of ethics, and professional conduct
rules. The practical part will be devoted to answering the question of the
study is the GECOL committed to its social responsibility or not? This will be
done by evaluating the quality of all financial transactions, administrative
decisions taken, applicable financial and administrative policies, practices
and behaviours practiced by the leaders and employees of the GECOL. For the
success of this study, the internal audit department of Benghazi Plain was
chosen as a source of data and information needed for this study. The methods
of collecting information adopted by the researcher are personal interviews
with ten employees working in the Internal Audit Department - Benghazi Plain,
and reports representing all financial, administrative, and legal violations
committed by some of the leaders and employees of the GECOL up to the date of
completing this study.
To evaluate the commitment of the GECOL to its
economic responsibility, the quality of financial decisions must be evaluated
to judge the efficiency of the administration in using the available economic
resources good use of public money and human resources. To achieve this, the
researcher developed a method that simulates decision-making steps as follows:
·
Determining the desired
benefit of the financial transaction financial decision;
·
Determining the
available alternatives to achieve that desired benefit;
Choosing the best
alternative that achieves that desired benefit with the highest degree of
efficiency at the lowest cost. For example, to evaluate financial transactions
related to the purchase of the maintenance service of cars and machines of the
GECOL. The desired benefit from this transaction, which is the repair of cars
and machines, must be specified. The alternatives available to achieve this
desired benefit are: buy maintenance service from external sources, maintenance
workshops. or reliance on the GECOL's workshops to complete the maintenance
work. Moreover, assuming that the two alternatives will achieve the same
quality, the ideal choice will depend on the cost factor the least cost. The
researcher also used the necessity criterion in evaluating financial deals.
More precisely, was there a need to conclude a financial deal? The researcher
relied on some managerial economics concepts to evaluate the quality of
financial decisions and judge the administration’s efficiency in the use of
public money such as the concepts of effectiveness and efficiency, lost
opportunity cost, and economic savings. As well as evaluating the quality of
financial and administrative policies by studying the extent of their
consistency with local laws and international instruments. In addition to
monitoring and investigating human rights violations, and determining all false
administrative decisions and unethical practices within the GECOL that conflict
with the codes of ethics and rules of professional conduct.
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) indicates to
strategies and polices that corporations put into action as portion of
corporate governance that are designed to ensure the corporation ’s operations
are legal and ethical and beneficial for community. For several decades now,
CSR is in the spotlight. CSR is not a new notion. It was only under the lack of
awareness and appropriate regulatory authorities to monitor. This is the reason
CSR still is not having a universally defined definition and clear features. So
CSR is under discussion and controversy [2]. The researcher describes the CSR
theory as a plane that took off from the airport runway and did not settle in
the air yet. CSR has taken on an increasingly distinguished role in the
business world in recent decades, especially after realizing that it is an
important tool for developing contemporary societies. CSR has grown so popular
that nearly every major company in the U.S. now integrates a significant
commitment to social and/or environmental programs into its business model. CSR
can be loosely defined as the adoption of socially beneficial and
environmentally sustainable practices by corporate actors. The rise of CSR can
be attributed to growing public disenchantment with traditional business
practices that degrade the environment and compromise worker well-being, and
resulting in pressure from consumers and non-profits on the private sector to
reform itself. Instead of simply complying with government regulation, a
company that is socially responsible adopts more stringent self-regulation
ensuring that it is acting to minimize the negative impact on the environment,
its employees, its customers, and the community [3].
Social
responsibilities of private sector institutions corporate social
responsibilities
Scholars have categorized CSR into four main types:
economic responsibility; legal responsibility; ethical responsibility;
philanthropic responsibility. There is no controversy about this
classification. This classification is considered reasonable and accepted in
the scientific community.
Economic
Responsibility
The researcher divides the corporate economic
responsibility according to their impact into: Corporate Economic
Responsibility at the Level of the Corporation's Economy: Economic
Responsibilities: Be profitable, maximizing revenues and maximizing expenses.?
Economic responsibilities relate to business?s provision of merchandise and
services in the community. Earnings result from this activity and are necessary
for any other responsibilities to be carried out. It is assumed that
corporations will be as profitable as possible, maintain a powerful competitive
position and maintain a high level of operating efficiency. It is well known
that many developing countries suffer from a shortage of foreign direct investment,
and high unemployment and widespread poverty. Therefore, it is no surprise,
that the companies’ economic contribution in developing countries is highly
prized, by governments and communities, alike [4,5].
