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Two lost decades later, capitalism in Japan embodies peculiar contradictions-preserving wealth and social stability in the face of declining economic power. Scant transparency in Japanese corporate practices plays an important role in this phenomenon. Sometimes justified as an embodiment of Japanese culture, the opacity of Japanese corporations is credited with empowering managers to make long-term business decisions that preserve employment and business relationships and maintain social harmony. But opacity also facilitates fraud and corruption, which erode investor confidence and stifle risk-taking. A flamboyant politician, Kotaro Tamura, attempts to raise public awareness around these tensions, but his provocative style earns him few friends in Japan's conservative political establishment.

Because financial frauds are not uncommon, and CEOs and/or CFOs are most often directly involved in them, directors of public corporations should be constantly concerned with monitoring their officers' legal and ethical behavior. This is the case for three primary reasons. First, due to a variety of organizational pressures and decision making missteps, even people who wish to be 'good'-as most corporate officers presumably do-often make serious ethical mistakes. Second, top corporate officers are particularly susceptible to making several of these errors. And third, for various psychological reasons, corporate directors often find it difficult to adequately police those officers. This installment of Business Law & Ethics Corner explores the issue of good directors and bad behavior.

This is part of a case series. This case explores the process a social venture went through in raising funds to expand its business. The case focuses on the risks and opportunities of possible funding methods, and actions that can be taken to protect key values throughout the process. The case provides an opportunity to debate the challenges involved in growing socially responsible businesses, how social responsibility can be embedded in a company's value chain, and whether corporate size benefits or constrains an organization's ability to operate in a socially responsible way.

Supplement to case LBS195

Schneider Electric has focused primarily on urban customers in the energy management space. The question is the extent to which it should prioritise rural opportunities for meeting the energy needs of the bottom of the pyramid, and whether these initiatives can be transitioned from subsidised social responsibility projects to self-sustaining businesses.

The Vigeo case is used in Darden's Global EMBA ""Business Ethics"" course. The case raises the issue of how we determine what constitutes a socially responsible business, and how to apply that idea in a global context. It therefore could also be used effectively in courses in Marketing, Finance, or Global Economies and Markets. With a global leadership and sustainability perspective, this field-based case uses Vigeo, a European leader among environmental, social, and governance (ESG) rating agencies headquartered in Paris, to set the stage for an analysis of what it means to be a socially responsible business. It allows for an exploration of decision making and moral overtones that are often difficult to resolve. The material also lets students explore the idea of global values-is there such a thing, and if so, what are they? The case opens with a summary of issues that include how CEO Nicole Notat plans to grow the company in 2012. She had to take a strategic view of where the SRI market was going and be prepared. The board had asked Notat to think more strategically about China. Would Vigeo adapt existing services and products to the Chinese market? Would entering an emerging market such as China mean rethinking the business model from the ground up? How would either strategy fit with the company's overall mission?

Annalisa McGann, chair of London's prestigious Clarence Hall University, together with the university's board must make a decision about whether to return a large monetary donation from the Natour Charitable Foundation, which was founded and run by a recent graduate who was also the son of the leader of a corrupt, authoritarian regime in an oil-rich region. Almost two-thirds of the money had already been invested in an innovative leukemia drug that could significantly increase patients' chances of survival; the remainder had been earmarked for an endowment fund for low-income students. Each course of action-keeping the money, giving back the entire sum, or returning the unspent money-had complex consequences, particularly in the current environment in which all British universities were suffering financially and there was nationwide student unrest over rising university costs. The British press, by uncovering the connection between Natour and Clarence Hall, had forced the administration's hand, and McGann and the board needed to make a quick decision after considering a number of complicating factors.

This history of the U.S. tobacco controversy is a reading for a class on "The Insider," a film about whistleblowing in the U.S. tobacco industry, taught in the course, The Moral Leader.

Bribery is pervasive in emerging markets, in part because of growth imperatives from headquarters, and companies can rack up millions in fines. CEB authors draw on research involving more than 700,000 employees at multinationals in more than 115 countries to suggest several steps managers can take to keep their employees on the right side of the law.

"Richard Alpert, senior partner at Evergreen Investments, must decide which of his two best employees to promote to the position of managing VP. He had initially preferred Charlie Pace over Daniel Faraday, but that decision had become less clear-cut when Alpert inadvertently overheard an office conversation and learned that Pace was taking Adderall, a stimulant primarily prescribed for people suffering from attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Pace did not have ADHD and apparently obtained the medication by deceiving a physician. Alpert is faced with a number of questions, including whether it was fair to Faraday-or any other high-performing employee-to be passed over for promotion in favor of someone who illicitly boosted his performance with a substance he did not medically need. "

On October 16, 2011, El Paso agreed to sell itself to Kinder Morgan for just over $21 billion. Shareholders filed suit, arguing that the process was tainted by conflict and that a higher price could be obtained. Delaware Chancellor Leo Strine agreed with the plaintiffs on the conflicts, and in his opinion expressed serious concerns with how El Paso advisor Goldman Sachs and El Paso CEO Douglas Foshee conducted themselves in the process. The case examines these conflicts, Strine's view of their effects on the outcome, and the reason he was unable to grant the plaintiff's request, instead allowing the merger vote to proceed. The case is a companion case to "Barclays Capital and the Sale of Del Monte Foods," HBS No. 313-036.

