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Risk Management
« Previous EntriesMaybe Wall Street needs actuaries
Thursday, May 17th, 2012As the story at JPMorgan Chase continues to unfold, I’m increasingly struck by how badly the bank’s sophisticated investment gurus seem to have underestimated the risks associated with their losing trades. $2 billion is a sizeable chunk of change even in the investment world, and one has to go out of one’s way to [...]
Will Wall Street ever learn?
Tuesday, May 15th, 2012Like everyone else who writes about business ethics, I’ve been following the developing tale of the latest Wall Street bank scandal, this time at JPMorgan Chase. Earlier today, JPMorgan’s CEO, Jamie Dimon, barely survived an effort by shareholders to push him out of office. Seems the shareholders are a tad distressed that the [...]
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 [...]
Don’t promise what you can’t deliver
Friday, February 3rd, 2012Continuing my Friday series on keeping your business out of court, let’s take another story directly from the headlines. Heather Peters drew national attention when she successfully sued Honda in a California small claims court. The car manufacturer had reportedly advertised its Civic Hybrid as delivering 50 mpg. Ms. Peters alleged that, [...]
Don’t threaten to sue … unless you really mean it!
Friday, January 27th, 2012Continuing my Friday series on keeping your business out of court, let’s focus on a mistake that too many businesspeople make. On the theory that “the best defense is a good offense,” some people make it all too clear to their contractors, suppliers, and consultants that, if a single mistake is made, they’ll take [...]
What’s in America’s orange juice?
Wednesday, January 11th, 2012The Wall Street Journal reported today that Tropicana orange juice producer Pepsico Inc. didn’t notify the Food and Drug Administration that there was a fungicide called carbendazim in its orange juice. According to the Journal, another juice company reported to the FDA that it found low levels of the carbendazim in its own orange [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Re-hire a vet!
Friday, December 16th, 2011Continuing my Friday series on keeping your business out of court, let’s talk about something very, very current. The war in Iraq is officially over, effective this week. That should mean that a lot of war-weary veterans are going to be coming home soon, and a lot of them are going to need [...]
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 [...]
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