Corporate
economic responsibility at the level of the country's economy as a whole
This concept should be strengthened and adopted in
developing and poor countries, which particularly states the following: when
seeking to maximize profits, corporations must not harm the national economy of
the state, even if the laws do not criminalize this. Corporations should
contribute to strengthening the national economy of the state, strengthening
the state's national wealth. Corporations are one of the main components of any
country's economy, and they can influence it, either positively or negatively.
We may applaud the profitable corporation the company that made the highest
profit, and at the same time we may regret the negative effects that this
corporation has left at the level of the country's economy as a whole. For
example, hiring foreign workers and ignoring national workers. This behaviour
action contributes to increasing unemployment rates in society and also
contributes to the exit of hard currency outside the borders of the state.
Another example, reducing sales prices in order to sell a larger quantity of
products may contribute to pushing another competitor out of the market.
Corporate economic responsibility can be viewed from two angles: maximizing the
company's profit and strengthening the national economy of the state [6].
Legal
responsibility: obey the laws and regulations
Corporate legal responsibility is the corporation's
compliance with local laws and international instruments while practicing its
activities to achieve its goals. The activities carried out by Institutions in
various sectors for profit and non-profit in order to achieve their goals must
be consistent with the financial and administrative policies and regulatory
controls and procedures the financial and administrative regulations of the
institution. Violating these policies creates chaos within these institutions.
These institutions must comply with local laws, such as tax laws, customs laws,
social security laws, labour laws, working women's rights laws, workers' rights
laws, environmental protection laws, consumer protection laws and service
recipients, etc. These institutions must comply with international instruments
issued by global or international organizations, such as those issued by the
United Nations, the World Health Organization, the International Labour
Organization, the International Standardization Organization, etc. The state
and its institutions are part of the global system. Compliance with these
charters means not violating the international legal order and desire specified
in those conventions.
Legal
laws
The Institutions in various sectors for profit and
non-profit are free to do business to achieve their goals however they want but
only within the limits of regulations and national laws such as labor law,
environmental law, etc. Failure to respect laws by an institution leads to
chaos and loss of rights within the community in which the organization
operates. All organizations must work within the framework of laws and
regulatory legislation and not to deviate from that framework in order to
preserve private and public interests.
International
instruments
Respect for laws and regulations is not limited to
local laws national legislation, but includes laws and international
instruments issued by international organizations such as the United Nations,
International Labor Organization, etc. The country in which the business
organization operates is part of the international system, and in order not to
have any problems with the international community, all laws and international
instruments must be respected. These charters contain general directives and
instructions on specific topics that must be followed and not violated. Also,
the local laws must be in conformity with all the directives and instructions
contained in those international instruments. The aim of adhering to these
instruments is to promote the concepts of justice, peace, freedom, safety and
well-being for all peoples of the world, wherever they are, as they are an
integral part of the international community.
Ethical
responsibility: be ethical
The normative expectations of most societies hold
that laws are essential but not sufficient. In addition to what is required by
laws and regulations, society expects businesses to operate and conduct their
affairs in an ethical fashion. Taking on ethical responsibilities implies that
organizations will embrace those activities, norms, standards and practices
that even though they are not codified into law, are expected nonetheless. Part
of the ethical expectation is that businesses will be responsive to the spirit
of the law, not just the letter of the law. Another aspect of the ethical
expectation is that businesses will conduct their affairs in a fair and
objective fashion even in those cases when laws do not provide guidance or
dictate courses of action. Thus, ethical responsibilities embrace those
activities, standards, policies, and practices that are expected or prohibited
by society even though they are not codified into law. The goal of these expectations
is that businesses will be responsible for and responsive to the full range of
norms, standards, values, principles, and expectations that reflect and honor
what consumers, employees, owners and the community regard as consistent with
respect to the protection of stakeholders’ moral rights. The distinction
between legal and ethical expectations can often be tricky. Legal expectations
certainly are based on ethical premises. But, ethical expectations carry these
further. In essence, then, both contain a strong ethical dimension or character
and the difference hinges upon the mandate society has given business through legal
codification. The activities carried out by the Institutions in various sectors
for profit and non-profit - in order to achieve their goals, must be consistent
with the noble human values and the code of ethics and the rules of
professional conduct. These institutions must combat administrative and
financial corruption. These institutions should contribute to promoting social
justice among employee’s equal opportunities for all. These institutions must
prevent all forms of racial discrimination within their walls, etc.
Philanthropic
responsibility: Be a good corporate citizen
Philanthropic responsibility can include things such
as funding educational and cultural programs, supporting health and social
welfare initiatives, donating for humanitarian or development reasons, and
supporting community beautification projects. It is the moral and material
support that companies provide to the society in which they operate. It
involves being a good corporate citizen and including active participation in
acts or programs to promote human welfare or goodwill. Corporate philanthropy
is the material and immaterial sacrifices that corporations make for the
benefit of other entities outside the walls and buildings of those
corporations, without waiting for any economic benefits other than enhancing
the competitive advantage. Corporate philanthropy in its broadest sense means
improving the quality of life for the community or one of its sects by
providing a helping hand and material and non-material assistance to all
parties outside the corporation ’s walls and buildings.
