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Archive for November, 2009
« Previous EntriesWhat Amazon can teach about business ethics
Monday, November 30th, 2009Now that Thanksgiving is over and Black Friday has come and gone, you might think that holiday sales have already hit their high point. If you do, think again. Today is Cyber-Monday, the day that online retailers rely upon to hit their year-end sales goals. It’s an important day for the economy [...]
Give thanks!
Friday, November 27th, 2009Continuing my Friday series on keeping your business out of court, let’s talk about a seasonal message with surprising litigation risk implications. Yesterday was Thanksgiving, America’s designated day for expressing gratitude for the blessings in our lives. You may have heard from the self-help gurus who tell you that maintaining an “attitude of [...]
Please, tell us the truth about global warming!
Wednesday, November 25th, 2009The Wall Street Journal reported this week that a group of scientists who contend that human activities are responsible for global warming may have been suppressing contrary research. According to the WSJ, thousands of e-mails and documents were obtained from the Climate Research Unit at East Anglia University in the U.K. and posted on [...]
Was the Senate Ethics Committee tough enough on Roland Burris?
Monday, November 23rd, 2009You can always tell when somebody in Washington knows they’re about to drop a PR stinkbomb, because the story gets released on a Friday, preferably in the late afternoon. Theoretically, the worst of the embarrassing odor dissipates over the weekend so that everyone can get back to business as usual on Monday morning. [...]
Do business with people whom you trust - and who trust you
Friday, November 20th, 2009Continuing my Friday series on keeping your business out of court, let’s focus on an essential element of business relationships: trust.
Gallup Press just released a new book by Rodd Wagner and Gale Muller, Power of 2, that presents their five-year study of successful partnerships. According to their research, 87% of partners in good collaborations [...]
When dealing with clients, think before you speak
Monday, November 16th, 2009A friend of mine (let’s call him Fred) recently had a very distressing encounter. His cardiologist was out of town, and Fred needed a cardiogram. Fred went to the cardiologist his regular doctor’s office recommended. When he walked in, the substitute cardiologist’s first words to him were, “have you ever thought about [...]
Don’t make assumptions about your employees
Friday, November 13th, 2009Continuing with my Friday series on keeping your business out of court, let’s take a look at a mistake that frequently gets companies in legal trouble. When it comes to your employees, both current and prospective, be careful not to make assumptions.
Here’s an example. You’re interviewing candidates for a sales position that involves [...]
When employees complain, don’t retaliate!
Wednesday, November 11th, 2009The Wall Street Journal reported recently that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is filing an increasing number of lawsuits against employers for retaliating against employees who filed discrimination claims against them. Interestingly, in many of those cases the EEOC did not find that the employer had actually discriminated against the complaining employee. In [...]
Exploring the ethics of swine flu
Wednesday, November 11th, 2009Remember the old disaster movies? Whenever ships sank, natural disasters loomed or ravaging hordes were assaulting the city gate, some hero would shout “women and children first!” as a small mob of extras stampeded toward the nearest exit. No one ever stopped to explain the underlying premise, namely, that the people who were [...]
Employee evaluations shouldn’t come as a surprise
Friday, November 6th, 2009Continuing my Friday series on ways to keep your business out of court, let’s continue with last week’s discussion about employee evaluations. It’s such an important topic, and one that creates so much legal risk, that it’s worth a second post.
Last week, I talked about the reasons why managers tend to softpedal criticisms in [...]