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Corporate Governance
« Previous EntriesWas SEC Chair Christopher Cox right to dismiss self-regulation?
Thursday, October 2nd, 2008As the subprime mortgage/credit crisis continues to play out, the second-guessing has begun. The New York Times recently quoted Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox as blaming the SEC’s “voluntary regulation” program for the failure. To grossly oversimplify the program, investment banks were invited, but not required, to submit to the SEC’s supervision, opting [...]
Is it ethical for failed CEOs to accept big exit pay packages?
Wednesday, September 10th, 2008Today, the federal government announced its conservatorship plan to bail out mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. In all honesty, the government probably didn’t have much choice in the matter, because the two companies own or guarantee almost half of the mortgages in the United States. If either or both were to go [...]
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 [...]
MSN’s Brush explains why the housing bill may not prevent future financial disasters
Monday, July 28th, 2008Over the weekend, Congress passed a massive bill designed to calm investors and pacify voters in the wake of the subprime mortgage mess. The bill provides for homeowner tax relief and a $300 billion program to prevent foreclosures. The bill also establishes a new paradigm for embattled financial giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, increasing [...]
How ethical is InBev’s push to oust Anheuser-Busch’s board?
Monday, July 7th, 2008Belgian brewing company InBev, Inc. must have been mightily disappointed when the Anheuser-Busch Board of Directors of Anheuser-Busch rejected InBev’s offer to buy the American brewer, theme parks, Clydesdales, Super Bowl ads and all. The Anheuser-Busch board declined the offer on the grounds that it undervalued the company. Apparently, InBev refuses to take “no” for an [...]
Legal compliance: it’s not just a business decision
Tuesday, May 13th, 2008Lately, I’ve noticed a disturbing attitude emerging from some companies with respect to legal compliance. Maybe it’s a product of too many cost-benefit analyses, but it seems that, with increasing frequency, companies are treating legal compliance as optional rather than mandatory. They weigh the costs of getting caught against the short-term profits they can garner [...]
A non-profit association is still a business
Sunday, May 11th, 2008A friend who works for a non-profit association (and an awful lot of us in D.C. do) was absolutely shocked by the intensity with which his association’s audit firm reviewed his association’s books this year. “They had so many questions, it drove us all nuts,” he lamented. “They’ve never gone after us so aggressively before. We’re [...]
Société Générale’s CEO is resigning … but should he?
Sunday, May 4th, 2008Back in February I commented on the governance implications of the multi-billion Euro trading disaster at Société Générale, one of the largest banks in France. The bank’s CEO, Daniel Bouton, is taking one for the team, and has agreed to step down from his position later this month. Bloggers are using phrases like [...]
Are tougher mortgage regulations really the ticket?
Thursday, March 27th, 2008As the press continues to dig into the subprime mortgage crisis, I’ve been appalled to learn that lenders have been allowing would-be home owners to borrow hundreds of thousands of dollars based on their unsubstantiated representations about their salaries and, in many cases, without requiring even modest down payments. We now discover that, in all too many instances, people [...]
Tastes Great - Less Filling?
Wednesday, February 6th, 2008Recent discussions about the actions of a rogue trader at French bank Société Générale have initiated a predictable clash of opinions between two factions in the business ethics community. Some ethics gurus, like French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde, argue that stronger internal controls are needed to prevent bad employees from bringing businesses to financial harm. [...]
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