Features
of the thought of social responsibility for NPPSIs
The nature of the activity of NPPSIs and their
objectives differ from the for-profit institutions. Therefore, the features of
social responsibility will differ in the two sectors, profit and non-profit.
The difference will lie in the content of economic responsibility and the type
of philanthropic responsibility.
Non-Profit
public sector institutions NPPSIs
After the emergence of the Marxist Socialist
Ideology - which calls for a welfare state, which permits the state authorities
to administer all economic activities, with its commitment to provide all goods
and services to citizens to achieve justice and equality and redistribute
income among the classes of society in the interest of the destitute class. At
the present time, many countries of the world - including Libya, are adopting
the idea of the partnership between the public and private sectors in managing
their economic systems due to the inability of the governments of those
countries to manage the affairs of all economic activities on their own without
involving the private sector. The NPPSIs are the part of the country's economy
and one of its main pillars, that is controlled and financially supported by
the government, and which aims to provide free or almost free services to the
general population or certain groups in the society in order to improve the
quality of life and achieve prosperity for them.
Definition
of social responsibility for NPPSIs
The researcher defines the social responsibility of
the NPPSIs as follows: The social responsibility of the NPPSIs means achieving
the institution’s goals effectively and efficiently in accordance with local
laws, international instruments, noble human values and the code of ethics and
the rules of professional conduct.
Interpretation
of the definition
In socialist societies in which the state’s economy
depends on public sector institutions or societies that adopt the socialist and
capitalist system together in which the state’s economy depends on public and
private sector institutions, people benefit from the free or almost free
benefits and services provided by NPPSIs for them. In most cases, these
institutions are fully funded by the state treasury to provide certain benefits
and services to the citizens of the state. Citizens can judge the performance
of these institutions by the quality of those services and the benefits
provided to them. Societies provide their economic resources to these
institutions to manage them in a rational manner or with economic rationality
that meet the citizens' needs for services and benefits, which are supposed to
be of a high degree of quality. On that, it can be said that NPPSIs are
established by societies with the aim of providing free or almost free services
to those who deserve them with high quality (effectiveness, which means
providing services with high quality, which is the goal that these institutions
strive to achieve) and at the lowest possible cost (efficiency, which means
economic rationality or good use of economic resources). The activities carried
out by these institutions - to achieve their desired goals, must be compatible
with all local laws, such as labor laws, tax law, social security law, etc., as
well as international instruments, such as instruments issued by the United
Nations, International Labor Organization, World Health Organization,
International Standardization Organization, etc. Also, the activities carried
out by these institutions - to achieve their desired goals, must be compatible
with all the noble human values, and code of ethics and the rules of
professional conduct.
Social
responsibilities of NPPSIs
NPPSIs must adhere to four types of social
responsibilities, are: economic, legal, ethical, and non-material
philanthropic. With regard to NPPSIs, there is a difference in the meaning of
economic responsibility, as it does not mean profit maximization as it is the
case for private sector institutions for profit-oriented institutions. There is
no material philanthropic responsibility in the list of social responsibilities
of the NPPSIs because these institutions are non-profit organizations, they do
not seek to achieve profit, and therefore they have no obligation to this
responsibility, which requires economic resources to finance it, but they can
engage in non-material charitable activities such as consultations, trainings
and workshops, etc. In a more specific sense, the social responsibilities that
must be adhered to in the private sector (the for-profit sector) are the same
responsibilities that must be adhered to in NPPSIs with a difference in the
meaning and manner of commitment in relation to economic responsibility and
philanthropic responsibility between the for-profit and non-profit sectors.
Economic
Responsibility: It means the proper use of the
available economic resources - efficiently achieving the goals of the
institution, or the optimum utilization of the available economic resources
(the economic rationality), and the provision of high-quality services to those
who deserve them. In the event that citizens do not obtain high-quality
services, it may contribute to those citizens resorting to request those
services from other countries. For example, the low quality of health services
provided by Libyan public hospitals has contributed to hundreds of thousands of
citizens leaving the Libyan borders to seek health care in neighbouring
countries such as Tunisia and Egypt. This failure led to the transfer of
millions of dollars in favour of hospitals in those countries, which resulted
in a decrease in the amount of the foreign exchange within the Libyan state and
the emergence of many economic problems associated with that decrease.
