Ethics Crisis » Corporate Ethics

Ethics, Schmethics!

BL Ochman — Mon, 04 Dec 2006 22:45:03 +0000

Sadly, while more people seem to be talking about ethics, there is precious little sign that any of the talk is turning into action, says Leon Ho at Lifehacks.

“Ethics is the application of reason and intelligence to issues of right and wrong. It’s working out what it is right to do in any given set of circumstances—then doing it, regardless of favor or criticism
….What we need is more good, strong, moral outrage: the kind that gets politicians thrown out of office and forces dishonest business leaders to face spend some honest time reflecting on their lack of probity . . . in jail.”

Corporations, Not Government Need to Take the Lead on Social Responsibility

BL Ochman — Mon, 04 Dec 2006 18:50:20 +0000

Jeff Swartz, CEO of Timberland, says corporations need to take the lead rather than waiting for the government to legislate social responsibility.
“Jeff could have inherited an ice-making company or a coffee house and he’d still have wanted to see how it could be used for a broader social purpose,” said Dave Aznavorian, Timberland’s global brand manager.
Schwarz acknowledges that he also needs to deliver results to shareholders. He says that changes in fashion have led to a downturn in Timberland sales that could result in selling the company. He says he’d give up control for more power, but that he’d never sell and walk away like Ben & Jerry’s owners did. They sold the company and went home,” said Swartz. Swartz would have to be carried out with his [Timberland] boots on.

Are Corporate Ethics Codes Bunk?

BL Ochman — Sun, 29 Oct 2006 00:54:36 +0000

“We hear that [ethics] codes are useless – hypocritical window-dressing to mask continuing corruption. We hear that codes are great – a crucial step on the way to enhanced corporate productivity, credibility and profitability,” says Cornelius von Baeyer.
I’ve always wondered what you would need to teach honest people about ethics, and whether any code could make dishonest people more honest.
Building codes, health codes, fire codes have teeth. Violating them results in legal penalties. But nothing at all seems to happen to those who violate corporate or association codes of ethics, not even a slap on the wrist. If corporate ethics codes are to hold any meaning, they’ll need the force of law behind them. Otherwise. what’s the point?

Corporate Responsibility Spurns New Businesses and Conferences

BL Ochman — Wed, 18 Oct 2006 16:37:05 +0000

Corporate ethics crises have turned corporate responsibility into a big business. It’s got its own conference, and a directory of companies that provide services to corporate responsibility officers.
The first annual conference for Corporate Responsibility Officers will take place in New York City on November 1.
Featured speakers include: Vice Chair of Citigroup Lewis Kaden, Wall Street Journal Assistant Managing Editor Alan Murray, Bloomberg News Editor Marty Schenker, Def Jam Records and Comedy and Phat Farm Fashions founder Russell Simmons, and 20 other Corporate Responsibility officers telling their success stories.

Business Ethics Gurus’ Business is Booming

BL Ochman — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 17:20:32 +0000

It’s a hot time to be a business ethics expert says the Atlanta Journal Constitution. One sign: the Atlanta for the Society for Business Ethics’ annual conference workshops included their first-ever workshop for members on how to deal with the press. Other sessions included “Markets and Business Ethics,” “The Corporation and Moral Agency” and one titled simply “Wal-Mart.”
Need certified multilanguage translation of your company’s Code of Ethics? Phone Sloan Friedman at SRF Global Translations.

Study: Two in Three Companies Don’t Provide Ethics Training to Employees

BL Ochman — Fri, 28 Jul 2006 23:26:29 +0000

A recent global survey of over 1,800 communication professionals, conducted by the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Research Foundation, found that an overwhelming 65 percent of respondents had not received any formal ethics training — such as seminars, continuing education or training workshops — from their employers.
Many respondents cited in the IABC survey, The Business of Truth: A Guide to Ethical Communication, noted that ethics was never given more than a cursory mention in their organizations, usually on the first day of employment when company policy manuals were distributed. Additionally, 70 percent of respondents reported studying ethics “not at all” or at a basic level, as part of the coursework for their highest earned degree.

