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« Previous EntriesWhy did HP give Mark Hurd a $37 million severance package?
Tuesday, August 10th, 2010When former CEO Mark Hurd resigned from Hewlett-Packard Co. last week, he joined a lengthy list of top business executives who have stepped down after being accused of personal ethical lapses. Of course, this isn’t HP’s only recent scandal. HP suffered considerable public embarrassment just a few years ago when its chairwoman, Patricia [...]
Is it ethical for insurers to put a beneficiary’s money in a retained asset account?
Monday, August 2nd, 2010For the past several days, the Internet has been ablaze with stories about how big insurance companies have allegedly mistreated military families. These companies are among many that participate in the Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance program, or “SGLI,” which provides low-cost life insurance to active duty military service personnel. When those active [...]
Before you travel, check your ticket … and uncheck the boxes
Monday, July 26th, 2010It’s summer and the economy is bad, which means that people are hunting online for bargain airfares to their favorite vacation destinations. There are a number of sites that offer discounted airfares. However, if you’re not careful to read the fine print, you may pay more than you intended.
It seems that some of [...]
Is it ethical to overlook a colleague’s incompetence?
Thursday, July 22nd, 2010Let’s take a break from Mel Gibson and the BP oil spill to talk about an issue that may well raise its ugly head in your life sometime soon. Last week, The Washington Post reported in its “The Checkup” blog that a survey conducted by Massuchusetts General Hospital had revealed troubling results. According [...]
How would you like to get an iPology?
Wednesday, July 7th, 2010Okay, now I’ve seen it all. It seems that a company called High Heels Productions has launched a new IPad app called iPology.app, an app that lets users generate semi-customized apologies based on what they did wrong and to whom they did it. The iPology offers both sincere and sarcastic “iPologies,” and allows [...]
Consider becoming a B Corporation
Friday, July 2nd, 2010Continuing my Friday series on keeping your business out of court, let’s talk about a new kind of corporation that may offer a safer vehicle for doing well while doing good. Let’s presume that you’re the head of a publicly traded company. You’re also something of a social activist, and you want to [...]
How often has BP lied?
Wednesday, June 30th, 2010The Wall Street Journal reported this morning that the Interior Department has reportedly fined the U.S. unit of BP $5.2 million for submitting “false, inaccurate or misleading” reports regarding its energy production on Southern Ute Indian Tribal lands in Colorado. According to the Journal, the department alleges that tribal auditors found that BP reported [...]
Know the culture where you do business
Friday, June 18th, 2010Continuing my Friday series on keeping your business out of court, let’s talk about a mistake that we’ve seen two major international corporations make in the very recent past. British Petroleum and Toyota are two enormous companies founded in the U.K. and Japan respectively. They both have done a lot of business here, [...]
Deepwater Horizon is not Hurricane Katrina!
Wednesday, June 16th, 2010As oil continues to pour into the Gulf of Mexico from the damaged Deepwater Horizon oil rig, too many commentators are calling this disaster “President Obama’s Hurricane Katrina.” At first glance, it’s an obvious analogy. After all, both events were disasters affecting the Gulf coast, particularly New Orleans. But while the analogy [...]
Watch Second City’s ethics shorts, laugh, and learn
Monday, June 14th, 2010Last week, I was delighted to get a call from Bill Briggs of MSNBC about Second City’s new series of business ethics training films. That’s right - the fabulous lunatics who brought us Saturday Night Live have produced a series of shorts showing employees what not to do where business ethics are concerned.
Companies are [...]