Non-Material
philanthropic responsibility: It is the moral
non-material charitable activities that are provided by the NPPSIs to the
communities in which they operate and which do not require the payment of funds
or assets in order to achieve them, such as students’ training, providing
advice to other governmental and non-governmental bodies and organizations,
educating the community about some issues, etc.
Dimensions
of the social responsibility for NPPSIs
There are five dimensions of the social
responsibility for NPPSIs are:
The
economic dimension: The institution must
fulfil its economic responsibility towards the community that funds it, by committing
to the following:
·
The proper use of the
available economic resources - efficiently achieving the goals of the
institution, or the optimum utilization of the available economic resources
(the economic rationality);
·
The provision of
high-quality services to those who deserve them.
The
legal dimension
As a regulated and compliant entity, the institution
has to meet its legal responsibility towards the local and international
community, through commitment to the following:
·
Compliance with administrative
and financial policies of the institution internal administrative and financial
regulations;
·
Compliance with local
laws;
·
Compliance with
international instruments. The institution must comply with the contents of the
international conventions issued by international organizations, especially if
the country to which the institution belongs is a member of those
organizations- those contents that are supposed to be included in the local
laws of the member state.
The
ethical dimension
Ethical dimension refers to behaviours and
activities that are permitted or prohibited by organization members, community,
society, even if they are not codified by law [7]. The ethical dimension means
the exercise of activities by organizations to achieve their desired goals in
accordance with codes of ethics and professional conduct rules. When it comes
to pursuing stated goals, fulfilling local commitments, organizations should
consider the following ethical requirements:
·
Keeping away from all
practices that may distort social justice in the society and that may cause
moral harm to others;
·
Keeping away from all
immoral practices and behaviours that offend the moral system of a society;
·
Respecting the customs,
traditions, cultures and religions of the society. In short, staying away from
everything that is not accepted by a society and that may provoke its
dissatisfaction, even if it is not indicated in the laws.
The
philanthropic dimension
NPPSIs are institutions financed by the state
treasury to cover their own expenses in order to provide free services to the
beneficiaries. These institutions do not achieve profits through which they can
make in kind donations to the community in which they work, but they can
participate in the development of that community through volunteer activities
that do not require the payment of money or the provision of assets such as
training students, conducting public awareness and education campaigns to raise
awareness about some issues, providing free consultations, etc.
The
environmental dimension
All institutions are subject to environmental laws
and regulations regarding pollution emissions, the handling of hazardous
materials, and the protection of natural resources. Public sector institutions
contribute to creating the traffic congestion within cities due to the influx
of large numbers of service seekers entry and exit to and from these institutions,
in addition to the large number of workers in these institutions. In view of
the health problems caused by crowding for people, these institutions must
contribute to addressing the problem of the traffic congestion in a civilized
manner. Any government in any country can redistribute the administrative
headquarters of these institutions over the entire geographical area of the
state in order to revive remote areas and reduce the overcrowding in large
cities.
The
desired goals of commitment to social responsibility by NPPSIs
NPPSIs' commitment to their social responsibility
contributes to achieving the following gains:
·
Preserving public funds
optimum utilization of available economic resources;
·
Providing services to
those who deserve it with high quality;
·
Promoting the
principles of social justice principles of justice and equality and basic human
rights within and outside these institutions promoting the principles of
justice and equality and instilling them deeply in all social groups;
·
Strengthening the
national economy of the state.
Evaluating
the social performance of NPPSIs
Internal control departments in the NPPSIs can
evaluate the social performance of these institutions by studying the extent of
their commitment to their four responsibilities, economic, legal, ethical, and
philanthropic. Economic responsibility can be evaluated by:
·
Study the quality of
services provided to those who deserve them, which reflects the extent of the
beneficiaries' satisfaction with those services;
·
Study the quality of
financial transactions and decisions or what is known as the good use of
available economic resources to determine whether those transactions resulted
in a waste of public money or contributed to achieving economic savings. As
well, legal responsibility can be evaluated by:
·
Study the extent to
which the institution’s executive management follows the established
administrative and financial policies to implement the plans necessary to
achieve the desired goals;
Study the extent to which the institution follows
local laws and international instruments while achieving its objectives. As for
the ethical responsibility, it can be assessed by studying the decisions issued
by the management as well as the behaviours monitored within that institution
and the extent of their consistency with the codes of ethics and the rules of
professional conduct. Finally, philanthropic responsibility can be evaluated by
studying the extent of the institution’s interaction with the issues and
aspirations of the society in which it operates.
