ethikos

1. The numbers game: Society’s impact on corporate ethics

   Ethikos Volume 38, Number 2. April 01, 2024  | Author: Calvin London  | April 01, 2024 

   Maybe it is just me or that level of skepticism you get as you get older, but it seems like society is becoming more unethical every day. Across the globe, dishonesty and unethical behavior is a widespread and common phenomenon. Reports of ethical misconduct in business, politics, sports, education, and medicine appear all too frequently. Politicians lying, police officers stealing, teachers abusing their students, someone has opened fire on a school, someone else has been seriously injured by a case of road rage, while others have their life savings embezzled from under their noses...

2. Codes of conduct: More than just another policy

   Ethikos Volume 38, Number 2. April 01, 2024  | Author: Rebecca Walker  | April 01, 2024 

   Compliance practitioners have long described codes of conduct in lofty terms. A quick Google search yielded descriptions of codes as the cornerstone of a company’s ethical culture, the embodiment of a company’s values, and even the heart and soul of an organization. As someone who has written more than her fair share of codes of conduct over the past 25 years, I would love it if all those things were true. However, I’m not quite sure we’re there yet. Too often, codes of conduct are still perceived as merely “required” corporate policies, drafted by legal or compliance professionals, and only...

3. AI and automated hiring systems in AI: Emerging ethical and compliance issues

   Ethikos Volume 38, Number 2. April 01, 2024  | Author: John Rood  | April 01, 2024 

   It has been amazing to see how artificial intelligence (AI) has, in roughly a year, become such an engaging and important issue in our society. What modern AI can produce often feels like magic. That said, as compliance professionals, we will be on the front lines of ensuring the AI revolution is managed safely and fairly. One of the key areas where AI will be regulated is human resources (HR) and hiring. As a starting point in the discussion, here are what I consider the three core pillars of safe AI development and deployment; you’ll likely hear a lot about...

4. The foundation of ethical decision-making: Company values and code of conduct

   Ethikos Volume 38, Number 2. April 01, 2024  | Author: Patrick Wellens  | April 01, 2024 

   In the previous century, the primary focus for most companies was profit maximization for shareholders. In the last few decades, a shift from shareholder to stakeholder capitalism happened, and the term corporate social responsibility was introduced. It was felt that companies had a broader purpose than profit and should create long-term value for various stakeholders such as investors, employees, suppliers, consumers, customers, patients, government, and nongovernment organizations it interacts with. As sustainability and environmental topics became more prominent, investors, asset managers, and companies started to focus more on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria in assessing company performance...

5. On ethics: Matthew S. Friedman

   Ethikos Volume 38, Number 2. April 01, 2024  | Authors: Matthew S. Friedman, Adam Turteltaub  | April 01, 2024 

   AT: By every and all measures, slavery is wrong. It’s not a difficult ethical decision to make and unlike issues like corruption, where some people seem comfortable with, “Well, that’s how they do things there,” it’s hard to justify slavery as a local tradition. And yet, we keep finding that it is persistent, and companies periodically find it in their supply chain...

6. Pioneers in business ethics: Daryl Koehn

   Ethikos Volume 38, Number 2. April 01, 2024  | April 01, 2024 

   Q: Can you introduce yourself and tell me a little bit about your position and your institution?...

7. On ethics: Rupert Evill

   Ethikos Volume 38, Number 1. January 01, 2024  | Authors: Rupert Evill, Adam Turteltaub  | January 01, 2024 

   AT: You’ve worked on four continents, often in the developing world. We often hear about the cultural differences and see pushback against the imposition of Western values. But are the differences real, or do people generally see right and wrong the same way?...

8. Compliance resistance: The risk of sacred cows in an organization

   Ethikos Volume 38, Number 1. January 01, 2024  | Author: Ursula Schmidt  | January 01, 2024 

   As a compliance professional, have you ever been confronted with blatant, open, persistent resistance? Not just that one occurrence of, “Oops, I wasn’t aware of the new travel and expense policy,” but rather, “The new travel and expense policy doesn’t concern me; it’s just for staff”? And, although you consider your company a well-organized one with a sound attitude towards risk and overall good processes in place, this blunt refusal to comply with internal rules doesn’t seem to astonish anyone. If you talk to staff, you hear consistent stories, like, “He has a special agreement with the CEO about his...

