Posted at 09:24 AM in Books, Ethics and Values | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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Posted at 02:44 PM in Current Affairs, Ethics and Values, Ethics Commentary | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)
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The news world and blogosphere have been filled for the last couple of weeks with all of the revelations regarding Rupert Murdoch and the wild ethical transgressions by employees of News Corp. Along with these stories there have been loudly trumpeted all the valuable ethics lessons we are to have learned from this still-unfolding debacle.
So what exactly have we learned? Here, I believe, is precisely what we have learned; nothing. Really.
For all the lurid details and alarming oversteps, please tell me one new thing we have actually learned about ethics here.
Is it news that owners and executives still maintain the responsibility for the work done in their chain of command?
Is it news that tone at the top - including the top of any portion of the organization (e.g. managers and supervisors at all levels of the organization) - has a significant impact on the behavior of employees and contractors alike?
Is it news that transgressions which are ignored are likely to continue if overlooked and essentially certain to continue if rewarded?
I keep looking for even one new thing about ethics that we are to gather from all of this and I seem to keep coming up empty.
If you have gleaned something new and enlightening, I do hope you will come forward and share it.
In the meantime, sadly, all I think we may end up learning from Rupert and son is that - as has historically been the case so often - simply knowing what is right can be a startlingly poor predictor of doing what is right. (Especially when there is so very much to gain by stepping, even egregiously stepping, over the line.)
Posted at 06:30 PM in Current Affairs, Ethics and Values, Ethics Commentary | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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Thanks to i-sight software for publishing excerpts from two interviews they did with me on developing high impact values statements. As you've all heard me say before, a well-developed and appropriately implemented values statement will not only go a long ways toward developing and maintaining a culture of ethics but will also do so much more. Done right - and it really does need to be done right - a values statement will drive better management, leadership, customer service and branding.
Interested? You can find the two interview excerpts here and here. Enjoy!
Posted at 10:44 AM in Ethics and Values, Weblogs | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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I am constantly asked for ethics-related videos and rarely have much to offer because so few are really very engaging. So, I was thrilled to have a friend point me in the direction of these three terrific student videos on ethics.
These all came from a competition sponsored by the Center for the Public Trust and, if this year's winners are any indication, I'll look forward to seeing the new ones each and every year. Terrific pieces of student work on ethics, I thought. Congrats to these young videographers for a job well done!
Posted at 10:51 AM in Ethics and Values, Ethics Training | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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I am constantly amazed and alarmed by how often I am asked if ethics training is really worthwhile. The argument I hear most often is that ethics are something we ought to have learned at home or in church or in school when we were all younger and, if the job hasn't been done by now, what's the use?
This all stuns me for so many reasons and here are just a few of those reasons:
1.) 'Old dogs' do, indeed, learn new tricks. Give someone a compelling reason why their attitudes or behavior should change - something you can clearly show them will contribute to their personal success - and you might be amazed how much new learning can take place. (Even more so if that learning is novel, interactive, and fun. And yes, ethics training can be all three of those...)
2.) Even if ethics training won't magically send the unwashed to their knees begging for forgiveness, you can certainly help folks who want to do the right thing to have an easier time doing so. Again, just make it compelling, relevant, and easily applicable. (Yes again, ethics training can be all three of these as well.)
3.) As a part of helping the folks who wish to do the right thing, you can also help them become better able to see when others are enaging in behavior that may not be appropriate. You can then arm the 'good ones' with the right tools to intervene both immediately and effectively. Might that help reduce the risk and rate of problems with those folks who, for whatever their reasons, may not be on the right path? I certainly believe so.
Might all three of the above be reasons that ethics training for all of your employees could be of value? I certainly think so and, in fact, that the value can be huge.
Posted at 12:46 PM in Ethics Commentary, Ethics Training | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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If you have been following this blog then you'll know that it has been left neglected for several months now. Among the reasons for the neglect has been my focus on developing a couple of programs for college students and staff. Although one program is really simply a repositioning of an existing professional ethics program for students and staff, the other is a whole new program on responsible decision-making, specfically for students.
Though my core audience will remain companies and professional association as always, I have long enjoyed working with students and my hope is expand my college work into being a greater percentage of the mix.
The new website for my college programs is still quite primitive at this point but, if you'd like to give it a look and - I hope - provide feedback, you can find it at www.GreatDecisionMaking.net.
Thanks!
Posted at 12:35 PM in Ethics Training, Ethics Websites | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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Posted at 09:37 PM in Ethics Training, Seeking Resources | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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Posted at 11:47 AM in Ethics and Values, Fraud | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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Associaton of Certified Fraud Examiners Releases 2012 Global Fraud Study
The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) had released its 2012 "Report to the Nations on Occupational Fraud and Abuse". As all ACFE studies, it is a trove of interesting and useful, if sometimes alarming, data.
The current study analyzes data from 1,388 verified fraud cases from around the world and these data were reported via an online survey of ACFE members between October and December of 2011. To be included in this study, the investigation of these cases must have been completed at some point between January 2010 and the time of the survey.
Among the many compelling findings found in their executive summary are the following:
It is interesting that, as has often been the case with ACFE studies, these findings are based on 'worst case' reports of informants. (In other words, informants were asked to report on the worst case they had seen during the study period.) Although in theory that should skew these data significantly in the direction of overly liberal estimates, the findings are far more similar than different to those of other studies not using a 'worst case' data set. It's tough to know exactly what that means but my money is on the likelihood that patterns of fraud and abuse are so similar across cases that the range from best case to worst case, once the amount is large enough to be both reported and material, is actually smaller than one might imagine.
Much, much more is reported in this current ACFE report and giving it more than a passing glance is highly recommended.
Posted at 05:07 PM in Ethics and Values, Ethics Commentary, Fraud | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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