No Result
View All Result
SUBSCRIBE | NO FEES, NO PAYWALLS
MANAGE MY SUBSCRIPTION
NEWSLETTER
Corporate Compliance Insights
  • Home
  • About
    • About CCI
    • Writing for CCI
    • NEW: CCI Press – Book Publishing
    • Advertise With Us
  • Explore Topics
    • See All Articles
    • Compliance
    • Ethics
    • Risk
    • FCPA
    • Governance
    • Fraud
    • Internal Audit
    • HR Compliance
    • Cybersecurity
    • Data Privacy
    • Financial Services
    • Well-Being at Work
    • Leadership and Career
    • Opinion
  • Vendor News
  • Career Connection
  • Events
    • Calendar
    • Submit an Event
  • Library
    • Whitepapers & Reports
    • eBooks
    • CCI Press & Compliance Bookshelf
  • Podcasts
  • Videos
  • Subscribe
  • Home
  • About
    • About CCI
    • Writing for CCI
    • NEW: CCI Press – Book Publishing
    • Advertise With Us
  • Explore Topics
    • See All Articles
    • Compliance
    • Ethics
    • Risk
    • FCPA
    • Governance
    • Fraud
    • Internal Audit
    • HR Compliance
    • Cybersecurity
    • Data Privacy
    • Financial Services
    • Well-Being at Work
    • Leadership and Career
    • Opinion
  • Vendor News
  • Career Connection
  • Events
    • Calendar
    • Submit an Event
  • Library
    • Whitepapers & Reports
    • eBooks
    • CCI Press & Compliance Bookshelf
  • Podcasts
  • Videos
  • Subscribe
No Result
View All Result
Corporate Compliance Insights
Home Featured

United’s Crisis Mismanagement and Corporate Culture

by Michael Volkov
April 20, 2017
in Featured, Leadership and Career
United plane on the tarmac at O’Hare

Lukewarm Apology Highlights Cultural Concerns

United Airlines made headlines last week for an incident involving the forcible removal of a paying passenger from one of its planes. In the 10 days or so since, United has been navigating a PR nightmare. The company’s CEO, Oscar Munoz, was quick to respond, but his apology rang hollow, and it may suggest a major disconnect in United’s culture.

This article was republished with permission from Michael Volkov’s blog, Corruption, Crime & Compliance.

We were all aghast at the spectacle on the United Airlines flight last week when a customer was dragged off a plane, refusing to give up his seat because of an overbooking. No one can underestimate the power of real-time video of controversial incidents.

United’s response as reflected in CEO Oscar Munoz’s three separate statements provides a textbook example of how not to handle a crisis and how not to apologize. His inability to offer a credible apology not only reflects a failure of leadership, but also raises some equally important questions as to the state of United’s corporate culture.

Munoz’s initial “apology” on April 10, immediately following the incident, reflected a questionable approach.

This is an upsetting event to all of us here at United. I apologize having to re-accommodate these customers. Our team is moving with a sense of urgency to work with authorities and conduct our own detailed review of what happened. We are also reaching out to this passenger to talk directly to him and further address and resolve this situation.

Munoz’s non-apology apology disturbingly referred to an apology “to re-accommodate these customers.” Munoz failed to address the most significant part of the incident: the violent removal of the passenger from the plane.

United also suggested initially that law enforcement alone failed to act reasonably when removing the passenger. Even if this were true, United was in a position to protect its passenger through the supervision of what was occurring and by speaking up to temper the law enforcement officers’ conduct. To suggest otherwise is a weak attempt to shirk responsibility.

Munoz eventually expressed contrition on behalf of United and repeated these apologies in subsequent television appearances.   Munoz also acknowledged eventually that his attempts to apologize fell short and did not convey his responsibility for the fear created by the incident.

Munoz and others at United ignored the most significant impact that incident had on its customers: fear. Airlines have power and authority over their passengers. This relationship has become more skewed in recent years as regulatory protections for passengers have declined. In the extreme, United’s conduct was the inevitable result of a corporate culture that has lost sight of the importance of its passengers. Of course, the legitimate protection of passengers from terrorism and other criminal conduct has to be preserved. However, this incident is qualitatively distinguishable from such an incident.

One wonders: had the incident not swept through social media as it did, would United have felt inclined to strengthen its message of apology and responsibility? The question lingers whether United’s response was a corrective measure to avoid public shaming, falling stock prices and an exodus of loyal clients or whether it was a response to ethical standards that guide its corporate culture. In this regard, Munoz’s lukewarm apology was revealing.

Munoz’s failure to offer a credible and sincere apology suggests a major disconnect in United’s culture. If a CEO cannot acknowledge such an egregious handling of an issue, you can rest assured that this same deficiency will permeate the entire corporate culture. Mid-level managers and employees may share the same perspective when carrying out their jobs.

A true apology requires giving up any possible excuses, giving up saving face and any attempt to “win” the public dialogue. A true apology requires a focus on what led to the incident and an immediate willingness to address its cause and consequences.

