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Leadership is the Key I’ve often wondered whether employees leave a job because of the way they are treated. After all, it is a matter of ethics in the way superiors interact with their employees. While factors such as good pay, generous vacation time, and other perks are important, it seems as though employees quit […]

Why We Have Lost Our Way as a Moral Society I’ve never seen the level of divisiveness in America as I have for the past decade. While I have blogged about the decline of civility in America before, nothing has changed, and it has gotten much worse, so I decided to revisit the issue. Incivility has been

Is Whistleblowing a Moral Act? Whistleblowers can be seen as heroes, disloyal, or even selfish if, in the latter case, the motivation for blowing the whistle is to gain a financial award, as is available under the Commodities Future Trading Commission (CFTC), Federal False Claims Act, IRS, SEC and the Dodd-Frank Financial Reform Act.  Whistleblowers

An Example of Hubris, Incompetence, and Greed I always tell my students that the best way to learn about ethics, or the lack thereof, is through a case study. What follows is a mini-case study of the FTX fraud. Last week Sam Bankman-Fried was found guilty of misappropriating and embezzling billions of dollars of his

A Mixed Reaction From Students It is becoming clear that ChatGPT is not a fad and will continue to be used increasingly in colleges and universities. The use of ChatGPT and other AI in education can be met with resistance because its use can walk a fine line between questionable integrity and employing a valuable

Dealing with Age Discrimination We are facing economically turbulent times, which may include layoffs and companies downsizing. Unfortunately, older workers often bear the brunt of these cutbacks because employers use the opportunity to get rid of older workers who sometimes command the highest salaries or prevent the business from projecting a “younger” image. I have

Independence Standards at Risk Perhaps you are aware that private equity firms have started to acquire a controlling interest in accounting firms, which these days are better referred to as “professional services” firms. The first such acquisition was in August 2022, when Tower Capital Partners purchased the stock of Eisner Amper LLP, a majority-owned CPA

Ethics in the Age of AI: Addressing Moral Challenges in the Era of Automation I have previously blogged about the problem of creating an ethical framework and processes for AI. AI can improve human decision-making, but it has its limits. The possibility exists that bias in algorithms can create an ethical risk that brings into question the

Talk to Your Child About the Dangers of Social Networking The term “social network” is how we connect to other people using a platform that supports online communication, such as Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. Video sharing services such as Snapchat and TikTok are popular among millennials and the Generation Zeers. The use of such social

Making Ethical Decisions It has been said that “The true test of a person’s character is how they behave in difficult times.” John C. Maxwell is credited with making this important observation. Maxwell is an American author, speaker, and pastor who has written many books, primarily focusing on leadership.  I know this to be true