We all know it when we see it – a company with a weak corporate culture of ethics and compliance. Many companies claim they have an ethical culture but few really do. With increasing emphasis and understanding of the tangible benefits of an ethical culture, companies are striving to achieve such a goal. Unfortunately, there is no single solution to companies that want to establish...

There is no question that the Justice Department has raised compliance program expectations in a number of areas. Whatever you may think about the efficacy or fairness of the FCPA Pilot Program, the Justice Department has committed itself to increasing transparency. That is a very good thing. If you go back and review FCPA settlement actions from years ago, you will not find any structured...

Compliance programs are required to create and manage case investigation systems to handle potential misconduct, investigate allegations of wrongdoing and then dispense discipline. Lessons learned from these investigations are valuable sources of information to improve compliance programs. Chief compliance officers play a critical role – either supervising the internal investigation system or coordinating with other functions in the organization to monitor internal investigations. Along the...

A speak up culture is an important component of a company’s commitment to organizational justice. All of the pieces of an internal justice system have to fit together and are interdependent. When one part does not work, the whole system does not work. A robust internal investigation system is a critical component of organizational justice. Companies often pull together the basic components of an internal...

Ethical companies, by definition, have a robust system for internal organizational justice. A company that suffers from unequal treatment of similarly situated executives, managers, and employees cannot maintain an ethical culture. Unequal justice will undermine  employee morale, reporting of misconduct, and overall productivity rapidly. Cynicism breeds contempt, and there is nothing like employee discontent when it comes to the sustainability of corporate productivity. To ensure...