9. Bridging the gap: Understanding behavioral risk in organizational culture

   Ethikos Volume 38, Number 1. January 01, 2024  | Author: Vera Cherepanova  | January 01, 2024 

   In today’s landscape, the spotlight on integrity and ethical culture within organizations is relentless. Wrongdoing and adverse outcomes are often rooted in behavioral issues, pointing to deeper cultural concerns...

10. Ethics and compliance for humans: From “shoulds” to things we can do

    Ethikos Volume 38, Number 1. January 01, 2024  | Author: Adam Balfour  | January 01, 2024 

    Whenever I attend a conference (for example, the wonderful annual Compliance & Ethics Institute (CEI) that was held in Chicago in early October 2023), I tell myself that I should not eat the cookies and desserts made available each day at lunch and then later in the day at snack time (and inevitably again at any evening events or dinners). I told myself on the Tuesday of CEI that I should avoid the chocolate brownies available after lunch, and I knew it as I served myself a piece. Even after I dropped it on the floor (the five-second rule does...

11. Cultivating cybersecurity culture: Ethics, compliance, and the SEC’s new disclosure rule

    Ethikos Volume 38, Number 1. January 01, 2024  | Author: Emily Miner  | January 01, 2024 

    No organization today can afford to underestimate the threat posed by cybersecurity attacks. Recognizing the potential impact of such risks on investor decision-making, in July the U.S. Security and Exchanges Commission (SEC) ramped up its regulatory approach. Its new rules require public companies to report material cybersecurity incidents fast (within four days) and disclose their risk management processes every year in a standardized form...

12. Going the distance: The four Cs of a career in compliance

    Ethikos Volume 38, Number 1. January 01, 2024  | Author: Melanie Sponholz  | January 01, 2024 

    A career in compliance is not for the faint of heart. Responsibility without authority? Check. Receiver of anxiety-filled concerns? Check. Frequent bearer of bad tidings? Check. Reputation as a cost center? Frequently excluded from the room where it happens? Guardian of brave reporters? Master of a constantly changing risk landscape? Check. Check. Check. Check. ...

13. Are unethical people born that way, and can they be taught ethics?

    Ethikos Volume 38, Number 1. January 01, 2024  | Author: Calvin London  | January 01, 2024 

    I was watching a crime show recently that concluded with the accused (a serial offender) being found guilty of multiple counts of theft and aggravated assault. In his concluding remarks, the judge summed up the behavior of the guilty person as irreprehensible, lacking all integrity and ethical behavior. He indicated that the person should receive the maximum sentence with no parole because it was important to keep him out of society and recognized that no amount of education would change him or his behavior...

14. On ethics: Steven Pegg

    Ethikos Volume 37, Number 4. October 01, 2023  | Authors: Steven Pegg, Adam Turteltaub  | October 01, 2023 

    AT:I’m very eager to talk about both your career and Lockheed Martin’s compliance program. Let’s start with you. You came into this world not from an ethics background. You’re an engineer by training and worked in program management and supply chain. How did that help you prepare you for the role?...

15. Three low-cost ways to test if your compliance program is REALLY working

    Ethikos Volume 37, Number 4. October 01, 2023  | Author: Rupert Evill  | October 01, 2023 

    It’s easy to get stuck doing busywork. This morning, I caught myself trying to change a bank card on a subscription I won’t renew. Why? Because I’d received an email with legal language warning about the card’s expiry. I was complying without thinking...

16. Code of ethics: The power of words

    Ethikos Volume 37, Number 4. October 01, 2023  | Author: Matej Drascek  | October 01, 2023 

    The renowned philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein wrote: “The limit of my language is the limit of my world.”[1] The power of words—whether spoken or written—is undeniable. As such, they have a powerful influence on behavior. They can inspire people to go beyond the call of duty or lead them in the opposite direction to unethical behavior. The code of ethics is the best known and oldest document for the promotion of the ethical decision-making process. Professions such as medicine have had a code of conduct for more than 2,000 years. A code of ethics not only sets the rules of behavior...

