After Paterno, Penn State’s Struggle to Rebuild Trust
Private Equity Buyouts: Job Picture Complex
Cutting Emissions in Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic U.S.
Global Warming and Water Shortages in the U.S.
Survey Forecasts ‘Looming Ethics Downturn’ in Corporate America
Freedom Riders’ Legacy: Creating a Culture of Common Purpose
The Champion of Painkillers
Culture Kills: The Legacy of Massey Energy
Why No Financial Crisis Prosecutions? ‘It’s Just too Hard’
Manifesto for the Corporate Idealist
What is ‘Slow Money’?
JP Morgan:Impact Investing Offers Trillion Dollar Opportunity
Crony Capitalism? Hank Paulson’s Extraordinary Meeting
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Books»
“Plan B” to Rescue The Planet and Civilization (1)
What started as a book has grown into a movement known as “Plan B” which presents a roadmap for achieving worldwide goals of stabilizing both population and climate.
Business Ethics»
After Paterno, Penn State’s Struggle to Rebuild Trust (0)
With the death of long-time football coach Joe Paterno, Penn State enters a new stage of its crisis stemming from criminal sex abuse charges against a former assistant coach. Columnist Gael O’Brien thinks the university’s trustees have made numerous mistakes and says the institution now must learn “how to tolerate discomfort with unflattering headlines while the focus is on trust building, not brand building.”
Compliance & Governance»
Survey Forecasts ‘Looming Ethics Downturn’ in Corporate America (0)
The good news is that on-the-job misconduct by American workers may be at an all-time low, and when misconduct is detected it’s likely to be reported by co-workers. The bad news is that whistle-blowers are being retaliated against for their truth-telling at a “shocking” rate, according to a new survey.
Corporate Political Spending»
A Growing Consensus on What to Do About Citizens United (0)
While the Supreme Court in Citizens United envisioned a world where shareholders could hold managers accountable for political spending, corporations have clever legal ways to hide their role in politics from the public. Over the past few weeks, a growing consensus among shareholders, corporate leaders and corporate law experts has emerged. All are urging increased transparency for corporate money in politics.
CSR»
Culture Kills: The Legacy of Massey Energy (0)
In April 2010, 29 miners died in Massey’s Upper Big Branch (UBB), the worst mining disaster in 40 years. On December 6, 2011, the U.S. Department of Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) issued a 1,000 page report of its investigation into the UBB tragedy. Alpha Natural Resources, which bought Massey earlier this year, agreed to pay $209 million in penalties (civil, criminal and restitution) for Massey Energy’s role in the explosion.
EarthTalk - Consumer Info»
Cutting Emissions in Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic U.S. (0)
Given the lack of federal action to curb greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S., several East Coast states joined together in 2008 to form the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), committing to a market-based system to cap carbon pollution and lower energy bills while creating more green jobs.
Economy»
Executives Optimistic Sustainability Will Be “Core Strategy” for Business (0)
Executives responsible for sustainability and corporate social responsibility programs at large companies are overwhelmingly optimistic that those initiatives will be part of the “core strategies and operations” of global businesses in the next five years, according to a new survey. Top priorities for those companies in the year ahead are human rights and workers’ rights, climate change, and the availability and quality of water on a global basis.
Education»
Campus Crises Highlight Risk Management Weaknesses (0)
Columnist Gael O’Brien says recent crises at University of California Davis, Syracuse University and Penn State University raise questions about the role of risk management on campuses. One problem, she writes, is that university leaders “often don’t have practice thinking through how their values, and those of the institution, will come into play in a variety of different potential situations.”
Ethics Case Scenarios»
What’s Being Done to “Green Up” Professional Sports? (0)
The last two Olympics were greener than any before, but environmental awareness isn’t limited to the realm of international amateur competition. In fact, in just the last few years all of the major professional North American sports leagues have made strides in greening their operations.