The
role of internal control in NPPSIs
The internal control system is the safety valve for
any organization or business - whether in the public or private sector. The
internal control system is the first and last responsible for ringing early
alarm bells to draw the attention of officials about potential financial risks financial
bottlenecks and low level of economic performance to discuss the best ways to
address them. Given the importance of this system in enhancing the survival and
continuation of any business organization in performing its economic activity
in the environment in which it operates, especially in the competitive environments,
the traditional role of protecting movable and immovable funds from
embezzlement unethical and irresponsible practices is no longer sufficient to
ensure the survival of these organizations. The examination of financial
transactions and verification of the approved financial and administrative
procedures and policies is only part of the role of internal control in the
modern era. The role of the internal control system goes further. It goes
beyond the documentary examination of financial transactions. In the modern
era, with the adoption of the idea of social responsibility by business
organizations, the role of the internal control system has evolved to include
the evaluation of the organization’s social performance in addition to its
economic performance. The role of internal audit in the NPPSIs goes beyond
documentary examination - as is common practice for the internal audit
profession in Libya. Mostly, internal auditing in the NPPSIs in Libya focuses
its attention on documentary examination of financial transactions as a failed
attempt to preserve public money from theft and embezzlement without evaluating
those transactions from an economic perspective. The focus is on embezzlement
and not on waste uneconomical use of available resources.
Financial
and administrative deviations
The relationship between the internal control system
and the CSR can be explained as follows: The existence of an internal control
system in any institution is to ensure that the desired goals are effectively
and efficiently achieved. Effectiveness means the percentage of achieving the
desired and planned goals by the institution’s higher management. As for
efficiency, it reflects the extent of the executive management's commitment to
the requirements of social responsibility that are considered necessary to
achieve these goals. In fact, the evaluation of social responsibilities economic,
legal, ethical, and philanthropic by the internal control systems is an
evaluation of the extent of compliance with the requirements of those
responsibilities by the executive management that is concerned with the implementation
of the desired goals. Financial and administrative deviations in the NPPSIs
mean that there is a state of total or partial non-commitment to social
responsibility. Those deviations that can be detected by the internal control
systems are:
Positive and negative deviations resulting from
comparing actual performance with planned performance;
·
Deviation from codes of
ethics and professional conduct rules the practice of unethical behaviours such
as theft, embezzlement, etc;
·
Deviation from economic
rationality misuse of available economic resources;
·
Deviation from the
approach set for achieving the goals, violation of administrative and financial
policies and organizational procedures;
·
Deviation from local
laws and international instruments issued by global organizations.
The
independence of the internal audit in the NPPSIs
Among the common mistakes that undermine the role of
internal audit departments in the NPPSIs and that contributed to the
exacerbation of the phenomenon of corruption is the lack of independence of
these departments and their subordination to the higher managements in those
institutions. The higher and executive departments in public institutions are often
appointed by the general assemblies of these institutions, as is the case in
Libya. Chairman and members of the general assembly of any institution - they
are from outside that institution, are chosen by the government to oversee and
monitor that institution on behalf of the government and society. The general
assembly is responsible for choosing the board of directors of the institution
the senior management and the general manager of that institution executive
management, who are mainly employees working in that institution. Except when
absolutely necessary, the general assembly does not intervene in selecting the
leaders of the regulatory systems within the institution. The subordination of
the internal audit department is to the higher management the board of
directors of the institution, and the general manager - the executive
management, and not to the general assembly. This subordination makes the
internal audit department not independent in performing its tasks to the
fullest. It will get worse in the absence of direct communication between the
internal audit department and the general assembly. Reports with negative
implications (the bad performance) issued by the internal audit department and
which are often not in the interest of the higher management and the executive
management of the institution will be obscured and disappeared into the offices
of these departments and may result in a change of leaders in the departments
and sections of the internal audit of the institution. In order to activate the
role of internal audit in public sector institutions, the internal audit
departments must be subordinate to the general assemblies, the as a neutral
party, and not the institutions? higher managements.
The
importance of using managerial economics concepts in the internal auditing
The quality of the financial transactions executed
by the executive management cannot be judged unless those financial
transactions are subject to study and evaluation from an economic perspective.
To evaluate the efficiency of the executive management to judge its performance
through executed financial transactions- by the internal audit department in
the institution, there are two questions that must be answered for each
financial transaction: Was there a need to conclude that financial deal? Did
the executive management take into account the concept of the economic rationality
when concluding that deal? The answer to the first question depends on the
personal assessment and realistic evaluation of the situation. As for the answer
to the second question, it depends on the concept of lost opportunity cost and
the concept of economic savings in accordance with the method suggested by the
researcher, which simulates the method of decision-making steps as follows:
·
Determining the desired
benefit of the financial transaction financial decision;
·
Determining the
available alternatives to achieve that desired benefit;
Choosing the best
alternative that achieves that desired benefit- with high quality, with the
highest degree of efficiency at the lowest cost.
