Steven Mintz

Is There a “Best” Way to Teach Ethics?

Being Intentional in Teaching Ethics Aristotle has said: “Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.” This means a lot to me as I strive to inculcate ethical values in my students. Can we teach students to be ethical? This is something I’ve thought about a lot during my 30+ years […]

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The Lost Art of Civility Revisited

Can We Save Society from Rampant Incivility? By age sixteen, George Washington had copied out by hand, 110 Rules of Civility & Decent Behavior In Company and Conversation.  They are based on a set of rules composed by French Jesuits in 1595.  The first rule is: “Every Action done in Company, ought to be with Some Sign of

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What Have We Learned from Whistleblowing Cases?

Things to Think About Before Deciding Whether to Blow the Whistle Have you ever wondered when, how, and why whistleblowing first began? I did during the time that I researched whistleblowing cases for a paper that I wrote. I believe you will find the following interesting and instructive. Background The first reported case of whistleblowing

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Business & Society: The Ethical Use of AI

Trust in Business and Accountability is the Key According to a poll issued by Bentley University and Gallup released on September 12, 2024, the 2024 Bentley-Gallup Business in Society Report, for the third consecutive year, a majority of Americans continue to see businesses as having a positive effect on people’s lives. The results are based on a Gallup poll

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The Use of Marijuana: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Do the Benefits Exceed the Costs? The use of marijuana has been increasing over the years as a result of additional states permitting it for medicinal purposes and, more recently, states are allowing it for recreational uses. As of 2024, 38 U.S. states have legalized the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes. Additionally, Washington, D.C.,

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Undetected Material Weaknesses in Financial Reporting Controls: Who is to Blame?

Is it a Personnel Issue? Recently, a reporter from the Wall Street Journal, Mark Maurer, asked to interview me about the question: “Are companies picking a new finance chief after detecting a material weakness in their financial reporting controls, at least in part due to a shortage of skilled accounting staff?” The idea is that the two

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Sustainability is at the Forefront of Changes in Business Education

Integrating ESG Into the Business/Accounting Curricula: Some Thoughts and Ideas I have previously blogged about whether ESG really matters. In this blog I look at the education needed in sustainability and ESG to prepare college business school students for the increased knowledge requirements in these areas. ESG captures mainly nonfinancial information that can create risks

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What Americans Need to Know About Elder Fraud

Protecting Yourself Against Elder Fraud Abuse I recently read several articles posted online about the rise in elder fraud and how federal government agencies are dealing with them. One stands out by Laurie Archbald-Pannone is an associate professor of medicine and geriatrics from the University of Virginia that was originally published in The Conversation. Losses due to

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Does ESG Reporting Matter?

Measuring Sustainability Performance I have previously blogged about the link between ESG reporting and sustainability. In this blog, I will briefly address the question of whether gathering and reporting ESG data really matters. ESG reporting provides a specific framework for evaluating and measuring a company’s sustainability performance. It assesses a company’s ESG-related risks and opportunities by providing

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Is Your Organization Practicing Ethics Washing?

Do What We Say, Not What We Do No, it is not about washing your clothes in a responsible way. Ethics Washing refers to the practice of ethical window dressing. It is where an organization gives lip service to ethics to make it seem as though it acts responsibly but does not do anything to make sure

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