Ethics and Business Law

Most people have an easier time making ethical decisions when they have been given the opportunity to think through various ethical dilemmas and discuss them with their peers. Help your students bring their own values into focus by sharing this collection of scenarios that challenge ethical decision-making. Students become aware of ethical dilemmas they may encounter in the workplace and will become better prepared to respond. (19 min.) A Meridian Production.

The globalization of commerce has added new shades of gray to the complex subject of business ethics. In this program, Frank Daly, corporate ethics officer at Northrop Grumman; Thomas White, director of the Center for Ethics and Business at Loyola Marymount University; and David Vogel, of the Haas School of Business, analyze the challenges to making ethical choices in the Information Age. Issues raised include the need for multinationals to agree on a set of core international business values, the impact of ever-shrinking time frames on the decision-making process, and the necessity of secure data transmission. A Meridian Production. (16 minutes)

Is today's corporate culture, characterized by exorbitant CEO salaries, downsizing, and benefit reductions, alienating employers from employees? What moral obligations do companies have to the people who work for them, and to the communities they serve? In this program, a group of business experts examine these issues, and discuss how companies can do the right thing" and still improve their bottom lines. Experts include the president and CEO of a large corporation, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, and a former executive committee member of Johnson & Johnson. (29 minutes)"

In today's high-tech, multimedia business environment, ads must be slick, sensational, and sophisticated if they hope to stand out from the competition. This program examines how truth in advertising has gotten lost in this competitive frenzy, and how consumers can learn to separate fact from fiction in the confusing barrage of hype and half-truths. Two advertising executives discuss how companies develop ads, and how consumer audiences are targeted. (29 minutes)

What if I'm fired unfairly?" "If I get hurt at work, will I still have a job when I recover?" "Is it legal to dismiss someone for repeatedly being late?" "I was passed over for a promotion, and I think it's because of my ethnic background. Can I take legal action?" Geared toward students entering the workforce, this timeless program answers these and other important questions as it explains employer/employee rights and responsibilities. A Meridian Production. (15 minutes)"

Featuring profiles of visionary entrepreneurs, economists, and activists, this 12-part public television series delves into hot-button ethical issues at the heart of international business. Each program investigates corporate challenges and solutions related to the triple bottom line-an increasingly popular term for standards of human dignity, environmental stewardship, and financial profit that guide socially responsible commerce. Building on the real-world expertise of its guests, commentators, and creator-renowned scholar Hazel Henderson, author of the book Ethical Markets-the series serves as a video forum for bold green business" ideas. Portions of this series appear in the program The New Green Revolution (item #37435). 12-part series, 28 minutes each."

Government agencies and professionals who deal with damage claims are literally trying to determine the dollars-and-cents worth of human life. How do we decide what is an efficient annual cost for a nursing home? Or the cost for a new liver? And who is going to pay? Dr. Willard Gaylin is a practicing psychiatrist and president of the Hastings Center, an institute devoted to studying the relationships between biology and ethics. In this program with Bill Moyers, Gaylin explores the growing conflict between the survival of communities and the survival of the individual. (30 minutes)

What does it mean to be an industry leader in the 21st century? Having the greatest market share is no longer enough-a successful business must now set an example as a good corporate citizen. This program examines key policies and practices that integrate ethics and responsible management into all aspects of business operations. Viewers are introduced to Australia's Corporate Responsibility Index, or CRI-a useful model for systems designed to measure and reinforce ethical and environmentally friendly commerce. Case studies of two companies, Toyota Australia and Energy Australia, illustrate how the CRI and its guidelines play out in real-world situations. Viewable/printable educational resources are available online. (30 minutes)

Many businesses abide by a code of conduct, either company-specific or industry-wide. This timely program distinguishes between ethical behavior and social responsibility by spotlighting two well-known Australian businesses that exhibit both qualities: Bendigo Bank and its Community Bank initiative, a cooperatively spirited venture that teaches solid commercial principles to franchisees, and The Body Shop, a skincare product provider that calls itself an activist organization committed to positive social and environmental change and a retailer committed to customer service excellence. The underlying message? Good community is good business. (27 minutes)

This NewsHour program scrutinizes the state of business ethics in an America riddled with financial fraud. In segment one, correspondent Paul Solman and Columbia Business School's Barbara Toffler cite Arthur Andersen and Stew Leonard, Sr., as examples of ethics gone awry. Segment two gathers the opinions of veteran business journalists Adam Smith, Carol Loomis, Allan Sloan, Jim Grant, and Andrew Tobias on the practices of Enron, Tyco, Morgan Stanley, and Merrill Lynch. And, after summarizing the evolution of compensation models in the stock analysis industry, segment three examines the conflicts of interest that have led investment stock analysts astray. (36 minutes)

