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Corporate Governance
« Previous EntriesShould CEOs be rewarded for laying off their workers?
Wednesday, September 1st, 2010MSNBC reports today that CEOs who laid off more workers than average raked in more money than their peers. According to a new report issued by the Institute on Policy Studies, the fifty CEOs who led the charge on laying off rank-and-file employees during the recent economic turndown received $12 million on average in [...]
Why 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 [...]
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 [...]
Let your employees have a life
Sunday, June 13th, 2010Returning to my series on keeping your business out of court, let’s talk about a mistake that employers make all too often, especially when times are hard and unemployment is running rampant. Some companies may find it very, very tempting right now to come down hard on employees who seem to put their work [...]
Predictable heartbreak at the Upper Big Branch Mine
Wednesday, April 7th, 2010Once, just once, I’d love to be able to tell the story of a company that, when confronted with safety violations by its regulators sometime in the last five years, brought in the right consultants, spent the necessary money to correct the problems, and became a model of good practice for the rest of [...]
Will special interests abuse campaign contributions?
Monday, January 25th, 2010The Supreme Court stunned the nation last week with its decision to allow corporations to exercise free speech rights by running election campaign ads. Suddenly, huge companies and unions with millions to spend will be able to innundate voters with a tidal wave of attack ads targeting candidates who oppose their interests. Less [...]
Write your rules with care
Friday, December 18th, 2009Continuing my Friday series on keeping your business out of court, let’s talk about an area that frequently catches companies off guard. Most companies know that there are laws that govern their operations and that they need to comply with those laws to stay out of court. What they don’t always realize, however, [...]
And that goes for your employees, too!
Wednesday, November 4th, 2009On Monday, I wrote about the importance of having a personal life to making good ethical choices at work. This topic is important enough to make a corollary point. You need to have a life to keep a reasoned perspective on your work … and so do your employees.
In all too many industries, [...]
One year later, what have we learned?
Thursday, September 10th, 2009It’s been just about a year since the subprime mortgage debacle brought the world economy crashing to its knees. For the past year we’ve suffered through a miserable recession, watching home values plummet, jobs vanish, and investments tumble to a fraction of their former value. It’s been just plain awful, and even the [...]
Business apology tip #12 - Learn from your apologies
Friday, June 19th, 2009I’m going to conclude my Friday series of tips on effective business apologies with a tip that can make a huge difference to the future success of your business. After you’ve made your apology and resolved things with your unhappy customer or client, take some time to learn from your apology. Was the [...]
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