Tone at the top has a profound impact on corporate operations. When a CEO does not set an example for employees, the impact on corporate behavior and morale is significant. The CEO’s failure to act responsibly breaks the possibility of trust between company leaders and employees.

United’s violent removal of the passenger on the overbooked plane may reflect its culture of excuses and its inability to take responsibility for its treatment of its customers. Munoz’s inability to apologize reflected the lack of his own – and probably the company’s – ability to assume responsibility for its conduct.


Tags: Corporate CultureTone at the Top
Previous Post

Deloitte Publishes Board Practices Report

Next Post

A Year to Go: Why GDPR Matters

Michael Volkov

Michael Volkov

Michael-Volkov-leclairryan Michael Volkov is the CEO of The Volkov Law Group LLC, where he provides compliance, internal investigation and white collar defense services.  He can be reached at mvolkov@volkovlaw.com. Michael has extensive experience representing clients on matters involving the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the UK Bribery Act, money laundering, Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC), export controls, sanctions and International Traffic in Arms, False Claims Act, Congressional investigations, online gambling and regulatory enforcement issues. Michael served for more than 17 years as a federal prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of Columbia; for five years as the Chief Crime and Terrorism Counsel for the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Chief Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security Counsel for the Senate and House Judiciary Committees; and as a Trial Attorney in the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. Michael also maintains a well-known blog: Corruption Crime & Compliance, which is frequently cited by anti-corruption professionals and professionals in the compliance industry.

Related Posts

Fox_Incentives in Compliance_f

Incentives in Compliance

by Corporate Compliance Insights
January 23, 2023

Learn more about how compensation can reinforce compliance culture (or not) Encouraging Good, Discouraging Bad Incentives in Compliance What’s in...

best employees speak up

Why Our Best Employees Don’t Speak Up

by Courtney Sander
November 2, 2022

Are we conditioning our employees not to speak up? The traits present in our best employees might make them less...

quiet quitting well being

Why ‘Quiet Quitting’ Could Harm Ethics & Compliance Functions

by Lisa Beth Lentini Walker
September 14, 2022

Few compliance programs have tasks that are spelled out in the job descriptions of every person in an organization, and...

nfl main art_j

Touchdown or Fumble? What Compliance Can Learn From the NFL’s Disciplinary System

by David Bligh
September 7, 2022

Cheering for your favorite team (or against the one you hate), makes it easy to forget that NFL players are...

Next Post
IT professional in server room

A Year to Go: Why GDPR Matters

Compliance Job Interview Q&A

Jump to a Topic

AML Anti-Bribery Anti-Corruption Artificial Intelligence (AI) Automation Banking Board of Directors Board Risk Oversight Business Continuity Planning California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) Code of Conduct Communications Management Corporate Culture COVID-19 Cryptocurrency Culture of Ethics Cybercrime Cyber Risk Data Analytics Data Breach Data Governance DOJ Download Due Diligence Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) ESG FCPA Enforcement Actions Financial Crime Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) GDPR HIPAA Know Your Customer (KYC) Machine Learning Monitoring RegTech Reputation Risk Risk Assessment SEC Social Media Risk Supply Chain Technology Third Party Risk Management Tone at the Top Training Whistleblowing
No Result
View All Result

Privacy Policy

Founded in 2010, CCI is the web’s premier global independent news source for compliance, ethics, risk and information security. 

Got a news tip? Get in touch. Want a weekly round-up in your inbox? Sign up for free. No subscription fees, no paywalls. 

Follow Us

Browse Topics:

  • CCI Press
  • Compliance
  • Compliance Podcasts
  • Cybersecurity
  • Data Privacy
  • eBooks Published by CCI
  • Ethics
  • FCPA
  • Featured
  • Financial Services
  • Fraud
  • Governance
  • GRC Vendor News
  • HR Compliance
  • Internal Audit
  • Leadership and Career
  • On Demand Webinars
  • Opinion
  • Resource Library
  • Risk
  • Uncategorized
  • Videos
  • Webinars
  • Well-Being
  • Whitepapers

© 2022 Corporate Compliance Insights

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • About
    • About CCI
    • Writing for CCI
    • NEW: CCI Press – Book Publishing
    • Advertise With Us
  • Explore Topics
    • See All Articles
    • Compliance
    • Ethics
    • Risk
    • FCPA
    • Governance
    • Fraud
    • Internal Audit
    • HR Compliance
    • Cybersecurity
    • Data Privacy
    • Financial Services
    • Well-Being at Work
    • Leadership and Career
    • Opinion
  • Vendor News
  • Career Connection
  • Events
    • Calendar
    • Submit an Event
  • Library
    • Whitepapers & Reports
    • eBooks
    • CCI Press & Compliance Bookshelf
  • Podcasts
  • Videos
  • Subscribe

© 2022 Corporate Compliance Insights

Welcome to CCI. This site uses cookies. Please click OK to accept. Privacy Policy
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT