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Professional Ethics
« Previous EntriesThe press shouldn’t try George Zimmerman - but it should address racial inequities
Wednesday, April 11th, 2012As events surrounding the shooting of Trayvon Martin continue to unfold, I become increasingly concerned about how news reports may distort the outcome. By law, George Zimmerman, the man who reportedy shot Trayvon Martin, is innocent until proven guilty. He hasn’t even been indicted yet. Unfortunately, hard lines have already been drawn [...]
Who should be responsible for anticipating dual use?
Wednesday, April 4th, 2012Human beings are wonderfully inventive, and can come up with all kinds of wonderful things … and all kinds of ways to use them that might or might not be so wonderful. Take bird flu, for instance. NPR recently reported on a controversy that’s brewing in the scientific community. Seems that, in [...]
Was it ethical to give Dick Cheney a new heart?
Monday, April 2nd, 2012This may not strictly qualify as “business,” but the ethical questions surrounding former Vice President Dick Cheney’s recent heart transplant strike me as interesting enough to warrant some exploration. If you’ve been living in Antarctica, you may have missed news reports that Vice President Cheney, whose heart troubles have been well-documented, recently received a [...]
Should employers ask candidates for their Facebook passwords?
Friday, March 23rd, 2012This post continues my Friday series examining some of the imbalances of power in our society and the ethical questions they raise. Yesterday, I was troubled to read an Associated Press story about the latest technique that employers are using to vet job applicants. It’s common for managers to peruse applicants’ public online [...]
Don’t manage impressions
Saturday, January 7th, 2012Continuing my Friday series on keeping your business out of court, I want to touch on a subject that’s been bugging me of late. Recently, I’ve been called upon to deal with a group of professionals who didn’t handle a sensitive situation particularly well. Their behavior offers a lesson that smart businesspeople would [...]
Believe!
Friday, December 23rd, 2011Every once in a while, a movie comes out that knocks my socks off. “Arthur Christmas” (produced by those lovely English lunatics who brought you “Chicken Run” and “Wallace & Grommit”) did just that. Oh, it was clever. We now know why you can’t find Santa’s workshop on Google Earth (underground tunnels), [...]
Physicians, heal somebody!
Monday, December 19th, 2011Our family had an interesting run with the medical profession last week. A particularly long-lasting bout of flu sent me to the local walk-in clinic. I actually had to sign an arbitration agreement before a doctor would even see me, for pity’s sake. When she finally did, she told me to take [...]
Stick to your guns!
Friday, December 2nd, 2011Continuing my Friday series on keeping your business out of court, I want to focus on an issue that can be of particular concern to professionals. For my example, let’s look at Dr. Conrad Murray, the physician who was recently convicted of the involuntary manslaughter of superstar Michael Jackson. The facts of this [...]
Disclose conflicts of interest
Saturday, October 15th, 2011Resuming my Friday series on keeping your business out of court, let’s rip and read from recent headlines. The Wall Street Journal is a wonderful source of information about businesses that let greed drag them right into expensive litigation. Today’s example comes from the banking industry - no surprise, I admit - but [...]
Get translations!
Monday, May 2nd, 2011Continuing my Friday series on keeping your business out of court, let’s nip across the pond, where Prince William has just married the lovely Duchess of Cambridge, nee Kate Middleton. The royal wedding has been much in the news, and it was a delight to listen to the festivities. Listening to NPR’s coverage [...]
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