First:
Theoretical Construction Conceptual Framework of the Thought of Social
Responsibility for NPPSIs:
·
According
to the researcher's perception, any definition of social responsibility for
NPPSIs must include the meanings of the following two concepts: effectiveness
and efficiency. Effectiveness is the percentage of goal achievement, which
means providing services to those who deserve it with high quality. Efficiency
is the material and moral non-material costs incurred in achieving the goal.
Material costs are related to the concept of economic rationality the efficient
and optimal use of the available economic resources. As for the intangible
costs, they are related to the amount of compliance with policies, plans,
regulatory procedures, local laws, international instruments, codes of ethics
and professional conduct rules.
·
Mostly,
the NPPSIs are monopolistic. These institutions operate in a non-competitive
environment, so adopting the idea of the social responsibility in these
institutions is for the purpose of preserving public economic resources public
money and human resources; improving the quality of services provided to those
who deserve it; promoting social justice; enhancing compliance with the local
laws and international instruments; adhering to codes of ethics and rules of
professional conduct.
·
After
the emergence of the idea of CSR and its adoption in the private and public
sectors- as a tool for development, the role of the internal control system in
the NPPSIs must evolve from the stage of documentary examination of financial
transactions and administrative decisions to the stage of evaluating the extent
of commitment to social responsibilities, as follows: evaluation of the
economic rationality economic responsibility; the evaluation of the compliance
with administrative and financial policies and regulatory procedures, local
laws and international instruments legal responsibility; Evaluating the extent
of adherence to noble human values, codes of ethics and rules of professional
conduct ethical responsibility.
·
The
social responsibility of the NPPSIs (such as hospitals, schools, institutes,
universities, electricity companies, government services agencies, cleaning
companies, authorities of gardens, parks and recreation areas and museums,
water and sanitation authority, security agencies, etc.) differs from the
social responsibility of private sector enterprises in terms of the goal of
commitment, the first is to gain community satisfaction and the second is to
obtain a competitive advantage. Also, the economic responsibility of the NPPSIs
differs from that of the private sector, the first is to make good use of
available economic resources public money and human resources and provide
services to those who deserve it with high quality, while the second is to
maximize profit. As well as, the number of types of responsibilities in the two
sectors is not different with some modification in the philanthropic
responsibility. The social responsibilities of NPPSIs are economic, legal,
ethical, and non-material philanthropic, while the social responsibilities of private
sector institutions are economic, legal, ethical, and non-material and material
philanthropic. the NPPSIs are not for the purpose of maximizing profits, as
they receive financial support from the state's public treasury. They
specialize in providing free services to people. There are no profits through
which to engage in charitable activity that requires payment of funds or
assets. Therefore, there is no material philanthropic responsibility in these
institutions.
Second:
The Negative and Positive Social Performance of the GECOL. A departure from the
language of generalization: Some of the violations committed by some leaders or
employees are personal behaviours that cannot be generalized to all leaders and
employees of the company just as there are bad people, there are good people,
but those bad individual behaviours and actions are a black smudge on the
forehead of the GECOL that harms its reputation in the environment in which it
operates. It is also worth noting that, the phenomenon of administrative and
financial corruption is a global phenomenon that exists in almost all countries
of the world, but its forms, manifestation, and intensity vary from country to
country over time. In Libya this phenomenon is clearly visible as a result of
the collapse of state institutions and the insecurity after the February 17, 2011
revolution. In practice, in the NPPSIs in Libya, the attention of the internal
control systems, or what is also known as the internal audit departments, is
primarily focused on documentary examination of financial transactions, to
determine the extent to which these transactions are consistent with the
established policies and procedures, as well as the extent of harmony those
transactions with the plans developed by senior management to achieve the goals
(comparison of actual spending with planned spending). In reality, the
attention of the internal audit departments in those institutions is directed
primarily towards protecting the funds and assets of the institutions from
embezzlement and theft without there being any interest in the issue of evaluating
these financial transactions from an economic perspective ?according to the
concepts of managerial economics, such as the concept of lost opportunity cost
and the concept of economic savings. The results produced by the economic
evaluation of those transactions will reflect the efficiency of the executive
management - in those institutions, in managing the economic resources
available to them. The task of protection that must be undertaken by the
internal audit departments goes beyond documentary examination checking
attached supporting documentation? of financial transactions. The protection in
a broad sense means protecting the economic resources from misuse and waste.
