Early philosophers were supposed to have asked: “how many angels can dance on the point of a needle?” If they did, it was certainly futile since nobody knew anything worth knowing about either angels or needles. While we know how much banks have been fined in recent years, like the […]
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Ethics and Compliance London Conference
This was a well-attended conference, on ethics and compliance with about 250 delegates from around the world. Here are some personal highlights to share with you about your Programme Evaluation—presented by Patrick Gnazzo, from Better Business Practices Evaluating compliance programs is something many organisations simply put off for another […]
Reputation: Are these six top business men unethical?
“Daddy, why does your company put money into that rotten FIFA?” [spacer height=”20px”] It’s a fair question one of the kids of the six men shown here might well ask.[spacer height=”20px”] The rest of the world is starting to ask too! Their dads run some of the most powerful corporations […]
Seven ways financial leaders can start being more ethical
Perhaps it’s asking too much to expect a trade association to show ethical leadership. Even so, the gap between what the Financial Services Forum says is happening and what Christine Lagarde, head of the IMF says is going on remains absurd. [spacer height=”20px”] Speaking for the biggest banks, the Forum declares […]
When competence is an ethical issue–Iain Duncan Smith must go
[spacer height=”20px”]If Iain Duncan Smith led a large commercial organisation he would now be looking for another job.[spacer height=”20px”] How long can this inept, discredited leader survive as head of the so-called Universal Benefits project?[spacer height=”20px”] A supposedly sensible rationalisation of the welfare system started three years ago has constantly […]
Means not Ends: Fifth Pillar of Ethical Leadership in Business
This is the fifth pillar of ethical leadership in business Means not just ends The fifth pillar requires a focus on means and not just ends. This is when a leader shows concern with how their organisation achieves its goals, not just the goals themselves. Siemens […]
Accountability: When the CEO is a Houdini
Houdini turned escaping into an art form. Even now, his name conjures up someone good at extracting themselves from impossible situations, and not necessarily from hanging upside down while chained and manacled. [spacer height=”20px”]The latest company Houdinis are Credit Suisse’s CEO Brady Dougan and his chairman Urs Rohmer. [spacer height=”20px”]Their […]
Big business risks losing its social licence.—Part 2 of 2
See Also Part 1, published 16th May.[spacer height=”20px”] Public distrust of big business poses large issues for all firms. For those in the control tower of the C-Suite, freedom to act can seem ever more constrained. Apart from legal and political limits there are also social demands. [spacer height=”20px”]These demands […]