Executive Compensation»
Say on Pay: Identifying Investor Concerns (0)
Advisory shareowner votes on executive compensation were the big story of proxy season 2011, the inaugural year for “say on pay” at most U.S. public companies. In the first half of the year, shareholders voted against proposals at some 37 companies. The Council of Institutional Investors, a leading advocate for say on pay, offers its analysis of the “no” votes and what they might say about current executive compensation practices.
International»
Business and Human Rights: Interview with John Ruggie (1)
In July 2011, the United Nations Human Rights Council endorsed a set of principles designed to address human rights abuses by business. In an interview, the man who led development of those principles – Harvard professor John Ruggie – discusses their implications and explains why he thinks the newly-coined term “human rights due diligence” has already become a permanent entry in the lexicon of international business.
Leadership»
Freedom Riders’ Legacy: Creating a Culture of Common Purpose (0)
December 2011 brings to a close the official commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Freedom Riders. Columnist Gael O’Brien suggests that the experience of these 1960s civil rights activists offers inspiration – and some very practical lessons – to those seeking to create common purpose in 21st century organizations and companies.
Media»
Margin Call: A Small Movie Unveils Big Truths About Wall Street (0)
Reporter Jake Bernstein – who won a Pulitzer Prize for a series of stories on questionable Wall Street practices – says Margin Call is a “briskly paced and marvelously acted” film which tells “the story of a Wall Street that has evolved from an economic helpmate to an economic predator.”
NGOs»
Panera Cares: An Experiment in Corporate Responsibility (3)
Columnist Gael O’Brien discusses an innovative corporate responsibility initiative launched by Panera Bread, the national cafe-bakery company. “Panera Cares” has opened community cafes in three cities – Clayton, Missouri; Dearborn, Michigan and Portland, Oregon – based on a pay-what-you-can model where those who can pay more do in order to cover the cost of others.
Opinion»
Improve Public Trust: Transform the Nominating Committee (0)
Corporate governance expert Paul Strebel says there’s need for a “fundamental change” in the way board directors are nominated, with members of the nominating committee drawn from a more diverse group of stakeholders than has been the case. “To improve public trust in business, the search for board directors has to extend beyond the world of top executives,” he says.
Philanthropy»
VIDEO: Bill Gates on Philanthropy During a Recession (0)
In an exclusive interview with the Wall Street Journal, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates discusses the challenges of philanthropy in an economic recession and how his tenure at Microsoft prepared him for his new job running the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Poverty»
Trying to Break the Sweatshop Business Model (1)
One of the most persistent corporate responsibility issues for many global brands is how to manufacture products in less developed countries while paying fair wages and maintaining acceptable working conditions. The New York Times reports on an experiment by a U.S. clothing company that is paying factory workers in the Dominican Republic a “living wage” – three times the average pay of the country’s apparel workers.
Regulation & Legislation»
Drug Companies Reduce Payments to Doctors as Scrutiny Mounts (0)
Following an investigation by ProPublica of payments made by drug companies to doctors, some of the nation’s top medical schools last year cracked down on professors who give paid promotional talks for drugmakers. The firms themselves cut back on such spending in the wake of mounting scrutiny.
Socially Responsible Investing»
Study Finds Sustainable Companies ‘Significantly Outperform’ Financially (1)
A new study by researchers at Harvard Business School and London Business School concludes that companies which have voluntarily embraced sustainable business cultures with a substantial number of environmental and social policies “significantly outperform their counterparts over the long-term, both in terms of stock market and accounting performance.”
Sustainability»
Is Bottled Water a Waste? (3)
Global bottled water consumption has more than quadrupled since 1990, with some 2.7 million tons of petroleum-derived plastic used to bottle water around the world every year. Bottled water also costs up to 1,900 times more than tap water; 90 percent or more of the money consumers shell out for it pays for everything but the water itself.
Video»
Video: Companies Can’t Be Parasites Anymore (1)
Stephen Miles, vice chairman of Heidrick & Struggles, the executive search firm, tells Big Think that the global financial crisis and the advent of the Internet age have transformed the relationship between business and stakeholders.
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