Evaluating the proper use of economic resources to judge the efficiency of
executive departments in managing public money is one of the most important
functions of internal audit departments in the field of protecting the economic
resources. Unfortunately, this function -protection of economic resources from
misuse, is completely neglected by the departments of internal audit in the
NPPSIs in Libya. Also, the internal audit departments are mostly concerned with
implementing the administrative and financial policies set by the higher
management without concern for evaluating those policies. Criticism of these
policies is a criticism of the top management, and no one wants to clash with
the top management, and no one wants to lose its job. The same applies to
decisions and financial transactions.
In
the economic field
By evaluating the
following: The financial and administrative decisions issued by the leaders of
the GECOL; financial transactions concluded with suppliers of goods and
services; and financial and administrative policies in effect in the GECOL
until the date of completing this study, it can be said that the GECOL is not
committed to its economic responsibility and the following facts without going
into too much detail confirm the validity of this statement: the poor quality
of the services provided to electrical energy consumers- which is embodied in
long hours of power outages, as well as the fluctuation of the electric
current, contributed to increasing the economic burden for consumers, as they
become overly dependent on other more expensive alternatives for obtaining
electrical energy, the fluctuation of electricity also contributed to the
destruction of consumers' electrical appliances without compensation for their
losses by the GECOL. Undoubtedly, this poor service has negative economic
repercussions on all parties concerned with that service the consumer, the
GECOL, the Libyan state; concerning the evaluation of decisions and
transactions for the purchase of services, goods, materials and supplies, such
as deals for the purchase of hotel services, car maintenance, purchase of fuel,
etc. it turned out that the GECOL had ignored better alternatives that the
GECOL had not adopted to achieve the desired benefit from those decisions and
transactions, which could have contributed positively to achieving economic
savings for the GECOL. Accordingly, it can be said that the financial decisions
taken by the GECOL’s leaders, as well as the financial deals concluded with
suppliers - which are in reality random, contributed to wasting public money
allocated to the GECOL to achieve its goals; the Until the date of completing
this study, the GECOL has no interest in addressing the problems of
administrative distortions in its functional structure, such as the problem of
disguised unemployment. This negligence contributed to the increase in the
annual expenses of the GECOL, especially with regard to salaries, which led to
a decline in the level of its economic performance; The GECOL's failure to pay
its debts on time contributed to the high transaction costs relating to purchasing
goods and services on debt purchase of goods and services on credit (the longer
the waiting period, the higher the cost); Failure to develop and update
administrative and financial policies and organizational procedures to keep
pace with changes in the environment in which the GECOL operates such as the
policy related to handling annual vacations for employees and the policy
related to collecting GECOL?s revenue ,etc. contributed to the occurrence of
financial bottlenecks and crises, and low economic performance of the GECOL;
the widespread corruption in the GECOL contributed to the increase in annual
expenses and the occurrence of severe financial bottlenecks; the GECOL has not
replaced fossil fuels with solar energy to generate power. The GECOL did not
contribute to reducing the Libyan state's spending in the field of electricity
by relying on alternative energies, which are less expensive ; the issuance of
economically unjustified decisions- for personal economic gain, that
contributed to the increase in the GECOL 's expenses such as the decisions of
the permanent committees, the dispatch to external training courses; The GECOL
does not pay much attention to occupational safety matters, whether in the
field of training or the provision of security and occupational safety
requirements, which resulted in an increase in work injuries and an increase in
compensation expenses; The incentives granted to leaders, which are not
justified in many cases, contributed to the high expenses of the GECOL;
Regarding medical insurance, in one of the previous years the GECOL incurred
huge amounts of money, and in the current period the GECOL is unable to pay the
medical insurance expenses for the employees. The correct economic decision is
to establish a sanatorium for treating employees free of charge and for a fee
for the general public to contribute to enhancing the GECOL’s revenues. The
GECOL has not taken any positive decision yet Etc.
In
the legal field
The GECOL is not fully
committed to its legal responsibility. The GECOL adheres to tax laws, social
security laws, and laws on the rights of working women, the practice of
motherhood at work, breastfeeding hours. The GECOL is not committed to the laws
and principles of social justice. There is an incomplete commitment by the
GECOL regarding the rights of workers at work. For an example, in the field of
workers rights, the GECOL is committed to granting the job promotion that leads
to an increase in employee salaries, but it is not committed to the job
promotion that leads to the assumption of leadership positions. The GECOL is
not bound by occupational safety laws. The GECOL is not fully committed to the
international instruments issued by international organizations.
