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Corporate Governance
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Tuesday, June 16th, 2009It’s my privilege to be a member of the Society for Corporate Compliance and Ethics, a non-profit organization that trains and supports certified compliance and ethics professionals. (Yes, I’m one of them.) SCCE provides reams of great materials on business ethics and, from time to time, conducts surveys to see how well companies [...]
Hard financial times can provoke employment lawsuits
Monday, June 1st, 2009As the recession continues and unemployment rates stay above 10% in some regions, it’s no surprise that America’s businesses are seeing an uptick in employment lawsuits. Claims against employers were on the rise anyway, with wage-and-hour suits in particular becoming increasingly common. The recession has only made things worse because, when people lose [...]
Small business owners - how big is your commitment to ethics?
Monday, May 4th, 2009It’s National Small Business Day, a day to celebrate businesses that provide everything from dog walking services to boutique clothing. There’s a lot to be said for the talented entrepreneurs who have the courage, ambition and drive to envision, start up and operate small businesses. It’s a great day to cheer them on!
It’s [...]
Have you updated your company’s gift and entertainment policy?
Tuesday, April 21st, 2009AIG’s use of federal bailout money to pay lavish bonuses has made the embattled insurer a favorite target for public disgust over corporate excess. It’s not that AIG was doing anything illegal, you understand. It’s just that funding personal luxury with taxpayer funds is in very, very bad taste.
You’d think that other companies [...]
Goldman Sachs wants to repay its TARP money … are we okay with that?
Tuesday, April 14th, 2009The Wall Street Journal reported today that Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has announced positive earnings ahead of schedule, hoping that its good news will provide a platform for a major stock sale. According to the Journal, Goldman hopes to raise $5 billion in stock to pay back the $10 billion in Troubled Asset Relief [...]
In an economic downturn, business ethics also decline
Wednesday, April 8th, 2009As the U.S. and world economies continue to struggle, unemployment climbs, stocks tumble and consumer prices rise, it’s a disheartening but predictable fact that ethical lapses in the workplace are probably going to get worse before they get better. A new report issued by Vangent, Inc. summarizes applied research by sociologists, criminologists and economists [...]
Was AIG’s Board of Directors asleep at the switch?
Friday, March 20th, 2009You have to pity the new CEO of embattled insurance company AIG, Edward M. Liddy, who was beaten up pretty badly this week in a Congressional hearing. Furious lawmakers pummelled Liddy with hostile questions in the wake of the revelation that AIG had paid enormous retention bonuses, some in excess of $6 million, to [...]
Was 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 [...]
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