The Magazine of Corporate Responsibility

Tag Archive for ‘Ethics’

Docs on Pharma Payroll Have Blemished Records

Drug companies say they hire the most-respected doctors in their fields for the critical task of teaching about the benefits and risks of their drugs. But an investigation by ProPublica uncovered hundreds of doctors on company payrolls who had been accused of professional misconduct, were disciplined by state boards or lacked credentials as researchers or specialists.

Johnson & Johnson, Under Investigation, Tops CSR Index

Johnson & Johnson topped a list of companies perceived by American consumers as having the best reputations for corporate social responsibility practices. Months after research for the Index was conducted, the company admitted that it misled regulators and consumers by using contractors to buy defective Motrin painkiller products from store shelves rather than announce a recall.

Opinion: Choosing Business Leaders with Integrity

A business executive who happens to also be a former Catholic monk has his own unique litmus test for gauging executive credibility and trust. “How can I tell if an executive is trustworthy?” he asks. “What are the signs to look for in promoting leaders in this new era of doubt and suspicion?”

BOOKS: Speaking Up for Values in Business

When companies cross ethical lines, a common assumption is that employees don’t speak up because their moral compass has gone haywire. But it may be more complicated than that. A new book by business professor and consultant Mary C. Gentile argues that most people want to do the right thing. They just don’t know how.

VIDEO: Business Schools Need to Do a Better Job Teaching Values

Rich Lyons, Dean of the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, discusses values and ethics with The Wall Street Journal.

Mark Hurd’s Leadership Failure

Mark Hurd, who had served as HP’s CEO for the last five years, resigned at the Board’s request after an investigation concluded he had engaged in inappropriate behavior that violated HP’s Standards of Business Conduct. In a press release, Hurd said “there were instances in which I did not live up to the standards and principles of trust, respect and integrity that I have espoused at HP….”

GAO Report Finds For-Profit Colleges Encouraged Fraud

A report released by the Government Accountability Office further highlights some of the questionable recruiting tactics of several for-profit colleges across the country.

Adding Value and Values to the MBA

When students return to campus in coming weeks, so will debate about the purpose of management education and the role of ethics. Columnist Gael O’Brien wonders whether current business leaders will support training new leaders in skills and competencies that support new models of business – or will it be simply business as usual?

Verbatim: How Businesses View Sustainability & CSR Reporting

Investment firm Walden Asset Management recently researched and compiled quotes from sustainability and corporate responsibility reports by several dozen companies in a wide range of industries. The exercise showed, says a Walden executive, that attention to such issues has become vitally important for a company’s business, and that transparent reporting is, as one CEO said, one of “the prices of doing business today.”

Fried Chicken, Krispy Kreme and Lobbying

Last December, a $500 donation could buy a ticket to a fundraiser that, the invitation said, would feature “Bojangles’ Fried Chicken, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, And Mel Watt, of course!” Two days later, Watt, a Democratic congressman from North Carolina, withdrew a provision from the House’s financial reform bill that would have regulated loans from car dealers.