I was having a conversation a week ago with the General Counsel for a major Pharmaceutical company and he was explaining to me the very comprehensive compliance training that they require of all their employees yearly. I then asked him, how much of that training was in ethics? He thought for a minute said, “that is a very good question……… none!”
NONE???
Then, I learned from talking with other compliance execs from the same company, that the corporate culture views ethics training as an expense rather than as an investment. Why? Because that type of training doesn’t increase the bottom line of the company they said. Yet, they tout how important values are, how they expect their employees to act accordingly for the good of the patient and company yet the attitude towards ethics training is a line item that can be done way with because it, seemingly, produces no profit. This is a perfect case of lip service to values/ethics and their importance.
Preach it but don’t educate/train on it. What does this reveal about this compliance department’s view of ethics training
I thought that companies, by in large, were beyond this type of shallow thinking about the investment of ethics training. How does a company, a compliance professional , a compliance department get beyond this type of” dollars and cents thinking” and see the real contribution that quality ethics training can make including affecting the bottom line
Is your ethics training an expense or an investment? Either way there is a price to pay!
fbucaro
Like you, business ethics and ethical leadership expert, Frank Bucaro has seen the challenges and problems of corporate leadership, particularly over the past few years in regards to poor decision-making, SEC violations, and record breaking financial settlements in a number of different industries.
With over two decades of executive training, speaking, writing and with real life experiences, his view and approach to ethics in the workplace is uniquely different. He emphasizes that ethics is a moment-to-moment choice and has little to do with position, titles, personalities or education. Ethics is everybody’s responsibility from the top down.
His goal is to help organizations to:
a. Strengthen their ethics training initiatives in order to significantly decrease the odds of an ethical/compliance violation.
b. Energize, train and motivate employees to understand the value of consistent “high road” behavior as a business advantage.
c. Support individuals and thereby the organization by contributing to its success by quality, ongoing values based leadership development.
Frank is known for his very practical, slightly irreverent, yet somewhat humorous approach to ethics and leadership development. His conversational style and real life stories connect with his audience in a personal, intense and practical level.
Companies such as Bayer Healthcare, BP, ReMax International, EnMax Energy, Danone, etc. have partnered with Frank when they want to proactively stress the message, tools, insights and practical applications that good ethics IS good for business!