Scandals Revive Focus on Ethics
Investors, regulators demand accountability

Stung by scandalous revelations about Enron Corp., Arthur Andersen, and Tyco International, a growing number of large public companies nationally are adopting formal ethics programs, according to business ethics specialists.

Quotes from David Gebler
... A big challenge for large or medium-sized companies having ethics programs or gearing up to roll out plans is "looking at the cultural factor and recognizing that [corporate] behavior needs to change," said David Gebler, president and principal of the Working Values Group, a Boston corporate governance strategy firm.

"Anderson and Enron had written codes of business conduct, but there were tremendous cultural gaps. Everything was focused on profits and arrogance."

Quotes from Working Values Client Patti Ellis of Raytheon
... Instilling an ethics-conscious culture starts at the top, in the executive suites, said Patti Ellis, vice president of business ethics and compliance since 1994 for Raytheon, the Lexington-based defense contractor.

"Rules are important, but the corporate culture is as important as the rules," said Ellis ... Today Raytheon conducts an annual ethics-awareness training program for all of its 79.000 employees worldwide, Ellis said.

Quotes from Working Values Client Gary Cohen of Millennium Pharmaceutical Inc.
... Cambridge-based Millennium Pharmaceutical Inc. ... is developing a business ethics program called, "Living Our Core Values." "We're now putting together an ethics workbook which will be distributed to employees next year for discussion" said Gary Cohen, who was appointed associate general counsel for ethics and corporate responsibilities in January.

The formal program contrasts sharply "with roundtable discussions" the company's founders had about ethics "over pizza" shortly after the company was started, Cohen said. "But things change when a company grows greatly."

© Davis Bushnell. Reprinted with permission.

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