In
the ethical field
The spread of financial
and administrative corruption, digestion of workers' rights, and violation of
social justice principles in the GECOL, all of which indicate that the GECOL is
not committed to its ethical responsibility. The following examples are some
the unethical practices that have been observed within the GECOL: some leaders
of the GECOL have a monopoly on most opportunities and tasks that produce
financial incentives and economic gains for them such as their monopoly on
permanent committees; the GECOL is the graveyard of minds. The creativity and
innovation of the employees do not reach the top management through their
managers and supervisors. Creators and innovators should be kept out of the
arena of competition for leadership positions. Their innovations will bring
them closer to leadership positions. Therefore, these innovations must be
obscured in any way. This bad behaviour is practiced by some managers and
supervisors; some leaders in the GECOL take advantage of the employees'
economic conditions to accomplish some works for their own benefit, and the
disaster is to pay their rights from financial allocations for overtime there
is no tangible evidence. Etc.
In
the non-material philanthropic field
The GECOL is not
adequately committed to its non-monetary philanthropic responsibility towards the
Libyan community. The non-monetary philanthropic activities undertaken by the
GECOL focus on training students without engaging in other social programs and
activities such as educating the community and interacting with contemporary
issues that do not require payment of money. Generally, according to the
standard of full commitment and not incomplete commitment, we can say that, the
General Electricity Company of Libya GECOL is not committed to its social
responsibilities towards the Libyan community. The GECOL is not committed to
its economic responsibility good use of public money. If we exclude the GECOL
commitment to tax laws and social security, we can say that, the GECOL is not
fully committed to its legal responsibility violation of international
instruments and other local laws in many aspects. The GECOL is not committed to
its ethical responsibility promoting a culture of corruption and violating the
principles of social justice. If we exclude students' training, we can say
that, the GECOL is not committed to its non-material philanthropic
responsibility. The GECOL’s social performance in this area is completely
non-existent. There is no doubt that the environmental conditions surrounding
the GECOL have a negative impact on the performance of the GECOL, but after
this previous presentation, it can be said that: The GECOL is not committed to
its social responsibility as it should [8-10].
To remove the obstacles
that hinder all NPPSIs in Libya from adhering to their social responsibility,
this study recommends the following:
·
The
necessity of strengthening and anchoring the ideology of social responsibility
in the NPPSIs in Libya, including the GECOL.
·
The
necessity to give full independence to the internal audit departments in the
NPPSIs in Libya, including the GECOL, as well as full authority to evaluate the
social performance of these institutions.
·
The
necessity of training employees of the internal audit departments on how to
issue social performance reports for these institutions, including the GECOL.
·
The
need to develop methods and procedures for internal auditing to include how to
evaluate social responsibility social performance in the NPPSIs.
·
The
necessity to hold educational seminars regarding international instruments
issued by international organizations of which Libya is a member.
·
The
necessity to reinforce the principles of social justice and human rights in all
NPPSIs.
·
The
need to address the issue of administrative distortions in the NPPSIs in Libya,
including the GECOL such as disguised unemployment and job description, etc.
·
The
necessity of training leaders at NPPSIs on how to make decisions and conclude
financial transactions in an economic manner that reflects good use of public
money? the economic rationality.?
The need to combat the phenomenon of
administrative and financial corruption in the NPPSIs in Libya, including the
GECOL.
This study contributed
to enriching the thought of CSR and removing ambiguities about its features in
the NPPSIs. This study identified the different aspects of this thought and its
features in the non-profit sector - which differ from its features in the
for-profit sector, as follows:
·
The
economic responsibility of the NPPSIs has a special meaning and nature that
differs from the economic responsibility of for-profit institutions. It means
good use of public money, optimum use;
·
The
philanthropic responsibility of the NPPSIs is nonmaterial, it is moral or
intangible non-monetary philanthropic responsibility. NPPSIs can have a great
role in interacting with the issues and aspirations of the societies in which
they operate through their involvement in programs and activities of intangible
charitable work such as free training for students, providing free
consultations, educating the local community, moral support to solve social
issues and problems, etc.
To evaluate whether the
NPPSIs are committed to their social responsibility towards the communities in
which they operate or not, and to issue reports on the social performance of
these institutions, specific focus must be placed on studying and evaluating
the following five axes by the internal control systems, internal audit
departments in these institutions, according to concepts of effectiveness and
efficiency. Those axes are:
·
Evaluating
the quality of financial decisions and deals, evaluating the level of economic
rationality in those decisions and deals;
·
Evaluating
the quality of the actual spending by comparing it with the planned spending;
·
Evaluating
the quality of administrative and financial policies and their consistency with
the goals, plans, and local laws and international instruments;
·
Evaluating
the extent to which the specified approach is followed to achieve the goals,
policies and organizational procedures;
Evaluating the extent of compliance with the
codes of ethics, and professional conduct rules.