Ignoring Quality Controls to Maximize Profits The case of Boeing and its manufacturing deficiencies and production flaws is a tale of what can happen when a company puts profitability over safety. Most readers will be aware of the Boeing airplane crashes between 2018 and 2024 that threatened the very existence of a manufacturing company whose […]
Regulatory Actions Taken Against Boeing: The Problems with 737 MAX Read More »
How Corporate Culture Drove Decision-Making The story of Boeing is it placed profits ahead of safety and the result has been a series of crashes/mechanical problems that have led to inspections by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and litigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In this blog I will address the culture
Boeing: Putting Profits Ahead of Safety Read More »
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
Considerations in Deciding Whether to Blow the Whistle Read More »
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
The Story of FTX and Sam Bankman-Fried Read More »
Do Whistleblower Awards Lead to More Whistleblowing? The ethics of whistleblowing is a tricky matter. Whistle-blowing brings two moral values, fairness and loyalty, into conflict. Doing what is fair or just (e.g., promoting an employee based on talent alone) often conflicts with showing loyalty (e.g., promoting a longstanding but unskilled employee). Taken to its extreme
What Motivates Someone to Blow the Whistle? Read More »
Think Before You Act! Most educators are aware of the importance of technical skills in STEM subjects but do not necessarily recognize the importance of “soft skills” to carry out technical skills in a way that communicates personal values and logical thinking. Soft skills provide a foundation to analyze and apply decision-making effectively in many
The Importance of Critical Thinking Skills in Educating the Whole Person Read More »
Where are Our ‘Ethical’ Leaders? One characteristic of ethical leadership is to influence others. Management expert John Maxwell characterizes leadership this way: “A leader knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.” The ethical leader understands that positive relationships built on respect, openness, and trust are critical to creating an ethical organizational environment.
Leadership & Ethics Go Hand in Hand Read More »
Message From John Stumpf, CEO of Wells: Do What I Say, Not What I Do Wells Fargo is the poster child of an unethical company. We now know that its employees opened more than two million unauthorized bank and credit card accounts to meet sales projections. It cost customers almost $2.5 million in fees. The
Navigating the Choppy Waters of Unethical Behavior at Wells Fargo Read More »
Cost-Benefit Analysis Can’t Hide Unethical Behavior by Car Companies Finally, an agreement with German car maker Volkswagen AG. On June 28, the automaker agreed to spend up to $14.7 billion to resolve federal and state civil allegations of cheating on emissions tests and lying to customers. The company has admitted that it rigged diesel vehicles
Corporate Irresponsibility: VW Settlement Underlies Ethical Problems Read More »