Tag Archive for: ethics

Interested in an Ethical Culture? Build an Ombuds Program

Guest post by John W. Zinsser, Pacifica Human Communications, LLC.

There is a mechanism for employees of all levels to safely (without fear of retaliation) raise any concern or ask a needed question — an organizational ombuds program.

Properly constructed and executed organizational ombuds programs provide those who access the function a place to:

  • Consider possible solutions;
  • Navigate the complexity of today’s organizations;
  • Sound out an idea; and
  • Build a plan of action to address a situation.

As a result of being involved in these activities, the ombuds program is positioned to raise leadership’s awareness and understanding of key issues the organization faces.

Ethics and Compliance Trends: Interview with Ellen Hunt of AARP

Part of the mission of Ethical Systems is to enhance the work of practitioners and experts in the ethics and compliance field, as they are on the front lines of helping businesses transform their cultures and their employees act more ethically. 

​In a recent interview with Ellen Hunt, Ethics & Compliance Program Director at AARP, she outlined current trends in the Ethics & Compliance (E&C) field as well as the most important steps businesses can take to encourage ethical behavior among organizations of all types and sizes. AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, with a membership of nearly 38 million.

Featured Collaborator of the Month: Daylian Cain

I study judgment and decision making, or, as I like to say, “why good people do bad things, and why smart people do dumb things.” Much of my work is on conflicts of interest and how they are problems not only for the intentionally corrupt but also for well-meaning professionals who fall prey to unintentional bias.

“Mind, Society and Behavior” and Ethical Systems Design

David Brooks recently published an insightful piece (In Praise of Small Miracles) about “Mind, Society and Behavior,” a recent report issued by The World Bank on how behavioral economics can be applied to global development and global health. Brooks…

Ethics Starts At The Top

Which matters more for creating an ethical organization: tone at the top, or tone in the middle?  The answer is that it depends on when, exactly, you are talking about.  A recent study (Gächter, Renner, 2014) corroborates…

Risk assessment: law, economics, morality science…and liquor

[This essay was originally posted on the Conflict of Interest Blog] Many years ago a client who was in the compliance department of a pharma company told me his strategy for conducting risk assessments.  He would schedule the…

Three Stories about the Ethics of Capitalism

[Cross posted from RighteousMind.com. Ethical Systems design is a way to make the 3rd story about capitalism come true] Since moving to the NYU-Stern School of Business in 2011, I’ve been interested in the many ways that moral psychology…