AUGUST 9, 2004

BUSINESS
Ethics training intensifies

Workplace ethics failures continue to make the news in all arenas - the corporate world, medicine, technology, law, the military and journalism. The result: a new focus on teaching values in business life.

Federal law now requires that publicly held companies report on their integrity. Business schools are looking for new ways to teach ethics. While reality might suggest that the "bad apples" would be impervious to books and training on values, the law now puts responsibility on top leadership to set the proper tone.

This pressure to inspire ethical behavior comes at a time when many authors, scholars and programs are incorporating religious perspectives in discussions of employee ethics. Some business leaders – and, in some cases, entire companies – say they take their ethical cues from religious models. Others limit ethics initiatives to secular spheres because of the diversity of employees’ beliefs and government rules about treating employee’s beliefs. (See an April 21, 2003, ReligionLink tip about the rise in workplace religious discrimination complaints for background.)

Why it matters
All religions offer ethical and moral guidance for behavior, and some people believe appealing to core faith values is the best way to increase ethical decision-making. Others cite religion’s potential for creating conflict or running afoul of government rules.

Questions for reporters
• What religious leaders and authors in your area are speaking and publishing in reaction to ethics scandals?
• What do executives and managers say about how their religious views guide their business decisions?
• Are companies using religious models to teach principled behavior?
• Are religious organizations and speakers offering business ethics workshops?
• What do business ethics professors have to say about the role of religion in working life?
• What do business students say about where they get their ethics?

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Click the map for interview sources in your state and region

National sources

• Susan M. Phillips chaired the recent Ethics Education Task Force for the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. The AACSB is the premier accrediting agency for bachelor's, master's and doctoral degree programs in business administration and accounting. She is dean of the School of Business and Public Management at the George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Contact 202-994-6380, sbpmdean@gwu.edu.
• Stephen D. Potts is chairman of the fellows program at the Ethics Resource Center, a nonprofit educational center that tries to strengthen ethical leadership worldwide by providing expertise, research, education and partnerships. He was a member of the Ethics Education Task Force for the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. Contact him in Washington, D.C., at 202-737-2258, steve@ethics.org.
• John R. Boatright is executive director of the Society of Business Ethics, an organization of scholars engaged in the academic study of business ethics and others. He is the Raymond C. Baumhart, S.J., Professor of Business Ethics in the School of Business Administration at Loyola University in Chicago. Contact 312-915-6994, jboatri@luc.edu.
• Lori Tansey Martens is president of the International Business Ethics Institute, a nonprofit educational organization that promotes business ethics and corporate responsibility. It is based in Washington, D.C. Contact 202-296-6938.
• Jim Fisher is director of the Emerson Center for Business Ethics at Saint Louis University. During the 2003-2004 academic year, his center sponsored a Religion & Morality in Business Lecture Series featuring a Christian, Muslim and Jewish speakers. Contact 314-977-3854, fisherje@slu.edu.
• Rick Shreve is adjunct professor of ethics at Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth in Hanover. N.H. Read his essay on teaching ethics. Contact 603-646-9323, richard.s.shreve@dartmouth.edu.

CHRISTIAN
• John C. Maxwell's books on leadership include Today Matters: 12 Daily Practices to Guarantee Tomorrow's Success (Warner Faith, 2004) and There's No Such Thing As "Business" Ethics: There's Only One Rule for Making Decisions (Warner Faith, 2003). He has a leadership, teamwork and personal growth company called Maximum Impact and is based in the Atlanta area. Contact Andrea Davis at Time Warner, 615-221-0996 ext. 224, andrea.davis@aoltwbg.com.
• Thomas Beaudoin, a professor in religious studies at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, Calif., frequently comments on issues of faith and society. His books include Consuming Faith: Integrating Who We Are With What We Buy (Sheed and Ward, 2003). Contact 408-554-4668, tbeaudoin@scu.edu.
• Stephen G. Austin is co-author with Mary Steelman of Rise of the New Ethics Class: Life After Enron: Not Business as Usual (Charisma House, 2004), which promotes biblical guidelines. Austin, a CPA and former audit partner of Price Waterhouse, is chairman and partner with the accounting firm Swenson Advisors in San Diego. Contact Austin at saustin@swensonadvisors.com. Contact Steelman, who lives in Tarpon Springs, Fla., at mary@IntegrityAdvisors.com.
• Gary Moreau is the founder of Corporate Christians, an organization devoted to ethical behavior in the workplace. He is the author of The Ultimate MBA: Meaningful Biblical Analogies for Business (Augsburg Books, 2004). He is a former president of Oneida Ltd. and Lionel Trains and lives in the Detroit area. Contact 248-650-3527, gary@moreauonline.com.
• Quentin Schultze is professor of communication at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich. His books include Habits of the High-Tech Heart: Living Virtuously in the Information Age (Baker Academic, 2004). Contact 616-526-6290, or through his web site.
• Financial adviser Gary Moore of Sarasota, Fla., is the founder and "chief spiritual officer" of Financial Seminary, a company that teaches spiritual and ethical values to folks who manage other people's money and assets. Moore is the author of Faithful Finances 101: From the Poverty of Fear & Greed to the Riches of Spiritual Investing (Templeton Foundation Press, 2003). The company's site lists Moore's speaking engagements. Read a Sarasota Herald-Tribune story posted by the Ocala (Fla.) Star-Banner. Contact Moore at garmoco@hotmail.com or Paul Larsen, regional vice president, at larsenpc@gate.net.
• Robert J. Spitzer, a Jesuit priest, author and president of Gonzaga University in Spokane, Wash., has advised more than 300 businesses on ethics. Contact 509-323-6102, president@gonzaga.edu.

