Maybe this is how things work in your organization, but in most organizations policy decisions are delegated to middle management. Executives and owners don't have time to worry about minor issues like this. They care about growing the business. Case in point when staff are working on my projects I require them to dress business professional even though our policy is business casual. If they don't comply it is negative in their evaluations. I know things about my team that our owner can't know, and responsibilities are delegated to me for this reason. Another thing businesses don't need any reason to fire someone. Employees work at will and cause is not required to fire someone.
If you get audited and/or have a risk assessment done, and you are enforcing rules that are not defined in a policy and/or procedure document or vice versa, the auditor should and will bust your balls for it.
Risk Management and Internal Audit or my game brah. Auditors only care about policies that matter. These are operational, finnancial,compliance and information technology. Housekeeping bs like dress codes pose marginal to no risk. If this hospital employee had been listening to NWA at her desk, and someone complained, and the supervisor told the employee to turn the music down are you suggesting this has to be covered by a "No NWA policy" from executive management? Get real. I enforced rules on my team that were not written anywhere all the time. If they were insubordinate I escalated it to the appropriate level. Why? Cause it was my job to run a team efficiently and effectively. I don't care that we don't have a "No listening to your ipod while at the client policy." It looks bad, and if you are working for me you aren't going to do it.
we wouldnt even be discussing this if people were a little more rational about flags. they are crazy about them. they absolutely insist on flag flying and silly pointless displays of pride. the US is a nice country, i get it. no need to get obsessive over the flag. fly it over your house, make a tuxedo out of flags and wear it to your wedding. build a miniature dale jr out of mini flags. but dont assume you can display them at any time, at any place, including places you do not own or occasions for which you do not make the rules.
Actually, you can display the flag at places you do not technically own thanks to George W. Bush. However, work place flags may still be an issue. H.R. 42:Freedom to Display the American Flag Act of 2005 Freedom to Display the American Flag Act of 2005 - States that a condominium association, cooperative association, or residential real estate management association may not adopt or enforce any policy, or enter into any agreement, that would restrict or prevent an association member from displaying the U.S. flag on residential property within the association with respect to which such member has a separate ownership interest or a right to exclusive possession or use.
I also do them, which is why I brought them up. Granted, I am almost certain I have not done nearly as many as you have as I just started doing them in addition to the other junk I have to do and mine are pretty much exclusively IT. I would think however, that doing something like this without the paperwork to back it up would be an HR nightmare. I'm not saying it doesn't happen...it clearly does. I am just saying that I think it opens you up to legal problems if you don't follow protocol.
what legal ramifications? not allowing employees the right to be the arbiter of how a workplace is decorated? do these employees understand the the idea that they do not own their workplaces? if your gardener painted swastikas on your lawn would that be ok because he wants to express himself where he works? the thing i dont think you understand is the idea of private property. wave your flags in public spaces. "dont decorate the building and get back to work" - your boss "but its the flag and i want to express my patri..." - you "shut up and make profits for the company" - your boss "i will sue!" - you "i putting you on my list of people who do not listen and need firing" - your boss
I understand just as much as you completely and consistently either miss or ignore the point. This is clearly going nowhere.
no you dont. you would never be having this discussion if the object at issue was something other than the american flag. what you dont realize is that it doesnt matter what the object is, you dont make the rules at your workplace. again, your boss tells you how to manage the workplace. thats all you need to know, so stop being stupid. i should note that given two identical businesses, and one is festooned with american flags, i choose the other to do work for me. not because i dislike the american flag, but because in general i have found that people who really care alot about the flag are goofy. its a symbol, nothing more.
