Flash Mobs Threaten Retail Industry My last blog addressed the issue of retail fraud on the rise. Retailers are facing a new threat this holiday season: swarms of teenagers and young adults who plot via Twitter, phone texts and Facebook to descend on stores and steal merchandise. They gather in... Read more →
Organized Crime Gains a Foothold in Retail Fraud On October 6, 2011, the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) released the results of the 2011 Crime Trends and Leading Practices Survey, a comprehensive look at the past year’s trends in crimes against retailers from the perspective of the country’s industry leaders.... Read more →
Conflict Can Interfere with Productivity and Affect Morale Imagine you arrive at work one day ready to accomplish several goals as manager of your department and the first person to greet you is Sarah, the team leader of the sales division for widgets, who states emphatically that she can no... Read more →
Keys to Making Ethical Decsisions in the Workplace I have conducted ethics programs for many organizations and served as an expert witness where ethical issues and professional conduct was involved. Ethical dilemmas in the workplace often occur because your boss asks you to do something that seems unethical or go... Read more →
Occupational Fraud is on the Rise. Is the answer crime insurance? Who would have thought so many companies would look at crime insurance to protect against fraud in the workplace? Even though crime insurance is widely available at relatively low cost to protect companies from employee theft and dishonesty, many... Read more →
Internal Controls Are the Key to Preventing Small Business Fraud Last week I read an interesting and valuable article about ways for small businesses to prevent fraud. I discuss the five steps recommended below, but first a bit of context. Fraud takes place in small businesses at an alarming rate... Read more →
Bullying at Work and Constructive Dismissal Bullying at work is when someone tries to intimidate another worker, often in front of colleagues. It is usually, though not always, done to someone in a less senior position. It is similar to harassment, which is where someone's behavior is offensive. For example,... Read more →
Employment Non-Discrimination Act is a Logical Next Step Following the End of the Military’s Ban on “don’t ask, don’t tell” Last month the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy was repealed by the military. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said of the repeal: “Thanks to this change, we moved closer to the... Read more →
Employee Communication with Lawyers in the Workplace: Legal and Ethical Issues Legal and Ethical issues exist when an employee communicates with his or her lawyer in the workplace. One issue is whether such communications are privileged and who may have access to the communication. Recent judicial decisions have been defining... Read more →
How to Deveop an Ethical Culture in Your Organization Trust is important in all relationships. Can it be further developed in your work setting? Yes and one way to do so is to develop a code of ethics. A purposeful business code of conduct establishes an atmosphere of commitment in... Read more →