Here’s Why Dodd-Frank Worker Retaliation Protections Have Been Turned on Their Head Thinking about blowing the whistle on wrongdoing at your organization? Well, you need to read on because the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on February 21, 2018, in the case Digital Realty Trust, Inc. v. Somers changes the rules of the game. Employees who […]
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How Should Companies Monitor Social Media Use? This blog was first posted in February 2016 but takes on a new meaning given the increasing use of social media in the workplace and need for companies to set limits for employee use. The blog has been updated to reference best practices for social media use in
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Ethical Issues in the Workplace The ethical culture of an organization says a lot about what a company values. Ethics codes are one way to express the prevailing values and outlines guideposts to get to that goal. Unfortunately, many companies pay lip-service to such documents. They do not guide actions or spell out how violators
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Transparency is the Key The ethical climate of an organization plays an important role in organizational culture. Organizational ethical climate refers to the moral atmosphere of the work environment and the level of ethics practiced within a company. Leaders determine organizational climate and establish character and define norms. Character plays an important role in leadership.
Establishing Trust in Business Read More »
How to Build an Ethical Culture Warren Bennis, known as the leadership guru, wrote a book on leadership, Learning to Lead: A Workbook on Becoming a Leader. He distinguishes management and leadership as follows. “There is a profound difference between management and leadership, and both are important. Managing means to bring about, to accomplish, to
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Ethics sage “Sons and Daughters” Program Violates FCPA For seven years, between 2006 and 2013, J.P. Morgan Chase hired about a hundred interns and full-time employees at the request of government officials in China and Asia as part of its efforts to build banking relationships in the fast-growing region. The hiring, dubbed internally as a
J.P. Morgan Chase Bribery Breaches its CSR Read More »
Protecting Confidential Information in the Workplace Imagine you have “proprietary information or “trade secrets” that are not generally known to the public and would not ordinarily be available to competitors except via illegal or improper means. For example, trade secrets of manufacturing processes, business plans, computer programs, customer lists, and so on. To protect the
When to Use Nondisclosure and Non-Compete Agreements Read More »
Employee Protections & Workplace Harassment Workplace retaliation occurs when an employer punishes an employee for engaging in legally protected activity. Retaliation can include any negative job action, such as demotion, discipline, firing, salary reduction, or job or shift reassignment. However, retaliation can also be subtler, as explained by the legal website, NOLO. Federal Protections Federal
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Developing an Effective Whistleblowing Program Does a strong workplace ethic that promotes whistleblowing enhance the moral actions of corporations? Yes, is the short answer. As we found out during the frauds at companies like Enron and WorldCom, as well as the financial recession, corrupt organizations can only be stopped through whistleblowing. Cynthia Cooper is a
To Prevent Whistleblowing, Encourage Whistleblowing Read More »
Drilling-down on the Workplace Reputations of Millennials I have previously blogged about the work ethic and goals of the Millennial generation. Millennials have been defined as entitled, impatient, and results oriented. These characteristics, combined with the prominent world of technology and social media, have made previous generations ask if this is simply a “results oriented”
The Professionalization of Millennials Read More »