Ethics scandals continue to make the news. “California City Officials Arrested in Salary Scandal” (Sept. 21); “Clemens Lied About Doping, Indictment Charges” (Aug. 19); “P.R. Missteps Fueled Fiascos at BP, Toyota and Goldman,” (Aug. 22) Are companies paying attention to headlines, and are they making any attempt to reinforce the moral conscience of their own organizations?  » Read more about: Searching...

Winston Churchill famously said, “A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.” I’m not sure exactly when he said that, but with the presence of the Internet, I’m positive the time frame has been reduced to a nanosecond. One of the best resources for questions concerning journalism’s purpose and responsibility is the Pew...

No, those aren’t the Cartwrights and we’re not on the Ponderosa. This is what I wrote concerning Honesty and Trust in America on March 28, 2008: When it comes to corruption, the Four Horsemen of the Ethical Apocalypse remain:  Money, Power, Influence and Arrogance. In a 2006 survey that I conducted with Zogby International and the Center for Cultural Studies and Analysis,  » Read more about: Still Riding High...

Franklin Roosevelt once offered this piece of advice about giving a speech: “Be sincere; be brief; be seated.” Okay, here it goes. Ladies and Gentlemen of Congress, The American people are sick and tired of hearing excuses for your lack of effectively working together. They’re tired of listening to the arrogant sound bites at “impromptu” press conferences. You were not...

Several conversations about ethics and art led me to revisit Friday’s commentary. An article from the New York Times (Nov. 11) raised my interest about “concerns in the art world over the propriety of a coming show at the New Museum [of Contemporary Art in New York] that will feature the private collection of a museum trustee, Dakis Joannou.”  Returning to The Times,  » Read more about:...

“A person who maintains a pornstar’s erection between scenes; a broker of products or services that gets the client ready.” – Urban Dictionary The New Museum of Contemporary Art “…has evolved from a scrappy alternative space into a mainstream institution,” The New York Times reported (Nov. 11). However, in the opinion of many, the Museum “…is jeopardizing its integrity by giving too much...

Whenever I’ve had a question about health care, or check up on President Obama’s progress; whenever I want to get the straight dope about people, pundits and policy issues, I pay a visit to PolitiFact.com. Who is PolitiFact? PolitiFact is a site owned and operated by The St. Petersburg Times  whose purpose is to help anyone,  » Read more about: Who is PolitiFact and Can They...

Jim McCann likes to make things grow.  McCann acquired the 1-800-FLOWERS number in 1986 after successfully building his own chain of 14 flower shops in the New York metropolitan area. While creating a reliable brand name, he focused on instilling a sense of trust and convenience in an industry that previously had no leader. McCann attributes much of his success...

A Rap star takes the stage from one award winner shouting that another should have won. A TV pundit calls the President a racist. During a Presidential address to Congress, a representative shouts, “You lie!” Lumbering through a moral wilderness of incivility and unreason we are losing the best of ourselves to fear and uncertainty. With a struggling economy, rising...

One of the best examples of corporate responsibility came from a conversation I had with former Johnson & Johnson Chairman James E. Burke. In the fall of 1982, Burke was confronted with a nightmare scenario. Seven people in the Chicago area had died after ingesting Extra-Strength Tylenol capsules that were laced with cyanide. His decision-making process, leading to the recall of all forms...