Ethics & Culture

The Lubrizol Corporation, which makes additives for lubricants and fuels, has promoted Greg Lewis to the roles of corporate vice president, global risk management, and chief ethics officer. In this new role, Lewis will oversee loss prevention activities; the health, safety, environment, and security function; and corporate ethics for the company. Since June 2004, Lewis […]

It is critical to recognize that fraud risk is not exclusively about the “good guys” catching “bad guys.” Given the right (wrong) circumstances, even the best people can do some of the worst things. In light of that, an organization should approach fraud risk in a comprehensive manner so that the business does not put […]

MED3OOO Group, a healthcare management and technology products and service for providers and employers, has appointed Angela Hoffman as chief compliance and ethics officer. In this role, Hoffman will be responsible for the oversight of MED3OOO’s corporate compliance and ethics program, as well as compliance oversight for MED3OOO’s existing operating units in the United States […]

From the printing press to the atomic bomb and stem cell research, innovation throughout the centuries has rarely developed without a great deal of social upheaval coming along. In years past, however, ethical dilemmas around new innovations wouldn’t arise until months or years after the invention was released into the market. Today, thanks to the […]

A little known office established just six months ago within the Securities and Exchange Commission seems to have hit its stride this summer, producing tangible results for investors and possibly signaling the end of six years of frustration for the SEC. Since 2002, the SEC has struggled mightily (and publicly) to develop some efficient way […]

The manipulation of securities prices has been illegal under federal securities law for more than 70 years. Surprisingly, however, the Securities and Exchange Commission had never brought an enforcement action alleging market manipulation through the intentional spreading of false rumors until this past April. That’s when the SEC filed a settled case against Paul Berliner, […]

What is the best way to convince foreign nationals to agree to a corporate policy on complying with a U.S. law? In some cases, don’t mention the law. That’s one lesson Dana Nahlen, senior international counsel at EDS, has learned during her 26 years in the international compliance field. While a compliance policy can—and should—be […]

The following letter is in regard to the ethical dilemma of doing right vs. being right: Dr. Harned, I recently attended a conference on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and heard the following ethical dilemma. A fellow compliance officer recounted how one of his company’s business-unit presidents, in a former Soviet Bloc nation, wanted to […]

I first heard the story on the radio: Merck, the pharmaceutical giant, had ghostwritten a number of research studies about a best-selling drug that, not coincidentally, Merck had developed. Prestigious doctors had then signed on as authors of the reports for publication in medical journals. An article in The New York Times condemned the situation, […]

There are a million reasons why companies should worry about who they do business with. Increasingly, an obscure law from the birth of the United States is one of them. The law is the Alien Tort Claims Act, passed in 1789 to let foreign citizens file actions in U.S. courts for violations of “international law.” […]