---
title: "A Failure of Leadership"
date: 2015-09-30
author: "Aaron Cole"
categories:
  - name: "Uncategorized"
    url: "/category/uncategorized.md"
---

# A Failure of Leadership

In spite of a ‘renewed’ focus on corporate ethics going back to the Enron days more than a decade ago, we continue to see that unethical and/or unsafe behavior in the workplace has consequences:

Peanut Corporation of America = Lost lives and executives sentenced to prison.  
Volkswagen = Tarnished reputation and market value decreases equaling billions of dollars.

There is a better way. Promoting safe and ethical behavior can be easy, effective and inexpensive. Note these quotes:

**Legal**

“It is more crucial than ever that companies have effective whistleblower hotlines as part of their corporate compliance programs …” **Harvard Law School**, Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation, October 25, 2014.

**Human Resources**

“…it is generally recommended that all organizations implement some type of whistleblower system for reporting wrongdoing. “ **Society for Human Resource Management**, April 14, 2014

**Accounting**

“Tip lines are one of the most effective tools organizations possess for detecting and preventing fraud.“ **Journal of Accountancy**, August 1, 2013

**Ethics**

“Managers and owners of small businesses should focus their anti-fraud efforts on the most cost-effective control mechanisms, such as hotlines…” **Association of Certified Fraud Examiners**, 2012 Report to Nations

Is your organization utilizing best practices? Are you leading?

*Looking for an independent ethics hotline service provider? We can help!*