Ethical Foundations Ethics is the backbone of the company. Employees want to work for an ethical company free from workplace discrimination and harassment. They want to work for a company that values their opinions, treats them fairly, takes complaints seriously, promotes transparency including having a hot line, and one that... Read more →
Weighing the Harms and Benefits of Alternative Actions We would like to think that organizations run their businesses ethically and, for the most part, this is true. However, there may be circumstances when a supervisor asks you to do something illegal or unethical. There are a variety of reasons this... Read more →
Do Whistleblower Awards Lead to More Whistleblowing? The ethics of whistleblowing is a tricky matter. Whistle-blowing brings two moral values, fairness and loyalty, into conflict. Doing what is fair or just (e.g., promoting an employee based on talent alone) often conflicts with showing loyalty (e.g., promoting a longstanding but unskilled... Read more →
A Simple Tool for Ethical Decision Making in the Workplace A friend of mine, Paul Falcone, who is well known in the HR field, posted an article on LinkedIn. I greatly appreciate his letting me use it for today's blog. It has a lot of great advice. HR Managers and... Read more →
When Should an Audit Firm Walk Away from a Client? I worked for Arthur Young longer ago than I choose to remember. I always felt the firm was committed to ethical behavior, and for the most part it was. I can remember a training session where a video was shown... Read more →
A Cautionary Tale I’ve always been intrigued by the philosophy of whistleblowing. It is an act of conscience and not motivated by self-interest. A broad view of whistleblowing is the disclosure by organization members (former or current) of illegal, immoral, or illegitimate practices under the control of their employers, to... Read more →
Setting an Ethical Tone at the Top I have previously blogged about the importance of having a code of conduct for all organizations. A code of conduct establishes the ethical principles upon which the behavior of employees will be judged. It helps to distinguish right from wrong. A code provides... Read more →
One’s Motive for Acting is the Key Is whistleblowing a moral practice? Different views exist on this important issue. Generally, the act of whistleblowing should be motivated by good intentions – i.e., to right a wrong. On the other hand, if the motive is to gain a financial reward or... Read more →
Book Review I want to share with my readers a review of my accounting ethics textbook that was just published in The CPA Journal. I am proud to say the review highly recommends the book. This is the sixth edition of my book that spans more than twenty years of... Read more →
What Should Be Included in Your Code of Ethics? I have previously blogged about the importance of establishing an ethical culture in an organization to support the code of ethics. A code is meaningless unless top management models ethical behavior in every action and decision made. Purpose of a Code... Read more →