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Archive for May, 2010
« Previous EntriesSo, how ethical are those “gotcha” journalists?
Friday, May 28th, 2010We’re taking a break from my Friday series on keeping your business out of court to talk about a question that’s been troubling me for a while. Earlier this week, I wrote about Duchess of York Sara Ferguson’s tacky efforts to profit from her personal connection to her former husband, Prince Andrew of Britain. [...]
You need to see Cousteau’s dive into the Gulf oil spill
Thursday, May 27th, 2010Sorry, folks, change in plans … we’ll talk about the ethics of “gotcha” journalism tomorrow. Right now, I’m urging anyone who cares about business ethics to check out Carl Franzen’s post today on PoliticsDaily.com. Franzen covers a new video of a deep sea dive by Phillipe Cousteau, Jr., grandson of the great Jacques [...]
Duchess of York commits “grubby” ethical breach
Wednesday, May 26th, 2010After all the bad news from the Gulf oil spill and the economic meltdown, it was almost a relief to turn to press reports that Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson had to apologize for attempting to sell access to her ex-husband, Prince Andrew of Britain, for about $723,000. Seems that the duchess has been having [...]
Will conflicts of interest ruin oil spill tests in the Gulf?
Monday, May 24th, 2010Wouldn’t you think things were bad enough in the Gulf of Mexico? The Deepwater Horizon oil spill has already dumped millions of gallons of crude into the waters of the Gulf and ugly residues are starting to wash ashore. The New York Times reported Friday that local environmental officials in the Gulf states [...]
Respect confidentiality
Friday, May 21st, 2010For today’s post on keeping your business out of court, let’s address a topic that’s in the news with increasing frequency: breaches of confidentiality. AOL is reporting today that Facebook and other social media sites have been charged by Harvard Business School professor Ben Edelman with sending personal information about its users to online [...]
Did toxic optimism lead to Gulf catastrophe?
Tuesday, May 18th, 2010Circumstances in the Gulf of Mexico continue to worsen as the oil continues to flow. BP has reported that its latest efforts to stop the leak with a long siphon have successfully contained about 20% of the leak … which leaves 80% to go. Tar balls are now washing up on Key West, [...]
Don’t make ethics an afterthought
Friday, May 14th, 2010Continuing my Friday series about keeping your business out of court, let’s discuss a mistake that all too many companies make. Here’s an example:
Minute Co. is a consulting firm dedicated to helping companies improve productivity through time-use analysis. Litigious Ink, a company that manufactures fountain pens, hires Minute Co. to recommend improvements [...]
United flies the friendly skies - not so, American Airlines
Thursday, May 13th, 2010Let’s give BP and its partners in disaster a break today and talk instead about how the airlines and, in particular, American Airlines, are handling their customers these days. Last Thursday, I flew to Minneapolis to speak to the entertainment lawyers’ section of the Minnesota Bar Association. (They’re a great group, by the [...]
Now we know why BP hasn’t apologized
Tuesday, May 11th, 2010For the past several days, I’ve wondered why British Petroleum’s CEO, Tony Hayward, has skipped the crucial words “we’re sorry” when discussing the oil leak that’s pouring into the Gulf of Mexico after one of his company’s offshore drilling platforms exploded. It seemed odd because Hayward had already said that BP would pay for [...]
Plan and pay to prevent disasters
Friday, May 7th, 2010Continuing my Friday series on keeping your business out of court, we need look no further than British Petroleum and Transocean for this week’s example of bad litigation risk management.
When BP’s offshore drilling rig, run by Transocean, blew up on April 20th and started hemorrhaging oil into the Gulf of Mexico, it created [...]