The Ethics of Being Tested: “The Tillman Story”
The Week in Ethics
The Ethics of Being Tested: “The Tillman Story”
We can’t discover who we are until we are tested by life and death, a statement poignantly illustrated by the documentary “The Tillman Story” just released so far in limited distribution. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaMAVAqef7I The death of former NFL star Pat Tillman in Afghanistan in 2004 by friendly fire has been widely chronicled in media reports, congressional […]
read more »Avoiding Crises by Giving Voice to Values
It has been very evident that ethical misconduct carries a huge price tag (consider HP, BP, Toyota, Goldman Sachs, Johnson and Johnson, and on and on). In fact, it doesn’t even have to be proven before reputation and share price fall. So the question is what more can be done to decrease the likelihood of […]
read more »HP Scandal Part 2: Mark Hurd and the Porn Star “Marketing Consultant”
UPDATE: January 3, 2012: The June 2010 letter to Mark Hurd from Jodie Fisher’s attorney (Gloria Allred) detailing Fisher’s allegations of sexual harassment against Hurd was made public December 31, 2011 after a federal judge ruled the letter would not violate Hurd’s privacy rights. Hurd joined Oracle September 6, 2010 as president. The news about […]
read more »Mark Hurd’s Leadership Failure
Hewlett Packard’s Board of Directors demonstrated today (August 6, 2010) that if you violate HP’s Standards of Business Conduct (SBC) you can lose your job, even if you are the chairman and CEO. Mark Hurd, who had served as HP’s CEO for the last five years (and chairman for four years), resigned at the Board’s […]
read more »The Ethics of Brand Identity at Toyota, Goldman Sachs and BP
That three global companies at the pinnacle of their industries, considered superstars with all the trappings of success – Toyota and Goldman Sachs heading Fortune’s list of the world’s most admired companies and BP and Goldman heading the most profitable – could put themselves and their stakeholders in harm’s way so dramatically and needlessly, at […]
read more »The Ethics of Loyalty: Lessons From Conscious Capitalism
Trader Joe’s food store while a clerk tallied her purchases. When she reached for her wallet to pay, it wasn’t in her purse. The clerk – or more correctly “crew member” as the company calls its employees – immediately told her he would pay for the groceries and she could pay him back. He didn’t […]
read more »The Ethics of Crisis: The Human Toll of BP’s Calamity in the Gulf
BP’s oil catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico vividly illustrates that when things spill out of control in a disaster, some damages can’t be contained. The greatest lesson from BP’s crisis, I think, is for leaders to recognize they have a responsibility to society that goes beyond charitable donations or sustainable and “green” initiatives. What […]
read more »The Ethics of Oil Drilling: BP and the Fraternity of Crude
Update June 18, 2010: BP CEO Tony Hayward has been replaced by Robert Dudley, a BP managing director, in day-to-day involvement of the Gulf. In testimony yesterday before a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee, Hayward expressed contrition and said the Gulf oil disaster “never should have happened.” However, he made clear he hadn’t been involved […]
read more »WHO Can You Trust? World Health Organization’s H1N1 Criticisms
It is hard to believe the World Health Organization (WHO) wouldn’t have put the highest priority on determining and implementing the best practices for demonstrating transparency and for managing conflicts of interest – real or perceived – with the pharmaceutical industry. WHO is now responding to attacks on its credibility and reputation, primarily in Europe, […]
read more »The Ethics of CEO Leadership: The Message of John Wooden (1910-2010)
Newspapers across the country today are honoring the life of legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden who died yesterday. The outpouring of praise might seem unusual given his long life (99) years and the many tributes already paid while he was alive to experience them. He also retired 35 years ago as a college coach, […]
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Gael O’Brien provided excellent counsel that led Mitsubishi Motor Manufacturing of America and me to take the right steps to improve our workplace integrity during a difficult time in the company’s history. Her values-based approach and ability to ask the right questions enable her to contribute effectively to top management in any industry.