INTERFAITH
• Sister Patricia Wolf is executive director of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, a coalition of 275 faith-based institutional investors. The center lists its issue groups. Contact 212-870-2994, pwolf@iccr.org.
• Deidre Combs is an interfaith minister, credentialed mediator and author of The Way of Conflict: Elemental Wisdom for Resolving Disputes and Transcending Differences (New World Library, 2003). Her consulting firm, Combs and Company, provides facilitation, conflict strategies and training services. She is based in Montana. Contact Monique Muhlenkamp at New World Library, 800-972-6657 ext. 15, monique@newworldlibrary.com.

JEWISH
• Howard Jonas is founder and chairman of IDT Corp. His books include I'm Not the Boss, I Just Work Here (Judaica Press, 2004), which discusses his values as an Orthodox Jew. He is based in New York City. Contact publicist Shira Dicker, 212-663-4643 or 917-403-3989 (cell), shiradicker@hotmail.com.
• Moses L. Pava is Alvin H. Einbender Professorial Chair in Business Ethics at Yeshiva University in New York City. His books include Business Ethics: A Jewish Perspective (Ktav Publishing, 1997) and The Search for Meaning in Organizations: Seven Practical Questions for Ethical Managers (Quorum Books, 1999). Contact 212-960-0844, mpava@ymail.yu.edu.
• Rabbi Eugene Borowitz is the Sigmund L. Falk Distinguished Professor of Education and Jewish Religious Thought at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, New York. His books include Choices in Modern Jewish Thought (Behrman House, 1995) and, as co-author, Reviewing the Covenant: Eugene B. Borowitz and the Postmodern Renewal of Jewish Theology (State University of New York Press, 2000). Contact 212-824-2236, eborowitz@huc.edu.

MUSLIM
• Rafik Beekun is professor of management and strategy at the University of Nevada, Reno. He is the author of Islamic Business Ethics (International Institute of Islamic Thought, 1997) and co-author of Leadership: An Islamic Perspective (Amana Publications, 1999). Contact 775-784-6993 ext. 303, beekun@unr.nevada.edu (email preferred).
• Ingrid Mattson is professor of Islamic studies at Hartford Seminary's Duncan Black Macdonald Center for the Study of Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations in Hartford, Conn. She focuses on Islamic law and society. Contact 860-509-9531, imattson@hartsem.edu.

SIKH
• Kuldeep Singh of Toledo, Ohio, former president of the World Sikh Council of North America, can speak about Sikhism and business ethics. Read an article he wrote, posted by the Sikh Review. Contact sikhs@toledoaccess.com.

NONRELIGIOUS
• Psychologist and science historian Michael Shermer is director of the Skeptics Society, based in Altadena, Calif., and publisher of Skeptic magazine. His books include The Science of Good and Evil: Why People Cheat, Gossip, Care, Share, and Follow the Golden Rule (Times Books, 2004). Contact 626-794-3119, DrMichaelShermer@aol.com.

Background

• Read a press release and executive summary about the 2003 Business Ethics Survey of 1,500 employees across the country by the Ethics Resource Center.
• Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the investors protection act (posted by Findlaw.com), mandates internal accounting control systems for publicly held companies, and for management to report the systems' efficacy. The only accepted model for analyzing controls, established by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations, requires a review of ethics and integrity - and training to correct deficiencies. COSO posts a summary of the framework.
• Read 850 corporate ethics codes posted by the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University.
• See a list of academic ethics centers, ethics organizations, online ethics sources, and online ethics publications from the Business Ethics Links Library at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
• Workplacespirituality.info posts articles by well-known authors about the intersection of work and faith.
• Read the June 2004 report, "Ethics Education in Business Schools," in which a task force for the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business makes specific recommendations.
• Read "Work Ethics: Program has business leaders examine how they could employ spirituality in the working world," an April 22, 2004, San Diego Union-Tribune article.
• CEOs surveyed by the new Business Roundtable Institute for Corporate Ethics named regaining the public trust as one of the most important issues. The survey is posted on the institute's web site. The institute is based in Charlottesville, Va. Contact Brian Moriarty, associate director of communications, 434-982-2323, moriartyb@Darden.virginia.edu.
• Read Business Ethics magazine's "100 Best Corporate Citizens for 2004" issue, published in the spring.
• Read the article "It's a Heckuva Time to Be Dropping Business Ethics Courses: MBA programs are downsizing ethics requirements at precisely the wrong time" in the fall 2003 Business Ethics magazine. It talks about ethics requirements at business schools across the country.