17. Defining your program's purpose and authority in a charter

    Ethikos Volume 37, Number 4. October 01, 2023  | Author: Rebecca Walker  | October 01, 2023 

    “To know yourself (your program) is the beginning of wisdom.” – Socrates...

18. ESG: From extraction to refining and beyond

    Ethikos Volume 37, Number 4. October 01, 2023  | Author: Ian Moolman  | October 01, 2023 

    You’ve probably heard of ESG; it is the latest buzzword. What’s the story? The abbreviation is used frequently in many, if not all, business and political discussions worldwide, but do you really know what it means and what it actually is? The E is for environment, the S for social, and the G for governance. Many policies we still use daily have a direct link to it—think of waste and recycling, human rights, and governance policies (Code of Conduct, Third Party Risk Management, etc.), just to name a few. These policies have been part of the business environment for decades;...

19. Pioneers in business ethics: Manuel (Manny) Velasquez

    Ethikos Volume 37, Number 4. October 01, 2023  | Authors: Manuel Velasquez, Joan Elise Dubinsky  | October 01, 2023 

    JED: How did you get started teaching business ethics?...

20. On ethics: Gretchen Winter, JD

    Ethikos Volume 37, Number 2. April 01, 2023  | Authors: Gretchen Winter, Adam Turteltaub  | April 01, 2023 

    AT: I must admit that it’s both fun and strange doing a formal interview with you, since we go back so long. I first got involved in compliance and ethics in 2000 and met you shortly thereafter. I admit I ended up in the field largely by chance. What led you to the profession?...

21. On ethics: Christian Hunt

    Ethikos Volume 37, Number 3. July 01, 2023  | Authors: Christian Hunt, Adam Turteltaub  | July 01, 2023 

    AT: Before we get into the heart of the interview, I want to make a quick detour into your background. You spent most of your career in the financial services arena, working at UBS, Deutsche Bank, and the United Kingdom Prudential Regulation Authority, a part of the Bank of England responsible for regulating financial services. Finance tends to stay off to itself when it comes to ethics and compliance. It’s a bit of a black box to the rest of us. What do you think they do well that the rest of the industry could learn from?...

22. What's trust got to do with it? How trust helps foster a culture of compliance

    Ethikos Volume 37, Number 2. April 01, 2023  | Authors: Andrea Falcione, Elizabeth Reisinger  | April 01, 2023 

    In 1995, three economists designed an experiment to study trust.[1] While the nuances and controls of the experiment are complex, it was, in short, an investment scenario: a sender and a receiver had a pot of money that would only increase if they sent it back and forth. Both had the choice of how much or how little money to send—or if they would send any money at all...

23. Trust: A key driver for successful employee engagement

    Ethikos Volume 37, Number 3. July 01, 2023  | Author: Renu Jha  | July 01, 2023 

    Working: What We Do All Day is a new docuseries that premiered globally on Netflix on May 17, 2023.[1] It features former U.S. President Barack Obama, who interviews a cross-section of people in their homes and at work. He asks the important questions:...

24. Leadership oversight of compliance and ethics programs

    Ethikos Volume 37, Number 2. April 01, 2023  | Author: Rebecca Walker  | April 01, 2023 

    In its seminal 1996 decision of In re Caremark Int’l Inc. Derivative Litigation, the Delaware chancery court held that directors have a fiduciary duty to oversee a company’s compliance systems.[1] The parameters of that duty have been explored in a number of recent cases. In January 2023, in the case of In re McDonald’s Corporation Stockholder Derivative Litigation, the Delaware courts, for the first time, directly addressed the question of whether the Caremark oversight duties also apply to a company’s officers.[2] (Spoiler alert—the court answered that question with a resounding “yes.”) It is a detailed and interesting decision—one well worth...

25. Designing documents: Using the art of persuasion to influence with integrity

    Ethikos Volume 37, Number 3. July 01, 2023  | Author: Teri Quimby  | July 01, 2023 

    Did you send or receive an email today? Or a text? These tools are some of our most common communication choices. Whether we’re talking about emails or components of compliance and ethics programs, the written words we choose likely have a purpose: to compel or prevent an action by a person or otherwise provide information...