How ‘Fairness’ Helps Compliance

ethical dilemmas

Compliance officers struggle mightily to articulate the right balance between what’s ethical and what’s legal. So when one of the country’s top banking regulators gave a speech earlier this week titled “Fairness and effective compliance management,” it caught my eye. The regulator in question is Michael Hsu, acting head of the Office of the Comptroller…

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Spotify, Part II: The Drama Continues

Spotify

Today I want to return to the ethical imbroglio at Spotify, because I saw an excellent analysis of the company’s internal operations that bears relevance here. Indeed, the crisis that Spotify is suffering with its star podcaster Joe Rogan is something that many companies could face in the modern world.  The analysis appeared in the…

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The Question Behind Spotify and Joe Rogan

Spotify

Sometimes a CEO says something so wrong-headed about corporate priorities that the statement cries out for a close read. Such is the case with Daniel Ek, chief executive of Spotify, and what he said this week about Joe Rogan and misinformation on the Spotify platform.  Most of you probably know the basics of the Joe…

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The Deeper Meaning in the Facebook Scandal

facebook

This week I’ve kept one semi-interested eye on Frances Haugen, more commonly known as the Facebook whistleblower. Her bombshells launched — the 60 Minutes interview, the testimony before Congress, the leaked documents — were all devastating to Facebook, but compliance professionals should look deeper. Haugen’s arrival on the scene portends something deeper, too.  By now…

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Grappling With Artificial Intelligence

AI

Later this week I’ll have the privilege to moderate a panel discussion on artificial intelligence at the Society of Corporate Compliance & Ethics’ 2021 conference — and as fate would have it, COSO published guidance last week on the risk management challenges around AI. So let’s dig into the subject, since clearly the universe is…

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Survey: Corporate Values Did OK During Pandemic

ethical dilemmas

We have another report this week studying how corporate ethics and compliance functions weathered the pandemic-induced challenges of 2020 — and overall, compliance officers were pretty chuffed about how their organizations held firm to ethical values despite difficult circumstances.  The study comes from LRN, which surveyed 650 ethics, compliance, and legal officers at organizations around…

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Corporate Ethics and Voter Suppression Laws

voter suppression

I’ve long said that the standard corporate response to looming new legislation or regulatory moves is first to do nothing; then scramble and panic once the legislation or regulation comes to pass. Now we see Corporate America has held true to that strategy yet again, in response to Georgia’s voter suppression law.  By now you…

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Ethics Survey, Part II: Management Problems

ethical dilemmas

Today I want to return to the 2021 Global Business Ethics Survey, released last week by the Ethics & Compliance Initiative. There’s another theme in the data that we should explore, since it has significant implications for your compliance program’s risk assessment, training, and policies.  That theme: managers are more pessimistic about compliance and ethics…

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Report: Ethics Pressures Mounting on Employees

ethical dilemmas

A record number of U.S. workers say they feel pressure to cut ethical corners on the job, and a record number also say they have experienced retaliation after reporting corporate misconduct — and for both issues, those numbers have essentially doubled in just three years.   So says the 2021 Global Business Ethics Survey, a sweeping…

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2021 World’s Most Ethical Announced

ethical

Ethisphere announced its 2021 list of World’s Most Ethical Companies today, and corporate ethics and compliance officers know what that means: a barrage of emails from the CEO and board asking, “Why aren’t WE on that list???” This year Ethisphere honored 135 companies from 22 countries and across 47 industries. We can’t name all 135…

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