Knowledge@W. P. Carey -- Business Ethics

Sandra Day O'Connor: Where Judges Can Be Bought and Sold

Wed, 28 Jan 2009 16:34:21 EST

The story sounds just like a John Grisham novel: The CEO of a West Virginia energy company spent more than $3 million to help a relative unknown unseat the incumbent and become a judge on the state's Supreme Court. Later, that same judge, after refusing to recuse himself, cast the deciding vote on two decisions overruling verdicts against the energy company -- verdicts now worth $82 million. Retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor isn't shy about her opinion on the matter -- states should do away with judicial elections in order to restore independence to their courts, she said recently at an Economic Club of Phoenix luncheon, co-sponsored by the W. P. Carey School of Business and the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law at ASU.

The Fruits of Integrity: Trust, Influence, Repeat Business

Wed, 17 Dec 2008 15:26:41 EST

Each of us, as we go about our daily lives, has opportunity after opportunity to make the right choice, John Johnson told audience at the Spark 2008 IT Invitational conference this fall. Living with integrity encompasses deliberate decision-making in all aspects of one's life, he stressed, including relationships and business. Johnson is chief information officer for the popular P.F. Chang's China Bistro chain of restaurants.

College Cheating Is Bad for Business

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 16:12:58 EST

In an age where a new cheating/corruption scandal is front-page news nearly every day -- think Enron, Barry Bonds, Eliot Spitzer, and Marion Jones for starters -- it is perhaps not surprising that dishonesty is a problem on most college campuses. Academic dishonesty, which runs the gamut from plagiarizing to purchasing papers and theses, sharing answers on assignments, taking another's exam, and failing to do work for a team project, is, unfortunately, part of the college experience for many students today. In a recent survey of 5,331 graduate students at 32 universities, 56 percent of the business students and 47 percent of the non-business students admitted to cheating one or more times in the past year. These numbers are an ominous sign for the academic and business communities, say experts at the W. P. Carey School of Business.

Helping Others Cook Their Books: It's a Recipe for Disaster

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 15:33:37 EST

Your company's best corporate customer needs help. Earnings are down. You could help that company's revenues look rosier with a sham transaction. And, why wouldn't you? After all, it's not your company's financial statements you're sweetening. You're just bringing a little aid to the table for someone else. Should you play along? No way, says Marianne Jennings, a professor of legal and ethical studies at the W. P. Carey School of Business. Even if your own earnings are for real, you could face criminal charges for aiding another company with "creative" accounting.

Podcast: Are Millennials Prone to Cheating to Get Ahead?

Wed, 09 Apr 2008 15:15:32 EST

Many employers are finding that millennials -- employees aged 14 to 31 -- are a new breed. Young, bright, eager and tech savvy, millennials also demand frequent validation, quick rewards and permission to shape the rules to fit their lives. Now academics and employers are wondering if millennials have determined that cutting corners and cheating is an acceptable way of getting ahead. Barbara Keats, associate professor of management at the W. P. Carey School of Business, says cheating has always existed in some form in the business world, but she wonders if millennials are taking it to a new level.

Bradley Preber: Aligning Form and Substance to Create an Ethical Business Culture

Wed, 09 Apr 2008 15:15:32 EST

Marianne Jennings, a professor of legal and ethical studies in business at W. P. Carey School of Business, recently noted that major business scandals used to be spaced about 10 years apart. Unfortunately, the cycle now appears to be compressing. In a recent talk before W. P. Carey MBA Executive students, Bradley Preber, the partner-in-charge of Grant Thornton's Forensic Accounting and Investigative Services practice, said that any company that continues having pervasive and systematic behavior problems with its employees must look at its culture to see if it could be partly what drives that unethical behavior.

The Bigger They Are: Ethical Challenges of the Rich and Famous

Wed, 24 Oct 2007 17:06:16 EST

Think twice about accepting a job with an organization headed by a renowned industry captain, a technological wunderkind or a visionary philanthropist, warns an expert who's studied the downside of charismatic leadership. Business icons become more susceptible to disastrous ethical lapses as their workplace fame spreads, says Marianne Jennings, J.D., a professor of legal and ethical studies at the W. P. Carey School of Business. When the gurus crash and burn, the careers of those around them falter, too.

Straight and narrow: Steering an ethical course through international waters

Wed, 25 Apr 2007 16:59:33 EST

For Marianne Jennings, a healthy market economy depends on four pillars -- business, investors, government and customers. Each relies on the others in a symbiotic relationship that leads to mutual benefit and smooth operations. But when ethical lines are crossed, even in just one of the four areas, everyone is at risk. "If one of these [four groups] falls, the system falls," said Jennings, a professor of legal and ethical studies at the W. P. Carey School of Business, during a recent speech in Mexico City.

