Task 5b

Codes of conduct:

I put together a small focus group of performers, in order to brainstorm ideas of codes of conduct and see if anything new or different came up.

Focus Group topics:

It was pointed out that when joining most performing arts colleges, students are required to sign a code of conduct which summarises the basic rules of behaviour they must follow during there time within the school.
This lead to the thought that if there is a code of conduct for the pupils, in theory there should also be one for the teachers.
One member of the focus group who teaches in her spare time, pointed out that she had been made aware of the general rules of school and what was expected of her before being accepted for the job. It showed that the college is essentially providing a service to the pupil and they too must uphold there side of the code of conduct. In colleges particularly, students are starting to realise they have a right to expect certain things, as they are paying a lot of money. So if the college fails to uphold its side of the deal, students are well within their right to question it. I later found this http://cdet.org.uk/teaching-and-qualifications/code-of-conduct/ which covers the ethical obligations regarding the good practice, health and safety, integrity, competency and statutory requirements that a dance teacher should follow.

With the music industry particularly in mind, 'PRS for Music' came up. A company that I had never heard of. But as it turns out, PRS for Music, is a society of over 90,000 songwriters, publishers and composers who deal in fairly distributing royalties and organising licences and the use of music under copy write. ALLLLLL very technical. Any way, I looked it up and it turns out there is a massive handbook dedicated to the code of conduct within the company for both employees and members. http://www.prsformusic.com/users/businessesandliveevents/musicforbusinesses/customerconsultation/Documents/Proposed%20PRS%20for%20Music%20Code%20of%20Conduct%20September%202012.pdf

which has also complies with British Copyright Council’s Principles of Good Practice for Collective Management Organisations (CMO) Policy Framework. ---- Which just shows that there is also rules that the code of conduct must follow, which is something I hadn't previously considered.

One member also brought up, further to audition codes of conduct, codes of conduct within rehearsals. Similarly to auditions, punctuality, hard work, correct attire and respect for colleagues are key, but there are also written rules for some company's that outline the codes that should be followed. http://www.nnos.co.uk/code%20of%20conduct.asp
The Norfolk and Norwich operatic society (who one member of the focus group had previously worked with) state their codes of conduct publicly online in order to make it clear from the beginning how performers are expected to behave, which I think is a good thing because it would prevent avoidable hold ups within rehearsal time, etc.

Apart from that, similar topics to what I mentioned in task 5a came up, in regards to audition behaviour and nothing really differed.