Last January General Motors new president Mary Barra released a statement of values entitled, Winning with Integrity, Our Values and Guidelines for Employee Conduct. In the introduction, Barra writes, “During the last few years, we have aggressively pursued a competitive advantage in every aspect of our business. You can see this reflected in our new products, our acquisitions and alliances, our balance sheet...

Alzheimer’s is a disease that robs an individual of their personality one piece at a time. Particularly insidious is the fact that some of the personality traits that once appeared as petty irritations of life, can grow to become acts of shocking intolerance. This brings me to the recent news about Donald Sterling. The L.A. Clippers owner went on a racist rant...

Hold on folks, we’re about to enter The Corporate Zone – that bizzaro world where upholding the law and common sense go to die. Thanks to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United, corporations are not only people entitled to as much free speech as money can buy, but may soon be able to claim that their religious beliefs can determine what...

According to the most recent survey by The Ethics Resource Center, America’s oldest nonprofit for advancing high ethical standards and practices, “workplace misconduct is at a historic low.” (No, that’s not a set-up for a joke.) The 2013 National Business Ethics Survey, conducted every two years by the organization, “…shows that 41 percent of over 6,400 workers surveyed said they have...

Last week, a federal judge in Chicago sentenced Beanie Baby king Ty Warner to two-years’ probation rather than prison for hiding at least $25 million from the IRS. “Society will be better served,” U.S. District Judge Charles Kocoras said, “by allowing him to continue his good works.” Many news outlets, including Chicago Business, describe Warner as “The 69-year-old philanthropist and chairman and CEO...

Two stories from The Wall Street Journal caught my attention that I thought I’d pass along. The first comes from, The Morning Morality Effect: The Influence of Time of Day on Unethical Behavior, by Maryam Kouchaki and Isaac H. Smith, (Nov. 8, 2013). Research from scientists at Harvard and the University of Utah conclude that “If you’re shopping for a used car – or...

Drug maker Johnson & Johnson agreed to pay $2.2 billion and plead guilty to a misdemeanor in marketing the antipsychotic drug Risperdal and other drugs. “The agreement,” The New York Times writes (Nov. 4), “is the third-largest pharmaceutical settlement in United States history and the largest in a string of recent cases involving the marketing of antipsychotic and anti-seizure drugs to older...

Just short of this Friday’s deadline, set by Judge Jeffrey Oing, the suit brought against J.C. Penney and Martha Stewart by Macy’s has settled. Macy’s charged that both had breached an exclusivity agreement that Macy’s had with Stewart that covered a variety of bed, bath and kitchen products. See if you can tell which way the settlement went based on...

Last Friday, October 11, a full-page ad appeared in most national papers. Printed on a graphic of a paper coffee cup were these words: Sign the Come Together Petition  To our leaders in Washington, D.C. now’s the time to come together to: 1. Reopen our government to serve the people 2. Pay our debts on time to avoid another financial crisis....

Friday’s news carried two business-related stories that, on the surface, may not seem similar but really demonstrate a double standard when it comes to guilt. Paul Deen took to YouTube Friday to apologize for using the “n” word. In part, Deen said, “I want to apologize to everybody for the wrong that I’ve done. I want to learn and grow...