Trials and tribulations: Attorney Mark Belnick talks about Tyco

Wed, 14 Mar 2007 14:01:00 EST

In an early morning speech recently, attorney Mark Belnick recounted his career as a litigator at a powerful New York firm, and the events that made him a defendant in one of the Tyco corruption cases. Acquitted on criminal charges, Belnick served his message like a cup of black coffee to the W. P. Carey MBA -- Executive Program students in the audience: cutting corners ethically leaves you with no place to stand when things go wrong.

Can the government control corporate fraud?

Wed, 31 Jan 2007 13:17:02 EST

Can the government control corporate fraud? Probably not, according to Securities and Exchange Commissioner Paul Atkins, and besides, ever-escalating regulation likely would hinder a free-market economy. Atkins, who has devoted much of his 20-plus year career to helping law enforcement investigate and rectify investing scams, recently spoke to students at the W. P. Carey School of Business on the subject of business ethics.

New ethics rules change the lobbying landscape

Wed, 17 Jan 2007 14:10:37 EST

Strict new ethics rules governing lobbying interactions with members of Congress make it more crucial than ever for businesses to diversify their influence-building strategies. The W. P. Carey School's management Professor Gerry Keim, who studies the relationships between business and government, says companies need to develop grassroots advocacy networks among employees.

Interview: Marianne Jennings discusses the ethics of the HP situation

Wed, 11 Oct 2006 16:26:11 EST

The HP situation provides a many-faceted illustration of ethics in the breach, according to Marianne Jennings, professor of legal and ethical studies at the W. P. Carey School of business and author of "The Seven Signs of Ethical Collapse: How to Spot Moral Meltdowns in Companies ... Before It's Too Late." Jennings says that the actions of a board member in leaking company information to the press were unquestionably wrong, but the board's shady investigation only exacerbated the legal and ethical breakdown. Jennings shares her observations in a conversation with Knowledge@W. P. Carey. Click here to listen in.

When the cure is worse than the disease: the HP debacle

Wed, 11 Oct 2006 16:29:40 EST

In early 2005, Hewlett-Packard's board of directors was embroiled in controversy. Board discord anonymously spilled into the media, and an effort commenced to find and plug the leaks of board deliberations. The probe has erupted into scandal, indictments and congressional hearings. Experts at the W. P. Carey School of Business say the HP saga is rich with lessons about corporate governance and ethics.

Learning from the Mistakes of the (Formerly) Rich and Infamous

Wed, 30 Aug 2006 14:56:57 EST

The corporate failures of Enron, WorldCom, HealthSouth and Tyco were separate tragedies, but they share a common theme: ethical breakdown that started at the top and permeated the organizations. In her newly-released book, ethics expert and W. P. Carey management Professor Marianne Jennings dissects the failures and identifies the cultural flaws that led to disaster. "The Seven Signs of Ethical Collapse: How to Spot Moral Meltdowns in Companies ... Before It's Too Late" provides guidance to those in charge of cultural reform in companies as well as those looking for good investments.

The Hidden Costs of Dishonesty: Ethics is Vital to Business Education

Wed, 23 Nov 2005 14:12:26 EST

The hidden costs of dishonesty can fundamentally derail organizations, creating an imperative for business leaders to have clear and meaningful codes of conduct, according to a W. P. Carey School of Business researcher. A recent survey shows both encouraging and troubling trends: 22 percent of respondents believe one has to "bend the rules" or act unethically to get ahead... and that's the good news. The bad news? More than 40 percent said they would act unethically if directed by their boss.

Executive Role Models Crucial in Building Ethical Workplace Culture

Wed, 26 Oct 2005 15:44:53 EST

Building an ethical culture has become increasingly important for boards and CEOs, but the task is not as simple as instituting policies and procedures. Employees are looking for consistent role models, according to a researcher at the W. P. Carey School of Business. Setting high standards means companies must take a good, hard look at their leadership and view it in all settings. They must recognize that executive behavior off the job can affect the firm in a variety of ways.

Walking the Talk: Stonecipher Ouster Heralds 'New Culture' at Boeing

Fri, 06 May 2005 13:59:29 EST

Although Boeing CEO Harry Stonecipher's affair with an employee was consensual, it violated his mandate to oversee a new culture of ethical leadership at the aerospace giant. The resignation of Stonecipher ended an otherwise stellar corporate career. The lesson, according to ASU ethics professors: "The role of leadership comes with a price."

When Power Corrupts: 'Those People' Look a Lot Like Us

Fri, 06 May 2005 14:00:31 EST

The recent explosion of corporate scandals has everyone wondering –- why do organizations become corrupt? How can we build safeguards against systemic corruption? And, is an individual able to change a corrupt workplace culture without paying too high a price?