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Archive for August, 2008
« Previous EntriesWhat the next President’s position on affirmative action be?
Saturday, August 30th, 2008Whatever your politics may be, this has been an historic week for the U.S. Presidency. On the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s extraordinary “I have a dream” speech, Democrat Senator Barack Obama became the first African American ever to be nominated for President by a major political party. Just a day later, presumptive [...]
Bad administration is bad business!
Wednesday, August 27th, 2008A friend of mine (let’s call her Louise) recently came to town with her five-year-old daughter, who’s about to start kindergarten. On the recommendation of a mutual acquaintance, Louise took her daughter to a local pediatrician for her pre-school physical, about two weeks before the school enrollment deadline. That first visit was pretty traumatic for [...]
Was it ethical for Simon & Schuster to publish “Obama Nation”?
Monday, August 25th, 2008With the 2008 election nearing, it’s inevitable that voters’ interest in the candidates is increasing and the incentive to attack is growing on both sides. The latest attack on presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama comes in the form of a book by conservative Jerome Corsi titled Obama Nation that portrays Senator Obama in far from flattering [...]
How will the next President handle “the rise of the rest”?
Friday, August 22nd, 2008Continuing my series on ethical dilemmas facing the next President, let’s turn to a trend abroad that’s likely to affect all of our lives. In his new book, The Post-American World, author Fareed Zakaria describes a world in which the United States will be an important, but no longer dominant, player in international economics, politics and [...]
Procrastination’s a problem - but is it unethical?
Wednesday, August 20th, 2008A month or two ago, NPR ran a very cute piece on a research study on procrastination conducted by Dr. Piers Steel of the University of Calgary’s Haskayne School of Business. I’ve been meaning to write about it, but didn’t get to it until now. (Actually, I felt a little guilty about putting it off [...]
Should U.S. companies support censorship in China?
Monday, August 18th, 2008In my last post, I discussed human rights abuses in China and the ethical challenges that the next U.S. President will face in developing a foreign policy to address them. It’s well known that the Chinese government takes a dim view of any kind of criticism, and routinely cracks down on dissidents and protesters who [...]
What will the next President’s foreign policy for China be?
Friday, August 15th, 2008With the Olympics going on in Beijing this week, it seems like a good time to consider what the next President’s diplomatic strategy for China will be.
The decision to allow China to host the Olympic games was certainly a controversial one, as the protests that greeted the Olympic torch around much of the world demonstrated. [...]
Must you have a policy to enforce good ethics at your company?
Tuesday, August 12th, 2008Of late, I’ve noticed a disturbing trend growing in the world of human relations and corporate governance. Increasingly, employers seem to feel that, unless they have expressly and specifically prohibited specific unethical conduct, they can’t discipline employees who misbehave in that particular way. Consequently, if an employee lies to a customer, pilfers petty cash or bullies [...]
Will the next President clean up the Justice Department?
Friday, August 8th, 2008In a recent report to the Senate Judiciary Committee, Inspector General Glenn Fine said that one of former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales’ top advisors violated federal civil service laws by regularly considering political affiliations in screening candidates for career positions at the Department of Justice. According to Fine, Gonzalez aide Monica Goodling chose candidates whom [...]
Why “handshake deals” aren’t always great business ethics
Wednesday, August 6th, 2008One of the services I provide to clients is writing contracts and engagement letters for them to use when they start new business relationships. Depending on what my client expects to be doing, the documents can get pretty complicated, spelling out the scope of work, the obligations of the other person, how and when my client [...]
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