Business Ethics

June 12, 2009

A TRIP We Should All Take

At first glance, money management giant Mellon Bank Corp. (now the Bank of New York Mellon (BK)), the British alternative rock band Radiohead, and my company, LRN, ...

June 9, 2009

The Worst Business Model

Learn from outrageous, harmful business ideas like Wonga payday loans. Umair Haque explains it all.

May 19, 2009

Memo to the Class of '09

To: Business School Graduates, Class of 2009From: The Ethics Guy at BusinessWeek.comRe: Your Future Congratulations! Your hard work and persistence have paid off, and ...

March 20, 2009

Wall Street's Economic Crimes Against Humanity

The financiers at AIG were awarded millions in bonuses because their contracts were based on the transactions they completed, not the consequences of those ...

March 13, 2009

We Need an Ethics Czar to Battle a Widespread Breakdown in Standards

Energy Czar. Health Reform Czar. Technology Czar. Green Czar. President Barack Obama continues to line up an impressive array of policy leaders to tackle our ...

January 30, 2009

Are You a Good Leader?

"Never underestimate the other guy's greed." This isn't just a classic line from the 1983 Brian De Palma film, Scarface (written by Oliver Stone). It also reflects the...

December 23, 2008

A Time for Ethical Self-Assessment

This may be the season of giving, but it sure feels like everybody is suddenly on the take. Siemens (SI), the German engineering giant, agreed this month to pay a ...

December 16, 2008

The Madness of Crowds, Past and Present

A few weeks ago I was interviewing a very successful CEO. Despite dismal economic news around the world, his business was experiencing record profits. I thought, "It ...

November 21, 2008

The Ethics of Being a Tightwad

You can't blame the American consumer for feeling frustrated. After all, we're caught on the horns of a dilemma: We're supposed to continue spending our rapidly ...

November 4, 2008

A Code of Ethics for President-Elect Obama

The most heated, high-stakes, and divisive Presidential election in recent memory is now over, and on Jan. 20, 2009, the U.S. will welcome Barack Obama as our next ...

October 24, 2008

There's Nothing Holy About Religulous

Bill Maher's Religulous is a perfect example of how not to make a good documentary. A self-confessed agnostic, Maher sets out on a worldwide trek to understand how ...

September 12, 2008

Downsizing 101

Most discussions about downsizing focus on the legal, economic, or psychological issues raised by this practice. These are essential concerns, but we rarely consider ...

August 20, 2008

The Ethics of Protesting

The fear that as many as 30,000 protestors will disrupt the 2008 Democratic National Convention (which runs Aug. 25-28) has led to preparations for an unprecedented ...

July 25, 2008

Fraud's Red Flags

Directors and CEOs are more concerned than ever about understanding the corporate culture of their companies, and, if necessary, doing something to improve it. The ...

May 27, 2008

The Ethics of Resume Writing

Posted on Conversation Starter: May 19, 2008 4:00 PM You are an up and coming leader and have just found the perfect stretch job opportunity. How much can you "dress ...

May 20, 2008

The Art of Losing Well

The din of voices calling for Hillary Clinton to give up her Presidential bid is growing louder by the day. Why does she continue to run when the odds of her winning ...

February 12, 2008

Ethics Must Be Global, Not Local

In business school, we used to debate whether your business ethics should adapt to the local environment or be the same around the world. Many of my classmates argued,...

December 20, 2007

Ethics at the Movies

Hollywood typically releases its strongest Academy Award contenders at the end of the year. Having been to advance screenings of many of these films, I am pleased to ...

November 27, 2007

The Ethics of Tipping and Regifting

It's the most wonderful time of the year, indeed. Between Thanksgiving and New Year's you will face two ethical questions: 1) How much should you tip the people who ...

November 8, 2007

How to Get a Good Night's Sleep

Do you have trouble sleeping? If so, you're not alone—and the price you pay can be significant. Think about how irritable you are and how poorly you perform at ...