Using your classroom teams in their online Wiki sites, have students conduct the following studies: Look at the short case on the Walmart, Mexico bribery accusation case this month. While there are many issues of interest in this case, it is a good example of ethical behavior choices seemingly gone awry. Take a look at…
In addition to costs and differentiation, authors Carlisle and Faulkner claim that reputation matters for all organizations, with the exception of commodity producers. They apply the Faulkner/Bowman customer matrix (Strategy Clock) to understanding the effects CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) practices can have on reputation and cost/differentiation advantages. In this theoretical piece, they propose that the…
The social entrepreneurial business model challenges business developers to think differently. In this video clip, Kyle Westaway, a New York attorney specialized in social venturing with experience in building social entrepreneurial companies, presents the essential elements of the Benefit Corporation legal structure. He differentiates it from the more traditional forms such as the LLC and…
Social enterprise owners believe that both social good and for-profit motivation can co-exist in the same organization. Needing an appropriate legal structure to support this dual vision of sustainability, the proponents launched the movement to legalize benefit corporations. Reiser, a Brooklyn Law School professor specialized in nonprofit organization law and a respected expert in the…
International Finance Corporation (IFC) is part of the World Bank Group. In this white paper, the IFC presents several of its portfolio investment stories that represent inclusive business models. IFC states that inclusive business models “expand access to goods, services, and livelihood opportunities for those at the base of the global economic pyramid in commercially…
Johnson & Johnson recently agreed to pay $21.4 million to the US Department of Justice and $7.9 million to the United Kingdom’s Serious Fraud Office for making improper payments and receiving illegal gains from its subsidiaries’ business practices in Greece, Poland and Iraq. Accused of violating anti-bribery laws, J & J was said to have…
Ethical business practices are not yet the norm, if the maelstrom of media attention is an accurate bellwether of trends. All levels of government from local to global are involved in some aspect of the discussion of anti-corruption compliance. A recent study by David Montgomery and Catherine Ramus in the Academy of Management Learning and…
Alan Boeckmann, Chairman and CEO of Fluor Corporation joins the World Economic Forum’s Partnering Against Corruption Initiative (PACI) and explains that “fighting corruption makes good business sense.” Incentives to join this fight include financial, legal, ethical and socio-economic reasons. In this brief video clip, Boeckmann explains that the financial costs of corruption alone increase prices…
Johnston purports that national rankings of corruption do not “illuminate corruption problems in detail.” Because corruption often is measured based upon surveys of business people, officials, and even citizenry, the results are opinion-based. There is no accepted international standard measure, such as the GDP, for corruption. He states that there needs to be an objective…
Mentoring for all ages and stages of life
This past month, I came across a couple of articles in my reading that provoked discussions with my colleagues. If mentoring/coaching is an accepted norm for professional musicians and athletes, what are we doing in our business schools for our experienced academics? (As an aside, Tiger Woods just won the Chevron World challenge and in…
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