Organizational risk does not exist in a vacuum – social forces have a direct and immediate impact on company risks, especially when it comes to employee conduct. Social media has transformed our society, making information sharing instantaneous. For companies, social media risks exist on internal communications platforms and on individual employee platforms outside of work. Many companies find the issue so difficult and complex that...
We all know (and repeat every day) that corporate cultures reflect social trends and pressures. Companies face extraordinary political and social pressures, and this translates into its corporate workforce. Without being overly dramatic, we are witnessing a fundamental social decay in belief in our institutions. This is not a recent phenomenon – it has accelerated over the last twenty years, and interestingly, has fluctuated over...
Everyone is now on the culture bandwagon. For those of us pushing the issue over the last decade, welcome aboard to everyone. But once you join, the work is only beginning. Recent converts are embracing “culture assessments” as the new indicator of enlightenment. That is a terrific development. But there is more work to do. To reset the stage, we start with the basic proposition...
The following scenario is disturbing and occurs all too often – a company receives a hotline report of misconduct occurring in its operations in a foreign country, India, for example. The company launches an internal investigation of the matter and substantiates the allegation. Financial misconduct occurred, discipline is imposed, two employees are fired and minor adjustments are made to India’s operations. End of story, case...
Companies are hyper-focused on third-party risks, especially when it comes to anti-corruption risks. And for good reason – a large percentage of FCPA enforcement actions involve illegal use of third parties to carry out illegal bribery schemes. In this era of third-party risk management, however, companies may be missing a more significant risk – employee misconduct. In the global economy, companies face a number of...
The Ethics and Compliance Initiative recently released the results of its global business ethics survey. (Download Copy Here). The last survey was conducted in 2017 and ECI’s survey provides important and valuable insights into corporate metrics and compliance, focusing on misconduct issues. The survey was conducted in late 2016 and 2017. Thirteen countries were selected: Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, South...
Criminologists have debated for years the efficacy of the law enforcement strategy of “broken windows.” In simple terms, the theory suggests that minor infractions or petty crimes should be vigorously prosecuted in order to deter more serious crime. In addition, the theory suggests that a deteriorating environment (e.g. where broken windows are not repaired and allowed to increase), creates an environment where serious misconduct is...
A corporate entity is like its own community – it has a culture, a set of values and principles that form the foundation for the company’s operations, and an overall purpose. The interesting factor that has to be identified, assessed and addressed is that a corporate entity has to be profitable, or in other words, it has to make money. We often hear that a...