A Senior Fellow at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, Joanne Ciulla teaches career-minded students to think critically about the role of ethics in management. She brings a background in philosophy to her classroom, where future CEOs study ethics and management in business. In this program with Bill Moyers, Ciulla discusses the role of ethics in the world of business and the meaning of work in our culture. Ciulla notes that people's lives are often dominated by their work, sacrificing their families in the process. Is that the kind of sacrifice you want people to make?" she asks. (30 minutes)"

The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer is renowned for its balanced, in-depth reporting. This anthology of NewsHour segments comes to terms with thorny issues of business ethics. Through interviews with key figures and insightful analysis, the anthology blends case studies and background reports to explore the Enron affair, stratospheric executive compensation, Wall Street irregularities, and other topical business concerns within their broader contexts. The episodes are... • CEOs' View of Corporate Ethics: Paul Solman elicits perspectives from CEOs Pete Peterson, Bill George, and Dick Syron on corporate and accounting scandals • Executive Perks: Ray Suarez talks with Harvard Business School's Rakesh Khurana, author of Searching for a Corporate Savior, and Robin Ferracone, a partner with Mercer Human Resources Consulting, about the pay and perks of Jack Welch and other CEOs • Ethics of Stock Options: Margaret Warner analyzes the effects of stock options as compensation for managers and executives with TechNet's Rick White and law professor Jennifer Arlen • Executive Pay-The Issues: Paul Solman inquires into the factors that influence executive pay • Executive Pay-Market Forces: Paul Solman examines whether the marketplace truly has a say in determining executive salaries • Wealth and Democracy: Paul Solman analyzes the impact of wealth on democracy with author Kevin Phillips and free market champion Lawrence Kudlow • Tricks of the Accounting Trade: Paul Solman examines short-term accounting gimmicks that businesses sometimes use to inflate earnings reports • Accounting Alchemy at Enron: Paul Solman takes a look at the sleight-of-hand accounting that contributed to the rise and fall of Enron • Wall Street Fraud: Terence Smith discusses the implications of a $1-billion settlement by major Wall Street firms with Jim Cox, professor of corporate and securities law, and Charles Elson, director of the John L. Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance • Mutual Fund Fraud: Margaret Warner investigates unfair mutual fund management practices such as late trading and market timing with Donald Langevoort, a former special counsel at the SEC, and John Bogle, founder of the Vanguard Group • Legislating Ethics: Terence Smith considers Sarbanes-Oxley corporate reforms with law professor Jim Cox; Nell Minow, editor of the watchdog Web site The Corporate Library; and The Brookings Institution's Bob Litan • Wall Street Ethics, Part I: Gwen Ifill reviews the settlement of the lawsuit alleging that Merrill Lynch misled investors with John McConnell, of the Krannert School of Management; Paul Kedrosky, a former equity analyst at HSBC; and New York Times financial writer Gretchen Morgenson • Wall Street Ethics, Part II: Margaret Warner examines the ways Wall Street investment firms can influence the stock market with Columbia Law School's John Coffee; Peter Siris, managing director of Guerilla Capital Management; and Stuart Kaswell, general counsel for the Securities Industry Association (3 hours)

Using the EEOC definition of sexual harassment, this program shows how this damaging and expensive problem in the workplace takes place, how situations get out of hand, and how the problem can be addressed and stopped. It reviews all the well-worn excuses for ignoring harassment, provides suggestions for action if harassment is suspected, and highlights the cost of failing to take action at various stages of harassment. (19 minutes)

Inspiring quotes about teachers and teaching from some of history’s greatest minds set to dramatic music and coupled with classic footage. Let the likes of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Mark Twain, Albert Einstein, and Helen Keller inspire you, motivate you and teach you through their own words, pictures and video.

When oil conglomerate Shell stunned investors by announcing a 20 percent reduction in its proven reserves, pensions and portfolios suffered around the world. This program reveals a pattern of exaggeration and cover-up at the company's top level-specifically involving the former chairman and head of production. An unflinching analysis of a failure in business ethics, Shell Shock raises complex and timely questions: At what point did protection of the company's image usurp shareholder interests? How did financial industry safeguards let such a crisis develop? And how can similar fiascoes be prevented in the future? Original BBCW broadcast title: Shell Shock. (39 minutes)