156 Posts Found

If you look at a lot of the fraud cases, before fraud there was terminal incompetence. When we teach the governance and ethics course [at HBS], the point I make is that you can have great values, but if you don’t have the competence [to implement them], forget it. You need both character and competence. If you don’t have the competence, you’re going to get … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subjects: Competence, Ethics

Jensen’s 1986 Free Cash flow paper showed that too much cash is bad. Now he shows that a stock price can be too high. Why? “A stock price that is overvalued is caused when investors have overly optimistic expectations. Thus, if the investors were to learn the truth, the stock price would fall. This creates an incentive to hide information from investors. … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: Michael C. Jensen | Source: Social Science Research Network (SSRN) | Subjects: Ethics, Finance

Unethical practices such as bribery and kickbacks are business as usual in some countries, and U.S. companies are sometimes tempted to adopt a “when in Rome, do as the Romans do” mind-set. That attitude is dangerous in light of tightening laws against corruption at home and abroad. Finance executives should review their exposure and take steps to protect their company.

Content: Article | Author: Fay Hansen | Source: Business Finance Magazine | Subjects: Ethics, Legal

This exercise presents you with 15 situations that you might well experience (depending upon the nature and level of your job) in everyday working life. Management students of Professor Burke Pease at California State University, Monterey Bay have kindly helped with the 15 situations and alternative answers. All created on the basis of real life.

The objective of the exercise is to enable you to think … [ Read more ]

Content: Online Resource | Author: Burke Pease | Source: TheWorkingManager.com | Subject: Ethics

“Very little of the current debate about business ethics has to do with serious ethical problems. Most so-called ethical failures in business are either the result of illegal activities or of breaches of civil contracts – often in situations where there is an imbalance of information or power and one of the parties has taken advantage of its position.

I suggest that the real problems, in … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: Robert Cochrane | Source: TheWorkingManager.com | Subject: Ethics

We hew to laws against stealing because there is already cultural consensus that stealing is wrong, rooted in the fact that the thief deprives the good citizen of the stolen property. To copy an idea does no such thing; wrote Jefferson, “he who lights his taper at mine, receives light without darkening me.” It does indeed deprive the original author of the ability to monopolize … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Source: Darwin Magazine | Subjects: Ethics, Legal

Implementing a sustainable corporate governance code needs to reflect workforce attitudes to corporate propriety. A snapshot of the UK employee population suggests there are major challenges ahead.

Content: Article | Author: Glen Peters | Source: European Business Forum (EBF) | Subjects: Corporate Governance, Ethics

The business with high ethical standards has three primary advantages over competitors whose standards are lower:
1 . A business of high principle generates greater drive and effectiveness because people know that they can do the right thing decisively and with confidence. When there is any doubt about what action to take, they can rely on the guidance of ethical principles. Inner administrative drive emanates largely … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Source: McKinsey Quarterly | Subjects: Ethics, Organizational Behavior

This article offers a difficult message because it asks us to reverse many of the recent motivations in business. It asks us to seek selflessness rather than selfishness. It uses old-fashioned words like “duty” and re-interprets Maslow’s concept of self-actualization in a most enlightening fashion. It asks us to take responsibility for what we do. At one point, the author says:

“Mere work ethic is not … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: M.P. Bhattathiri | Source: TheWorkingManager.com | Subjects: Ethics, Management

A company becoming a ‘good citizen’ will not only make the world a better place but will also add to shareholder value. An integrative approach is essential.

Content: Article | Authors: Peter Ulrich, Thomas Maak | Source: European Business Forum (EBF) | Subjects: Economics, Ethics

Harvard Business School professor Lynn Sharp Paine had been studying corporate malfeasance long before the Enron debacle. In this book she attempts to introduce readers to an “emerging new standard of corporate performance one that encompasses both moral and financial dimensions.” Based on her researching, teaching and consulting experiences over the past 20 years, Paine has amassed an in-depth understanding of corporate values. She uses … [ Read more ]

Content: Book | Author: Lynn Sharp Paine | Subjects: Ethics, Social Responsibility (ESG)

For companies that can’t guarantee confidentiality, the answer is no.

Content: Article | Authors: George R. Wratney, Patrick J. Gnazzo | Source: Across the Board (ATB) | Subject: Ethics

In some countries, greasing palms is part of doing business. Does that mean you should?

Content: Article | Author: Janet L. Evans | Source: Darwin Magazine | Subjects: Ethics, Social Responsibility (ESG)

“When it comes to ethics, many myths still exist in the minds of MBA graduates and others in the business world. I want to lay out seven fundamental myths about ethics.”

Content: Article | Author: J. Edward Ketz | Source: SmartPros | Subject: Ethics

What we need is moral leadership. Plato and Aristotle said the four cardinal virtues are justice, wisdom, courage, and self-control. I think they’re still right, 2,500 years later.

Content: Quotation | Source: Context Magazine | Subjects: Ethics, Wisdom

There are many points to consider when developing ethical standards for a global environment. Getting all our employees to accept appropriate ethical standards makes our companies stronger and we become better corporate citizens in the process.

Content: Article | Author: Bruce A. Hamm | Source: CEO Refresher | Subjects: Ethics, International

Is business malfeasance always the board’s fault? HBS professor Constance Bagley argues that everyone has a stake in ethical behavior and moral reasoning.

Content: Article | Author: Carla Tishler | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subjects: Corporate Governance, Ethics

A number of companies have discovered how difficult it is to do well by doing good. Some question whether it makes any economic sense at all.

Content: Article | Author: Andrew W. Singer | Source: Across the Board (ATB) | Subjects: Ethics, Social Responsibility (ESG)

It is not enough to change or re-regulate the rules of corporate capitalism. The present crisis requires a more substantive transformation of business.

Content: Article | Author: Laszlo Zsolnai | Source: European Business Forum (EBF) | Subjects: Ethics, Social Responsibility (ESG)

This browsable, well-maintained directory of resources related to business ethics includes articles, publications, case studies, corporate codes of ethics, professional organizations and associations, and more. From librarian Sharon Stoerger of the University of Illinois.

Content: Online Resource | Author: Sharon Stoerger | Subject: Ethics