Through the examples they set, leaders do a great deal to shape-for good or for ill-the culture of the organizations in which they serve. Leaders thus serve in a teaching role. But in order to learn how to set positive examples, leaders must also be students who seek to learn what they can from others' examples. Employing as a jumping-off point a recent high-profile and multi-faceted scandal involving Penn State University and decision makers affiliated with it, this article explores a number of ethical decision making lessons to be learned from that scandal and considers how those lessons can be applied to a variety of decisions faced by corporate leaders. Along the way, the article addresses ways in which common human tendencies impair the quality of thinking and decision making. It also offers ways for improving thinking quality and enhancing the ethical nature of resulting business decisions.

A business unit leader faces a major decision when an employee critical to a high profile transaction asks for a unique compensation arrangement that has implications for the culture of the business.

The leader of a small business team must deal with an employee who is unwilling to reveal to him the profitability of a transaction for the firm and client.

This case is about Walmart's launch of Love, Earth-a one billion dollar line of sustainable jewellery-told from the perspective of an NGO activist. Perhaps uniquely among CSR cases to date, it offers instructors the opportunity to explore strategic CSR by a large MNC from the perspective of the firm and the NGO activists.

Managing for Ethical-Organizational Integrity is a three-chapter, 111-page book, written by Dr. Abe J. Zakhem, Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy at Seton Hall University, and Dr. Daniel E. Palmer, Kent State University. Published by Business Expert Press in April, 2012, the text provides an overview of business ethics for managers and students. The authors argue that ethical-organizational integrity drives long-term company success and sustainable value production, serves to prevent illegal conduct, and contributes meaningfully to overall social welfare. The book aims to be a practical guide and discusses theory only as a secondary matter. The authors open the book by contrasting two possible conceptual frameworks for managing ethical-organizational integrity. The first is the neoclassical framework, which states that managers do best for themselves, their company, and best promote overall welfare by trying to maximize profits for shareholders. The authors believe this framework is myopic and advocate instead for a more expansive framework: the stakeholder management approach, which views the goals of long-term company success, sustainable value production, and satisfied stakeholder expectations as mutually dependent. This approach, the authors argue, provides a superior framework for understanding and fulfilling the ethical obligations of business and systematically promoting ethical-organizational integrity and company success. The authors go on to provide a step-by-step procedure for evaluating ethical decisions in business.

Managing for Ethical-Organizational Integrity is a three-chapter, 111-page book, written by Dr. Abe J. Zakhem, Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy at Seton Hall University, and Dr. Daniel E. Palmer, Kent State University. Published by Business Expert Press in April, 2012, the text provides an overview of business ethics for managers and students. The authors argue that ethical-organizational integrity drives long-term company success and sustainable value production, serves to prevent illegal conduct, and contributes meaningfully to overall social welfare. The book aims to be a practical guide and discusses theory only as a secondary matter. In the second chapter, the authors explore the philosophical nature of stakeholder rights and corresponding managerial duties, and suggest methods to help resolve moral conflict when rights and duties conflict. More exacting and technical terminology is introduced to help clarify and define a hierarchy of moral rights, and is then used to identify and prioritize the rights of and corresponding obligations due to various stakeholders. The authors conclude with a series for questions for further research and discussion.

Managing for Ethical-Organizational Integrity is a three-chapter, 111-page book, written by Dr. Abe J. Zakhem, Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy at Seton Hall University, and Dr. Daniel E. Palmer, Interim Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs at Kent State University. Published by Business Expert Press in April, 2012, the text provides an overview of business ethics for managers and students. The authors argue that ethical-organizational integrity drives long-term company success and sustainable value production, serves to prevent illegal conduct, and contributes meaningfully to overall social welfare. The book aims to be a practical guide and discusses theory only as a secondary matter. The authors begin Chapter 3 by delving into what constitutes ethical character, defining and describing the character traits befitting a manager's relationship with various stakeholders. Next, the authors identify the core features of ethics programs that promote intellectual and moral development, and provide concrete recommendations for creating and sustaining an ethical-organizational culture. The authors conclude with a series for questions for further research and discussion.

Managing for Ethical-Organizational Integrity is a 111-page book, written by Dr. Abe J. Zakhem, Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy at Seton Hall University, and Dr. Daniel E. Palmer, Interim Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs at Kent State University. Published by Business Expert Press in April, 2012, the text provides an overview of business ethics for managers and students. The authors argue that ethical-organizational integrity drives long-term company success and sustainable value production, serves to prevent illegal conduct, and contributes meaningfully to overall social welfare. The book aims to be a practical guide and discusses theory only as a secondary matter. The appendices gathered in this final section of the book (here presented as a single chapter) range from the ethical statements and missions of major organizations to governmental decrees concerning individual rights. Specifically included are: Ford Motor Company's Code of Basic Working Conditions, ASPC Capability Checklist, International Code of Ethics for Sales and Marketing, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Shareholder Key Rights as Identified by the OECD, U.S. Federal Sentencing Guidelines-Chapter 8, and the Johnson & Johnson Credo.

British Petroleum (BP), one of the world's largest oil companies, had spent over $200 million rebranding itself as environmentally responsible, with the tagline "Beyond Petroleum." However, after the catastrophic 2010 Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill, the company's name seemed to be permanently tarnished. Through a deep dive into all events of the spill, this case study asks students to determine: what should BP do now? Newly appointed CEO Bob Dudley inherited a company that faced billions of dollars in damages, a furious public, and an irate US government. The "Beyond Petroleum" campaign that was successfully undertaken in 2000 was now the focus of derision and disbelief. As CEO, Dudley must repair the company's image, re-establish some level of trust with government, and convince investors that BP will return to profitability.This case was written by MBA candidates Jonathan Huynh, Jacob Kapitan, Satish Katpally, Ben Pierce, and Ben Pierson, under the supervision of Professor Andrew Hoffman.