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DOE Employee Justifies Performance Award by Self Evaluating Performance


A former Department of Energy employee pleaded guilty to one count of false statements, after the Department of Justice accused him of writing his own annual review. He did so, according to news reports, in order to justify an annual performance award that he also managed to give himself.
According to the DOJ, no individual [...]

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Posted in Conflict of Interest, DOJ, Ethisphere Blog, UncategorizedComments (0)

Is The Battle Between WPP And Its Former Director Finally Over?


An amusing story in the Times Online this week reports that uber-advertising company WPP and its former Italian director, Marco Benatti, have privately settled an ongoing dispute involving libel, wrongful termination and interoffice romance.

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Posted in Conflict of Interest, Ethisphere Blog, Europe, General, Most Popular, News & Events, Uncategorized, must_readComments (0)

U.S. Shareholders Enter EADS Fray


Last year, we wrote about insider trading allegations against a number of current and former European Aeronautic Defense & Space (EADS) executives. This has been a huge issue in Europe for quite some time, as EADS is one of the largest defense contractors in the world and the parent of Airbus. The controversy [...]

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Posted in Antitrust & Business Practices (Global), Conflict of Interest, Corporate Ethics, Ethisphere Blog, Europe, Finance & Fraud, Most Popular, must_readComments (0)

Starbucks Takes Heat for Tip Sharing Policy


Tipping is an activity so fervently argued and debated in the United States that entire books have been published on tipping etiquette. Those who have worked for tips argue for it, those that haven’t argue against it, and both sides tend to leave the debate unsettled and more angry than when they started. [...]

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Posted in Conflict of Interest, Corporate Citizenship, Corporate Ethics, Employment Law & Discrimination, Most Popular, News & Events, Stupid Litigation, must_readComments (2)

Former Maximus employee indicted for $32 million fraud…


A federal grand jury has indicted a Alan B. Fabian, a Baltimore corporate executive, over allegedly running a scheme that made $32 million in false purchases of computer equipment.
According to prosecutors, Fabian’s alleged scheme defrauded his former employer, the government consulting company Maximus Inc., as well as an equipment leasing company called Solarcom.
Fabian has [...]

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Posted in Company Property, Conflict of Interest, Finance & FraudComments (0)

Commerce Bancorp CEO forced out by feds over insider dealing… and general ostentatiousness


The CEO of Commerce Bancorp, Vernon W. Hill, is out of a job today.
Mr. Hill, founder of the company, was pushed out by the very same board of directors that he had hand-picked to serve over the years (we reviewed Commerce’s code of conduct in the last issue of Ethisphere Magazine by the way [...]

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Posted in Conflict of Interest, Corporate Ethics, DOJ, Governance Boards & CEOs, must_readComments (1)

There are easier ways to get a good rating on your stock from analysts than increasing earnings


As Financial Week is reporting, a new study is about to be released that links positive stock ratings by Wall Street analysts to the number of “favors” received by such analysts from the execs of the companies that they cover.
The upcoming study was co-authored by professors James Westphal of the University of Michigan and Michael [...]

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Posted in Conflict of Interest, Corporate Ethics, General, Governance Boards & CEOsComments (0)

TRACE International launches global anonymous bribery reporting tool


TRACE International, a non-profit membership association (and important partner of the Ethisphere Council) that helps companies combat bribery, announced the creation of a new database that can help businesses track the prevalence of bribery attempts and requests.
This new online tool, called BRIBEline, is backed by many leading organizations and companies such as Wal-Mart, International Paper, [...]

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Posted in Africa, Asia, Conflict of Interest, Corporate Compliance, Corporate Ethics, DOJ, Document Falsification, Europe, International/FCPA, Marketing Practices, Middle East, South America, Whistleblowing, must_readComments (0)

Coke sues Danone, alleges South American “smear” campaign on the Internet


According to media reports, the Coca-Cola Co. has filed a criminal complaint against executives of French food and drink maker Danone, as well as its PR firm Euro RSCG. In this complaint, the company accuses them of orchestrating a smear campaign against Coke’s Dasani water brand in the Argentinian market – a violation of [...]

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Posted in Antitrust & Business Practices (Global), Conflict of Interest, Corporate Citizenship, General, Learning Moment, Marketing Practices, South America, Vendor Relations/Ethical SourcingComments (1)

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