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BETTER Ethics. BETTER Business: August - 2009
"Tone at the Middle"
An organization's CEO, president or senior management team sets the ethical tone for the organization (Tone at the Top). But creating an ethical culture across an organization requires more than setting that tone and expecting it to trickle down to the employee base. It requires a program of continual and relevant communication; open and frank discussion without fear of reprisal; and honest, straightforward feedback at all levels. And it must be relevant to each and every employee.
Recent CEO surveys acknowledge that the concepts of Tone at the Top, such as walk the talk, creating a Code of Ethics, lead by example, and zero tolerance are well understood. The real challenge in creating an ethical culture occurs in the middle levels of an organization. Like the old game of telephone, by the time the employee hears it, the message is either diluted or not something that the employee can relate to.
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Kaplan EduNeering Celebrates the Ten Year Anniversary of the Ethics Communication Coach (ECC)
Launched in 1999, five years before the revised U.S. Federal Sentencing Guidelines asked companies to "promote an organizational culture that encourages a commitment to compliance," the Ethics Communication Coach (ECC) was developed to positively impact and effect ethical culture across organizations.
The ECC is a unique program that provides compliance and legal officers with over 2,000 content tools to use in developing ongoing ethics and compliance programs that integrate powerful educational elements with content prepared by recognized experts. With over fifty topics available in formats that include: articles, case studies, scenarios, posters, cartoons, bi-weekly news updates, mini-training courses, and coaching sessions.
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Social Responsibility: How Making a Difference Can Make a Difference at Work
We do our best work when we are motivated. Gallup polls consistently show that an individual's sense of well-being and contentment at work has less to do with their wages and more to do with recognition, praise, and having the opportunity and resources to excel at what they do each day. Motivation also comes when we experience the impact of our work, but many employees lack the opportunity to see those impacts.
According to Dr. Adam Grant, Associate Professor of Management at Penn's Wharton School, that disconnect occurs even for employees engaged in jobs with immediate and often dramatic impacts. Most important, there are tools that can be employed to "connect" employees with the consequences of their work.
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News to Keep an Eye On: FERA Gives FCA New Teeth
The US Congress recently passed the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act (FERA), which makes significant changes to the False Claims Act (FCA), expanding potential liability for companies that receive government funds. With thousands of small contractors anticipated to obtain subcontracts under the Administration's stimulus program, liability issues have become of prime importance to them and to the contractors that retain them.
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