The Network GRC Blog

Employees Want to Talk… Make Sure They Do

May 17 2012

Dan Murphy, VP, Business Development, The Network

Make sure employees use your internal ethics reporting hotline “A company can go to extraordinary lengths to create and manage a first-in-class antibribery compliance program. It can work to send the right internal messages, nurture open communications, and be vigilant in upholding its clearly stated standards. And still, the compliance team might first read about an internal problem in The New York Times or in a letter from the U.S. Department of Justice.”

That’s how Alexandra Wrage, a compliance and anti-corruption consultant, begins a discussion about internal compliance reporting and the approach companies should take to make sure employees know about and use their internal ethics hotlines.

And…

Are You “Doing Compliance”?

May 15 2012

Cindy Knezevich, VP, Marketing Operations, The Network

Are you doing compliance, or getting compliance? There has been a lot of discussion around an article that recently appeared on Forbes.com called “Why Companies Shouldn’t ‘Do’ Compliance.” The author, Dov Seidman, advocates that the current GRC approach to ethics and compliance should evolve into a “GCL” approach, or “governance, compliance and leadership.”

His premise is that too many companies operate under the illusion that simply having a compliance program makes them a more compliant organization. This is a correct assumption if management takes a “check the box” attitude toward compliance and looks to meet the bare minimums needed for certification or a “passing…

Speaking Up and Being Heard

May 14 2012

Clark Bosley, EVP Global Account Management, The Network

Ethics Reporting Needs Dimension A few weeks back I found myself traveling down a somewhat unfamiliar road, in the dark of night and with a thunderstorm quickly approaching. The rain and wind began pelting down, and my wipers could barely keep up with the heavy downpour. The glare from passing cars only added to the fun. “Thank goodness,” I thought. “As long as I can see the white line painted along the side of my lane, I know I’m still on my side of the road.”

Ethics & compliance reminds me of that white line. Ethics is knowing that staying in my lane is important. The white line helps…

The FSGO and Your Ethics Program

May 08 2012

James Barrett, Sr. Marketing Communications & PR Manager, The Network

FSGO and Ethics Almost every enterprise, institution or government entity—public or private, large or small – faces risk in their endeavors. Ethics acts like a grounding rod to help us make the right decision in the face of that risk, and we all sometimes have to manage the balance of risk and reward. Two decades ago, the US government instituted the Federal Sentencing Guidelines for Organizations (FSGO) as a way of defining that grounding rod and shining a light on the fact that ethics & compliance programs are both required as well as useful tools toward mitigating risk.

Based on the feedback from an…

**Hey Wal*Mart: Pay Attention!**

May 03 2012

Dan Sweeney, Director, Institute for Enterprise Ethics, Daniels College of Business, University of Denver
(Guest Blogger)

Ethics: Pay Attention The allegations of the “vast bribery case hushed up by Wal*Mart” reported in detail in the New York Times of Sunday, April 22 (article), if they prove true, offer important lessons for senior leaders and directors of enterprises of all types and sizes.

First, if no one is paying attention to the company’s culture, if no one is willing to act as a “steward” for that culture, it will devolve to the lowest common denominator: Do “whatever (is) necessary” to achieve the commercial objectives. Wal*Mart’s code of conduct as well as their ethics and compliance policies all…

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