Blackberry 2015 Annual Report Download - page 177

opportunity yourself. Unless and until BlackBerry has
been able to evaluate such an opportunity and has
chosen not to pursue it, you must avoid it.
Avoid Doing Business with Friends and Family
From time to time, your actions as a BlackBerry
employee may directly or indirectly aect the interests
of family members and friends. Such a situation can
arise, for example, when a family member or friend
becomes an employee of, or significant investor in,
a supplier or customer you conduct business with
on behalf of BlackBerry. Although not every such
situation will be a conflict of interest, you must not
conduct such business without making full disclosure
of these relationships and obtaining written approval
as described below whenever such a situation arises.
Even where such activities are approved, you must
not allow your personal relationships to influence, or
appear to influence, your ability to act in BlackBerry’s
best interest.
In addition, you should never act as a supervisor over
any BlackBerry employee or outside contractor who
is a family member or other person with whom you
have a significant personal relationship. This includes
situations where you might have direct or indirect
reporting relationships with such persons or influence
over that person’s employment, performance
review, salary administration, promotion, demotion,
assignment of work, lay-o, termination, transfer,
or other employment-related decisions. You must
avoid even indirect reporting relationships with such
persons that could appear to result in preferential
treatment, retaliation, or favoritism. You must make
full disclosure of these relationships and obtain
written approval as described below whenever such
a situation arises.
Outside Financial Interests Can Create Conflicts
BlackBerry respects your right to manage your
personal finances. However, some outside financial
interests may actually influence or may be perceived
by others to improperly influence your performance
of your job at BlackBerry. This influence may arise, for
example, because of the amount of your investment
or the particular organization in which you invested,
such as a BlackBerry competitor, customer, supplier
or other business partner. It is not typically a conflict
of interest to make investments in BlackBerry
competitors, customers, suppliers or other business
partners so long as:
• The total value of the investment is less than 1%
of the outstanding stock of the company; and
• The amount of the investment is not so significant
to you that it would aect your business judgment
on behalf of BlackBerry.
If you or a member of your immediate family who
resides with you owns or seeks to own any such
financial interest, promptly disclose the matter
and obtain written approval as described below.
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