Ranking by the American Medical Student Association on “Stuff” Medical Schools Receive

Posted on July 22, 2008 by mmjdiary

The AMSA has been concerned for a number of years about the money, gifts, and free samples that medical schools receive from drug companies.  Their concerns have been about the conflicts, the disclosure, and the levels of support from drug companies whose products are being tested at the schools and whose graduates will then be in a position to make patient recommendations on prescription drugs.  A recent survey found that just 54% of patients were aware of drug company contributions to the medical centers where they were being treated.  Another survey found that only 7 of 150 medical schools surveyed had strong conflicts of interest policies and enforcement mechanisms. There are some straightforward policies that could help. Continue reading →

Posted in Data and Studies on Ethics | Leave a comment

Only 10% of employees feel they receive honest performance appraisals

Posted on July 22, 2008 by mmjdiary

Jack Welch has been asking audiences around the world the following question, “Over the past year, how many of you have received an honest performance appraisal that really tells you where you stand?”

Welch says the data conclude that 10% of employees can say, “Yes.”

We may have to revisit candor in annual reviews. 

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Truth Percolates: The Mattel Victory in the Bratz Case

Posted on July 22, 2008 by mmjdiary

Following a seven-wekk trial, a jury found that MGA and a former designer for Mattel had taken the Bratz doll from a design made whilst the designer was under contract for Mattel.  Using forensic evidence to date the designer’s notebook and letting the jury know that the designer had used “Evidence Eliminator” to sweep his hard drive clean of any Bratz references, Mattel won over the jury. Continue reading →

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“Don’t worry. The Pritzkers own it.”

Posted on July 22, 2008 by mmjdiary

Superior Bank official when asked by a 64-year-old phone company retiree (who was about to deposit $480,000 of retirement funds in the bank) if her funds were safe.  The bank was later taken over by the FDIC and closed amidst allegations of unsound lending pratices.

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What the FAA Can Teach Us About Compliance

Posted on July 22, 2008 by mmjdiary

A report from Inspector General IG Calvin Scovel of the Department of Transportation on the FAA’s recent kerfluffle over the treatment of inspectors who threw down the flag on airlines’ safety inspections is a must-read.  IG Scovel understands culture, ethics, coziness, and all the related issues that get in the way of compliance.  There is nothing new in his recommendations, but therein lies the beauty of his report.  Doesn’t matter whether it’s a government agency struggling with safety and inspections or a company grappling with accounting standards and financial disclosures — there are checks and balances that can foster ethics, compliance, and truth. Continue reading →

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“Always take the call from your spouse, no matter how busy you are.”

Posted on July 13, 2008 by mmjdiary

The late Tony Snow’s advice to his staff members. 

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Those Graduation Rates Are High Despite Children Left Behind: Mathematically, that just doesn’t work.

Posted on July 12, 2008 by mmjdiary

There was some disconnect.  Mississippi had 13,000 high-school dropouts per year, but it was reporting to the U.S. Department of Education that its graduation rate was 87%.  Then came the study from Promise Alliance, a nonprofit group working to keep kids in school (www.promisealliance.org), that found on-time graduation rates in Detroit to be 24.9% and 30.5% in Indianapolis.  Schools boards there were also surprised, given their reported rates to the USDE, which hovered around 70%.  What happened? Continue reading →

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“Chuck is a visionary leader whose unique talent and exceptional business experience will be a tremendous asset to our board.”

Posted on July 12, 2008 by mmjdiary

Xerox CEO Anne Mulcahy on the election of Charles Prince, former CEO of Citigroup, Inc. to the Xerox board.  Continue reading →

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“I didn’t see anything unfair about it.”

Posted on July 12, 2008 by mmjdiary

Rep. Charles B. Rangel on his four rent-stabilized apartments at Harlem’s Lenox Terrace Complex. Continue reading →

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“. . . it could be structured by cows and we would rate it.”

Posted on July 9, 2008 by mmjdiary

Bond analyst expressing concern in an e-mail about her firm’s lack of knowledge about the deals underlying CDOs.  From the SEC report on analysts who rated debt instruments tied to the subprime markets.  www.sec.gov.

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“I am trying to ascertain whether we can determine at this point if we will suffer any loss of business because of our decision [on assigning separate ratings to principal and interest] and if so, how much?”

Posted on July 9, 2008 by mmjdiary

From the SEC report on conflicts of interest that existed among analysts at bond rating firms.

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Refco and Bayou Ex-CEOs: 16 and 20 Years; Judge, “[They] just don’t think they’ll get caught.”

Posted on July 8, 2008 by mmjdiary

Samuel Israel III, following three weeks on the lam, which followed a staged suicide attempt, has begun serving his 20-year sentence for fraud.  The not-quite-dead-yet former CEO of Bayou Management LLC, a hedge fund, forfeited his bail money of $500,000 and faces additional charges of failure to appear, i.e., bail jumping to “Dog” fans.  Meanwhile, Phillip R. Bennett, former CEO of Refco, Inc., was sentenced to 16 years  in federal prison in addition to agreeing to forfeit his $2.4 billion of assets.  Mr. Bennett pleaded guilty to 20 counts of fraud in February 2008.  The indictment alleged that Bennett and at least three other Refco executives hid the firm’s true financial picture for almost 10 years. Continue reading →

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“If conscience disapproves, the loudest applauses of the world are of little value.”

Posted on July 6, 2008 by mmjdiary

John Adams.  Our second president also noted, “When conscience claps, let the world hiss.”

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“I’ve always been in monogamous relationships. Monogamy can be hard work for some people. I don’t think it applies to everybody, and I don’t think a lot of people can do it.”

Posted on July 2, 2008 by mmjdiary

Moral relativist, Scarlett Johansson, in Cosmopolitan. No reaction, as yet, from her fiancé, Ryan Reynolds.

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