Ethics & Compliance Insights

February/March 2005

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Who's Packing the CEO's Parachute? Where is it written that being ethical means that a company can't be aggressive in pursuing its business goals? Does corporate responsibility require leaders to lose their focus and take their eye off winning? -- By David Gebler  In the News New Federal Guidelines Add Compliance, Ethics Oversight to Board Responsibilities A recently adopted federal amendment is likely to give some individuals pause before accepting board of director positions, according to Chicago-based AMCinstitute. Witness: Scrushy Knew of HealthSouth Fraud Former HealthSouth controller Ken Livesay said he and other members of a group called "the family" ditched "aggressive accounting" practices and began inserting outright fraud into HealthSouth's books. Auditor Turnover Jumped 78 Percent in 2004 A research report released by Glass Lewis & Co. shows that one-fourth of more than 2,500 public companies changed outside auditing firms in 2004, a 78 percent jump from 2003. Workers Confident in Their Companies' Leaders, Survey Finds Exemplary business leaders share several qualities: they recognize the team, rally the troops, seek input, communicate vision and promote a strong work ethic.  Spotlight Understanding the Behavior-Standards Gap The Behavior-Standards Gap is the disparity between the values and standards articulated by a company and the actual behavior of its employees in pursuing business objectives. In some companies, behavior may be at odds with the stated goals. Download the white paper (PDF)

Codes of Business Conduct A dynamic code of business conduct is a keystone for an ethical culture. See how we can help or contact us. Introducing the Integrity Training Center Online courses for individuals and also available for group study. Boards That Deliver Advancing Corporate Governance From Compliance to Competitive Advantage Info *Save 20%: Use code W5559.

About Working Values Working Values Ltd., a SmartPros company, has been a proponent of the truly ethical workplace, promoting values-based ethics since its founding in 1993. Working Values contends that while articulation of standards can set goals, standards alone cannot change behaviors. To achieve this necessary change and ensure systems that will propagate continuing ethical behavior, companies must evolve from rules-based – or end-result focused – ethics to values-based ethics, where ethics as an ongoing process, with an emphasis on an integrity-based control environment. Working Values helps organizations change employee behavior through the Integrity Alignment Process and Integrity Toolkit. The Integrity Alignment Process is a comprehensive integrity assessment and planning process. One of the key elements of the Integrity Alignment Process is the Integrity Toolkit, which provides a company's leaders with tools for building comprehensive integrity programs. The Toolkit includes corporate communications templates, training and development programs for employees, managers, and senior leaders, and guidance on business process improvement. Through these unique offerings, Working Values serves as an integrity coach to its clients, helping them to narrow their Behavior-Standards Gap.
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