HTC 2013 Annual Report Download - page 159

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HTC's Code of Conduct
HTC's Code of Conduct is a guideline to provide
high ethical standards for all employees in
conducting HTC business activities. All employees
of HTC Corp., including branches and subsidiary
companies, must follow these ethical standards
regardless of the employees' position, grade level,
and location. This Code includes three major
sections: the General Moral Imperative, Vendors/
Suppliers and Customers Relationship, and Conflict
of Interests.
The General Moral Imperative section requires that
HTC commits to providing a safe and healthy work
environment and equal opportunities, and that it
establishes a behavioral code for the treatment of
knowledge about the company's
assets/properties/information.
The Vendors/Suppliers and Customer Relationship
section requires that HTC commits to maintaining
a fair, legal, and long-term relationship with its
vendors/suppliers and customers to the benefit of
all parties.
The Conflict of Interest section describes the
behavioral rules for employees in situations of
divided interest.
This Code is superior to any other local regulations
except certain mandatory laws/acts issued by
the local government. In such cases, the Talent
Management Division should submit the specific
local laws/acts to Corporate Talent Management
Division in order to waive this specific regulation of
the Code in that location. Otherwise, any violation
of HTC Code of Conduct and applicable policies
may cause disciplinary action up to and including
the termination of employment. The employees
are responsible for understanding and complying
with the HTC Code of Conduct, as well as other
applicable HTC policies/rules.
Mandatory Contents
1.0 General Moral Imperatives
While maintaining a work culture that ensures
the company's success, HTC strives to treat each
employee fairly and with dignity. HTC is also
committed to complying with the labor laws of
each country it operates in. As well, each employee
is responsible for complying with all applicable
external and internal laws, and follow up any new
revision of company policies.
1.1 Work Environments:
HTC is committed to comply with local laws
and regulations to establish a safe and healthy
workplace, free from recognized hazards.
Furthermore, HTC is thoroughly dedicated to
providing employees with a workplace that is
free of harassment (including sexual harassment)
and discrimination. Any language or behavior of
intention to cause hostilities or violations of this
policy is strictly prohibited and shall be reported
to a responsible authority immediately.
1.2 Corporate Confidentiality:
During the term of employment with HTC and
thereafter, each employee must hold in strict
confidence and not disclose, directly or indirectly,
any “Confidential Information＂ (as defined
below) gained from HTC or its customers or
venders/suppliers to any third party without
the prior written consent of HTC.“Confidential
Information＂ must be used only for the purpose
of executing work for HTC. “Confidential
Information＂ shall mean all business, technical,
operational or other information that is not
generally known to the public and that an
employee develops, has access to, and becomes
acquainted with during the term of employment,
whether or not such information (A) is owned by
HTC, HTC's customers, venders/suppliers, or any
third party with which HTC desires to establish a
business relationship with; (B) is in oral, written,
drawn or electronic media form; (C) is subject
matter for the application of patents, trademarks,
copyrights, or other intellectual property rights;
or (D) is labeled with “Confidential＂ or an
equivalent word. Confidential information may
include, but is not limited to the following:
1. Business plans, manufacturing and marketing
plans, procurement plans, product roadmaps,
product design records, product test plans and
reports, product software and source codes,
product pricing, product appearance, product
specifications, tooling specifications, personnel
information, financial information, customer
lists, venders/supplier lists, distributor lists, raw
materials and product inventory information,
all quality records, trade secrets, and other
information related to the Company's business
activities;
2. Documents, databases, or other related
materials to any computer programs or any
development stages thereof;
3. Discoveries, concepts, ideas, designs, sketches,
engineering drawings, specifications, circuit
layouts, circuit diagrams, mechanical drawings,
flow charts, production processes, procedures,
models, molds, samples, components,trouble
shooting guides, chips and other know-how;
and
4. Proprietary information of any third party (such
as customers or venders/suppliers) that the
Company has a duty of confidentiality pursuant
to contracts or required by any applicable laws.
1.3 Protection of Property, HTC's
Assets, and Personal Information:
Copyrights, patents, trade marks/secrets, the terms
of license agreements and any kind of intellectual
property are under protection by related laws
or regulations; violations are strictly prohibited.
The Company's assets are not limited to physical
equipment and facilities only, but also include
technologies, trademarks, and other invisible
concepts & confidential information. The utilization
of company assets is for business matters and
should be maintained, updated, and recorded
properly and regularly. This is also applicable to
the use of employee personal data. Those who
are dealing with employee data shall consider the
business matters and employees' privacy as well.
The only exception that permits the revelation of
employees' personal data is where such disclosure
is required by government laws.
1.4 Equal Opportunity:
HTC's Employment Policy is to comply with all
applicable laws. Hiring decisions are based on
HTC's business needs and the qualifications of
applicants, and HTC strives to provide equal
employment opportunities for all applicants and
employees without regard to non-job-related
factors, such as race, color, social class, language,
religion, political affiliation, national origin, gender,
sexual orientation, marital status, appearance,
disability, previous union membership etc.
Everyone must be treated with dignity and respect.
This principle applies to all areas of employment,
including, but not limited to, recruitment, hiring,
training, promotion, compensation, benefits,
transfer, and social and recreational programs.
All employees should be responsible for the data
accuracy and quality in any type of report in
all aspects of their daily work. Any intention of
misleading or incorrect data is not acceptable and
may cause disciplinary action.
1.5 Political Activities:
The Company encourages employees to
participate in public activities as responsible
citizens. However, HTC employees are prohibited