Ethics

Ethics is good for business. Research confirms this, and yet ethical lapses, issues, and at times, corporate behavior causes major concerns. Most people will tell you that “business ethics” is a contradiction in terms. “Impossible!” they say. “You have to do everything you can to give customers what they want and increase shareholder value. No one can put ethics before...

When issues arise with your ethics program, you have two options for how to solve them: the quick way and the right way. Be sure that you're not taking a Band-Aid approach to a serious problem. Just as you'd seek out a medical professional to stitch you up after an accident, you ought to enlist a properly trained professional to...

Consider GM's latest debacle: the C-Suite claimed no knowledge of the company's use of faulty ignition switches going back more than a decade. And perhaps they didn't know, but they should have. Executives must be held accountable for subordinates' failings, so they must be aware of what's going on internally.

Business ethics is traditionally taught by college philosophy departments. Considering source material often predates modern business practices by hundreds -- if not thousands -- of years, this should raise eyebrows. The principles of classical moral philosophy aren't very helpful in today's business world, so why are they being applied?

A strong ethical culture, including clear expectations for acceptable conduct within the organization and with third parties, is essential for good governance. Ethical behavior, however, involves much more than a code of ethics. The audit committee plays a critical role in ensuring that an organization’s culture aligns with its code of conduct, that behaviors are consistent from top to bottom,...

In the aftermath of a serious violation, efforts to overhaul a company's culture of ethics and compliance may seem too little, too late. And can it even be done, anyway? With the right players at the helm it can. With the Board and the CEO jointly and sincerely championing change, the organization stands a far greater chance of surmounting past...

That ethics and compliance programs should be in place is a given. But just how effective are your organization’s existing measures on this front? The ideal E&C program, is after all, a robust one; one that accomplishes what it’s meant to. Is your Chief Compliance Officer elevated and empowered? How’s the tone in the middle? Is the company focused on...

Who better to speak to the evolution of ethics and compliance leadership than a former CCO who took a bit of a crooked path to the E&C field? In this week's Talking Values podcast, David Greenberg, previously head of compliance at Altria/Philip Morris speaks to the increased expectation of transparency of corporations...

Compliance and ethics often go hand in hand, but being in compliance doesn’t necessarily mean your organization is a bastion of ethical behavior. Fraud is unsettlingly common, and we’re not talking about the petty stuff. Having a deeply embedded ethical culture can protect against misconduct that comes with six-figure (or higher!) losses, causes significant reputational damage and leads to hefty...

When it comes to compliance, the best investment a company can make is to create and promote an ethical culture. Dollar for dollar, communicating this message is the money well spent. A CEO has to commit time and effort to the program. If the CEO does not want to commit, the job will be much harder. A CEO who believes...

March 10th was the 101st anniversary of the death of Harriet Tubman. She was one of the greatest conductors on the Underground Railroad, which took slaves out of the old south and up to freedom in the north and into Canada. I read about her as a child and her story always moved me.

I was reading a book the other day and came across this question: Which matters more: intention or action? It stopped me in my tracks, and I had to stop reading to ponder this question for a while.