What if Enron Had Followed Pepsi’s Ethics?

BL Ochman — Mon, 10 Jul 2006 21:44:54 +0000

Pepsi’s ethics are just, well, refreshing, says Doug Cunningham at the Times-Herald-Record in New York. He notes that when someone tried to sell Coke’s secret formula to PepsiCo’s headquarters in Purchase NY, Pepsi immediately turned the letter over to Coke and alerted the FBI.

“Clearly, PepsiCo has instilled a strong sense of business ethics.
Would that more companies had such a strong set of values. Any guesses …what would have happened if a similar letter landed at Enron headquarters in Houston?”

Is Options Gate a McCarthy Era for Business Ethics?

BL Ochman — Tue, 04 Jul 2006 22:21:41 +0000

Has Silicon Alley entered the McCarthy era for business ethics? A widening federal investigation into suspicious stock options allocations at least 57 companies, including 25 based in Silicon Valley is “rattling corporate boardrooms, entrepreneurs and rank-and-file workers alike,” according to the San Jose Mercury News
Red Herring reports that “Investors are hammering the stocks of many of the companies affected by the inquiries and are asking questions about how well these companies have been governed.”
The rush to judgment is “a shame” Michael Gray, a certified public accountant, wrote in a newsletter. “We may be killing the goose that laid the golden eggs.”

Venky Ganesan, a venture capitalist who sits on the board of nine start-ups, said. “`Now, you’re guilty until proven innocent. Guilty by association. Guilty by implication.”
Options, which have made millionaires out of many geeks over the years, is the way technology companies lure top talent to take a lower paycheck until they can share the company’s success.
A PDF of companies under investigation is here

Moral Liability is Hidden Threat to Corporations: Fortune

BL Ochman — Thu, 29 Jun 2006 23:38:15 +0000

Companies will pay a price if they fail to meet society’s expectation that they act ethically. Merely obeying the law, or following compliance guidelines to the letter is not enough, writes Marc Gunther in Fortune. Companies need to meet their “moral liability” or face bigger threats from customers than from government or courts.
Sometimes the price will be damage to a brand or reputation. Other times, the cost will be more concrete, in the form of lawsuits, damage awards or lost sale,” Gunther says. The good news is that “…all these social issues present opportunities as well as threats… the best way for business to avoid “moral liability” – become part of the solution instead of part of the problem.”

He cites the examples of Nike and The Gap, who didn’t break the law, but came under attack for allowing sub-standard working conditions in overseas factories; and Microsoft, Yahoo and Google who came under attack for helping the Chinese government censor the Internet.
Timberland tells customers that its shoes and boots are made in factories where workers’ rights are protected. The same goes, now, for Nike and Gap. Toyota sells lots of hybrid cars, mostly because of rising oil prices but also because of the concerns over climate change. General Electric’s “ecomagination” initiative aims to profit by selling products that save energy and reduce emissions.

Japan’s Top Banker Embroiled in Ethics Scandal

BL Ochman — Thu, 15 Jun 2006 16:08:29 +0000

Revelations that the Japanese central bank governor, Toshihiko Fukui, owned $90,000 of a stock fund accused in an insider trading scandal have raised an ethics issues for the bank and helped cause not only the biggest sell-off in Tokyo’s stock market since 9/11, but also a political firestorm, according to The New York Times.
A Bank of Japan spokesman, Takashi Yoshimura, denied that there is an ethics issue, saying that the bank’s ethics guidelines only required employees, including Mr. Fukui, to report internally any purchases or sales of stocks, and any profits, and did not limit where they could invest their money.
In the most understated comment of the year, Mr. Fukui apologized during a meeting of Cabinet members. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I have created a fuss.”

“At the very least, it is a warning that the bank needs to tighten its ethical standards,” said Naoki Iizuka, chief economist at the Dai-Ichi Life Research Institute.