3-DNETŪ
CODE OF PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT
All members of 3-DNETŪ are bound by its Code of Professional Conduct in order to uphold the dignity of the membership organization in their own locality and around the world.
1. CONDITIONS OF MEMBERSHIP
All members shall be of inscrupulous personality. They shall be honest, and caring with 1000% integrity. Corporate members shall be "bonafide" and in good standing with their local Better Business Bureau or Chamber of Commerce.
2. CONFIDENTIAL NON-DISCLOSURE & WAIVER OF DAMAGE/RESPONSIBILITY
The member hereby declares/agrees that under NO circumstances and regardless of timing The 3-D Network Company, its subsidiaries, affiliations, its agents, officers or owners/heirs shall be held responsible for any damages which may arise as a result from his/her membership in the organisation.
In addition the member appreciates and agrees that the level and quality of 3-DNETŪ services may differ from country to country and are subject to the stage of development of the local 3-DNETŪ entity.
3. HOUSE RULES:
All members (corporate and individual) will keep their Passwords and ID for their own use ONLY. It is strictly prohibited to lend this confidential information to third parties or non-members. Members shall utilize information only for their own use!
All communications between members shall be directed via 3-DNETŪ HQ at exec@3dnet.org Individual members shall NOT approach corporate members for job vacancies by themselves but always via 3-DNETŪ. A direct approach is widely considered by corporate members as "unsolicited behaviour" and is not appropriate.
All TEAM members shall "at all times" do their utmost to respond to incoming mail originating within 3-DNETŪ within 24 hours. (As our business relies heavily upon Internet communications, members and clients expect a fast response or else they lose interest and momentum. As Internet Professionals, we must set the example -- people will be thankful!)
Members understand that when they do not adhere to above rules #1 and #2 it shall be considered possible grounds for asking the member to leave 3-DNETŪ. There will be no possibility to rejoin 3-DNETŪ at a later date.
4. CODE OF ETHICS:
The following statements are agreed to by all members of 3-DNETŪ as a condition of membership.
A. I (We) acknowledge that my (our) position as a 3-DNETŪ Individual or Corporate Member carries with it certain important obligations, and I (We) will take diligent personal (corporate) responsibility for their discharge.
B. To the public: I (We) will endeavour to protect the 3-DNETŪ membership interests both locally as well as on a global scale, and I (We) will not represent myself (our organization) as an authority on topics in which I (We) lack competence.
C. To myself (ourselves) and my (our) profession: I (We) will guard my (our) competence and effectiveness as a valuable possession, and work at maintaining them despite changing circumstances and requirements. Furthermore, I (We) will maintain high personal standards of moral responsibility, character, and integrity when acting in my (our) professional capacity.
D. To my (our) colleagues: I (We) will treat my (our) colleagues with integrity and respect, and hold their right to success to be as important as my (our) own. I (We) will contribute to the good causes of the 3-DNETŪ organization to the best of my ability.
E. To my employer and management (a relationship which has come about through my membership with 3-DNETŪ) : I will give faithful service to further my employer's legitimate best interests through management's direction.
F. To my (our) client 3-DNETŪ colleagues: I (we) will give frank and careful counsel on matters within my (our) competence, and guard my client's confidential information and private matters absolutely. In my (our) capacity of provider of product or service, I (We) will provide good value for my (our) compensation, and will endeavour to protect the user of my (our) product or service against consequential loss or harm.
G. To my (our) entrusted: I (We) will provide support to my (our) colleagues in a sympathetic and helpful manner.
5. STANDARDS OF CONDUCT:
The Code of Ethics is a set of ideals to which 3-DNETŪ members aspire. The Standards of Conduct are intended to be more practicably enforceable. The following statements are agreed to by all members of 3-DNETŪ as a condition of membership.
Due to my (our) obligation to members of 3-DNETŪ:
P1) I (We) will not unreasonably withhold information pertinent to an issue relating to the 3-DNETŪ membership as a whole.
P2) I (We) will not disseminate, nor allow to go unchallenged, false or misleading information that I (We) believe may have significant consequence.
P3) I (We) will not offer information or advice that I (We)know to be false or misleading, or whose accuracy is beyond my (our) competence to judge.
P4) I (We) will not seek to acquire, through my (our) position or special knowledge, for my (our) own or other's use, information that is not rightly mine (ours) to possess.
P5) I (We) will obey the laws of the country, and will not counsel, aid, or assist any person/organization to act in any way contrary to these laws.
Due to my obligation to my employer and to my management:
E1) I will accept responsibility for my work, and for informing others with a right and need to know of pertinent parts of my work.
E2) I will not accept work that I do not feel competent to perform to a reasonable level of management satisfaction.
E3) I will guard the legitimate confidentiality of my employer's private information.
E4) I will respect and guard my employer's (and his supplier's) proprietary interest, particularly as regards data and software.
E5) I will respect the commercial aspect of my obligation to my employer.
Due to my (our) obligation to my (our) clients:
C1) I (We) will be careful to ensure that proper expertise and current professional knowledge is made available.
C2) I (We) will avoid conflicts of interest and give notice of potential conflicts of interest.
ENFORCEMENT PROCEDURES:
It is essential that the Code of Ethics, and Standards of Conduct be supported with clear orderly, and reasonable enforcement procedures if 3-DNETŪ is to be able to discipline members who violate the Standards of Conduct. The enforcement procedures must be equitable to all participating members, and must ensure that no actions are taken in an arbitrary or malicious manner. The following Enforcement Procedures have been designed with these points in mind.
The Complaint
The complaint must:
* be against a single individual or corporate member, and
* be in writing, and
* cite the specific clause of the Standards of Conduct that is alleged to have been violated, and
* describe the specific action in question, and
* describe, in general terms, the substantial negative effect of that action upon the 3-DNETŪ organization, a corporate or individual member, and
* contain a statement that the specific action of the accused in question is or is not already or imminently [to the best knowledge of the complainant(s)] the subject of legal proceedings, and
* contain a signed statement that the facts are true to the best knowledge of the complainant(s).
This complaint must be sent to the National President of 3-DNETŪ. The National President, or his delegate, will review the complaint to determine if it meets the above criteria. If it doesn't, it will be returned to the complainant(s) for possible change and re-submission. If the specific action of the accused is (imminently) the subject of legal proceedings, no further action will be taken until those proceedings are concluded. If the complaint is not rejected then, subject to legal advice, the accused member will be notified (by Registered Mail to last known address), provided with a copy of the complaint, and allowed 30 days to prepare a written rebuttal of the complaint if so desired. The President of the Section the accused belongs to will be notified. The rebuttal should address the same points as the complaint, and must also include a statement that the facts contained in the rebuttal are true to the best knowledge of the accused.
The National President of 3-DNETŪ or his delegate shall review the complaint and, if available, the rebuttal, to determine if there is sufficient evidence to hold a full hearing. If it is determined that a full hearing is warranted, the full information will be forwarded to a three member Hearing Committee appointed within 30 days of the receipt of the rebuttal or of the last date allowed for receipt of the rebuttal.
The Hearing Process
The Hearing Committee shall adhere to the following procedure:
he Hearing Committee will attempt to interview, at the "Initial" expense of 3-DNETŪ (to be charged to the ACCUSED PARTY) , the complainant(s), and the accused, plus any other parties with relevant information. The number of people interviewed, and the extent of the effort to secure interviews, is a matter of judgement by the Hearing Committee. The Hearing Committee will decide if the accused may be present during the interviews. If the accused is not allowed to be present during the interviews, the accused shall be provided with notes documenting the substance of the interviews.
The accused will be afforded the opportunity for a full hearing, with the complainant present if desired by the accused.
The Hearing Committee should have the services of legal counsel available as required. The accused, and the complainant, may obtain counsel, at their own expense, if either or both so desire.
The Hearing Committee, after full and complete deliberation, will rule in writing as to the individual case.
Additional rules and procedures shall be established by the Hearing Committee as required in their judgement.
The Hearing Committee ruling may be:
1) a clearing of charges, or
2) a warning statement to the accused, or
3) suspension of national and local membership for a specified period of time, or
4) revocation of the current membership of the accused in the 3-DNETŪ Organization, and a statement of the accused's eligibility for other grades of membership.
5) Such other ruling as the Hearing Committee in its discretion sees fit. (e.g.: change letterhead, business cards to delete reference to being a member of 3-DNETŪ).
The Hearing Committee will prepare an opinion on the particular case, that will cover the facts of the case, the action taken, and the reason for that action. This will be reviewed by the Executive Committee of the National Board of 3-DNETŪ and by legal counsel at the discretion of the Executive Committee. When approved this opinion will be sent to the accused, who may consider exercising the Appeal Process.
Due diligence should be used to provide this opinion to the accused within 120 days of the receipt of the complaint by the Hearing Committee. If this is not possible, a letter should be sent to the National President of 3-DNETŪ, with copies to the accused and complainant(s), requesting an extension of this limit, and stating the reason for this request.
The Appeal Process
If not satisfied with the ruling of the Hearing Committee, the accused may appeal to the Executive Committee of the National Board of 3-DNETŪ within 30 days of issuance of the Hearing Committee opinion. If appealed, the following procedure will be used.
* The Executive Committee, at its next scheduled meeting, or at a special session, shall review the opinion, and any other information available, and shall determine if:
1) A substantive procedural error has been committed by the Hearing Committee, or
2) substantial new evidence has been produced.
* The accused and the complainant are permitted legal counsel at the Executive Committee appeal session.
* The Executive Committee shall determine if, in its sole judgement, one of the two above noted criteria have been established, in which case the council shall refer the matter back tothe previous or a new Hearing Committee for further proceedings.
* The decision of the Executive Committee shall be final: there shall be no further appeal.
Publication and Record Retention
After the Appeal Process and any further proceedings have been exhausted or after completion of the time allowed to initiate an Appeal Process, the Opinion will be published in the appropriate 3-DNETŪ publication if the ruling was a suspension or revocation of membership, and will be published at the request of the accused, if the ruling was a clearing of charges or issuing of warning statement.
The record of the Hearing Committee and all appropriate supporting documentation will be retained by National for five years. Response to queries may include statistical information that does not reveal detail about a specific complaint, such as the number of complaints processed, provided the approval of the Executive Committee is obtained, or responses may include copies of information previously published.
Any other information may be released only with the written permission of the Executive Committee.
3-DNETŪ is a secure and effective way to make new contacts
-- both business and social!
Networking is a requirement for Business and Individual alike.
The ONLY security these days is how wide your network is and how shrewdly you market yourself.
3-DNETŪ can assist you!Copyright 1996 The 3-D Network Company
3-DNETŪ is a registered trademark of The 3-D Network Company International Inc.
