The Ethical Barometer

Professor Francesca Gino’s new book, “Sidetracked:  Why Our Decisions Get Derailed and How We Can Stick to the Plan,” has an interesting study.  U.S. News & World Report asked 1,000 folks who was most likely to get into heaven.  Mother Teresa finished with a 79% chance.  Michael Jordan at 65%.  But, we finished with the top score of 87%!  We have very high ethical self-esteem.  Either that or we have concluded that heaven has lowered its standards.  The Barometer just can’t figure out how Mother Teresa scored below the rest of us.

The story about the Notre Dame football player with the imaginary girlfriend is just weird.  Been a long time since the Barometer was in school, but since when did football players have difficulties securing dates?  And one more thought — Lance Armstrong owes this guy.  The sting was less because Lance’s confession was topped by one of the oddest sports stories of the year.  Get this young man some help.

Robert Citron, the former Orange County treasurer who got in over his head with derivatives investments, passed away.  Initially, he seemed to have an uncanny ability to earn a greater rate of return for the county, but when market conditions changed and his position as a uniquely successful public investment official was threatened, he began consuting psychics, palm readers, and a host Continue reading →

Oh, if the Barometer had a dollar for every time a young ‘un argues that regular rules don’t apply to them, well, let’s just recap.   There were the dot-com young ‘uns, those who headed up companies that never had a cent in earnings, who assured nervous shareholders, who had every right to expect earnings that, “Well, if we hadn’t had all of those expenses, we would have had earnings!”

Then there was Computer Associates’  former CEO, Sanjay Kumar, he of the 35-day month measurement Continue reading →

Adam Lanza, the Newtown elementary school shooter, attended Western Connecticut State University, where he earned an “A” and an “A-” in two computer science courses and a “C” in his ethics course.   Brilliance without boundaries, i.e., a moral compass, destroys lives and civilizations.

Amgen manager at a sale meeting in 2005.  Someone was taping it — for the Department of Health and Human Services, which was notified by an Amgen sales rep about Amgen’s violations of marketing rules. Amgen has agreed to pay a $762 million fine for its marketing techniques than involved unapproved uses. The company entered a guilty plea to one misdemeanor.

It is, quite simply, too soon for anyone to propose remedies, laws, or operational changes based on the tragedy at Newtown, save one.  The media are a mess. Their competitive search for continuing sensationalism as they hover over grieving parents is stunning and crass. The loss of a child violates life’s natural order.  The sudden loss of a child makes that violation seem unbearable.  As a parent who has lost a child, my heart aches for these parents. As a professor of ethics  witnessing the behavior of the media, my outrage grows.

Ironically, despite their 24/7 hovering, the media have still managed to get most of the story wrong.  When you have misidentified the shooter, Continue reading →

Since 2009, the Apollo Group (corporation that runs the University of Phoenix) has referred 850 potential fraud schemes to the Department of Education because of its suspicions that the “students” receiving the federal funding did not really exist or had used the money obtained for themselves and not for education purposes. Of the 850 referrals, 25 resulted in prosecutions.  Good for Apollo and its efforts to stop education fraud.

The Department of Education’s Inspector General’s 2011 report indicates the fraud is well beyond the University of Phoenix. The DOE OIG opened 100 fraud-ring investigations in 2011.  That figure compares to 16 opened cases in 2005. Since 2005, 215 individuals involved in 42 education fraud rings have been convicted of federal crimes related to the loan fraud. The fraudsters target online programs because it is more difficult to tie in the application process with the loan process and make sure the connections are made between funds dispersed and their use. These fraud rings represent 17% of the DOE OIG’s case load. If the school never has an in-person interview with an individual, it is difficult to know if Continue reading →

That’s a USA Today headline.  Turns out that unless Congress acts to appoint new members, the Office of Congressional Ethics will simply go away.  Talk about your sunset programs.  Let’s see, we had the Congressional Black Caucus seek to take away the OCE’s power to launch investigations, always a big help to a body charged with investigating ethics violations. The current speaker of the House voted against creating the OCE originally. And the OCE record?  101 investigations launched Continue reading →