Online Videos Focus on Ethics and Leadership

The Mann Center has launched a new series of short videos, "Conversations on Ethics and Leadership". Published on the center's web site, the first two programs feature recent speakers in the A. Gerow Hodges Lectures in Ethics and Leadership. Jerome Miller, vice president for diversity and social responsibility at Toyota USA, discusses diversity management and its relevance to business and higher education. Betty L. Siegel, president emeritus of Kennesaw State University, shares perspectives on women's leadership based on her 25 years as president of Georgia's third-largest university. Each video is approximately eight minutes in length.

Teaching and Research at Samford

Samford's Health Ethics and Law (HEAL) Institute has published the full proceedings of its 2009 conference, The Intersection of Faith and Ethics in Health Care. The following presentations are available online: “The Numinous, the Medical and the Moral” (Daniel P. Sulmasy, O.F.M., Ph.D.); “The Fine Edge Between Light and Shadow: Spirituality, Illness and Dignity” (Karen Lebacqz, Ph.D.); “When to be Spiritual in Health Care” (Dennis Sansom, Ph.D.); "Conscientious Objection and the Future of Catholic Health Care” (Leonard J. Nelson, J.D., LL.M.); “Self-Deception, Medical Practice and the Eclipse of Spirituality” (John C. Knapp, Ph.D.); and “Justice: Bedside Clinical Ethics’ Next Great Challenge” (Bruce D. White, D.O., J.D.).

The Business of Higher Education, a three-volume collection of essays on critical issues facing colleges and universities, was released this month by Praeger Publishers. Co-edited by Mann Center Director John C. Knapp and East Carolina University's David J. Siegel, the three dozen chapters explore the growing tension between traditional academic values and the need to improve efficiency, fiscal performance and accountability. Forty-four contributors address marketing, academic-industry partnerships, leadership development, academic freedom, unionization, student retention, athletics, tuition cost, college rankings, commercialization and other current concerns.

News and Views

Resume fraud may be on the increase as jobs become more scarce, several studies show. Cleveland-based EmployeeScreenIQ, a background screening firm, reports that half of the resumes it sees contain inconsistencies, while the Society for Human Resource Management says the figure is more like 70 percent. Another company, Orange Tree Employment Screening, reports that 40 percent of resumes this year do not match the findings of background checks, up from 33 percent in 2007. Related resource: Article in National Law Journal.

A strongly worded letter demanding research funding for ethics in biomedical and health-related fields was sent last week to Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, the government agency tasked with life science research. Signed by more than 100 leading biomedical researchers, journal editors and health-care administrators, the letter cites "ethical lapses and financial conflicts of interest," including ghostwritten articles, physician payoffs, and the use of academic opinions to market FDA-regulated products. "Between bench and bedside lies a path treacherous with ethical quandaries," they write. "NIH is the best place to launch and support a scientifically rigorous inquiry into the state of research ethics, industry-academic relationships, and the effect of these relationships on human health." Related resource: November 17, 2009, Letter (PDF file).

The 2009 State of Corporate Citizenship in the United States, an annual survey of more than 700 companies by the Center for Corporate Citizenship at Boston College, finds a "significant expansion" of environmental sustainability efforts in products, services and operations, as well as a continuing commitment to philanthropy (only 38 percent of companies had reduced corporate giving as a result of the economic downturn). Related resource: Corporate Responsibility Report 2009 (PDF file).

Human Rights Dilemmas Forum is a new, online resource from UN Global Compact, providing tools for multi-stakeholder discussions of human rights dilemmas faced by multi-national corporations. The first two dilemmas featured on the site involve HIV/AIDS and Human Trafficking; future topics include migrant workers, equality and gender, and child labor, among others. Related resource: Web site, Human Rights Dilemmas Forum.

Betty Siegel to Speak Oct. 19 on Women's Leadership

Dr. Betty L. Siegel will speak Monday, Oct. 19, on Women's Leadership: An Invitational Approach, as part of the Mann Center's A. Gerow Hodges Lectures in Ethics and Leadership. She is president emeritus of Kennesaw State University, Georgia's third-largest university, where she served as president for 25 years and was the longest-serving female president of a college or university in the United States. Dr. Siegel is an internationally known speaker and currently holds Kennesaw's Distinguished Chair of Leadership, Ethics and Character.

The 3 p.m. program is open to the public and will be held at the university's Brock Forum in Dwight Beeson Hall. Samford students will earn Convo credit.

Toyota Executive to Address Diversity at November Programs for Students, Businesses

Jerome Miller, Toyota USA's vice president for diversity and social responsibility, will speak to campus and community audiences during a two-day visit in November. At Samford on Thursday, Nov. 5, he will lead students, faculty and guests in considering the question, How Do You Fit Into The Diversity Picture? The 10 a.m. program in the university's Reid Chapel is part of the continuing series, the A. Gerow Hodges Lectures in Ethics and Leadership. The following day he will address the annual Diversity Summit of the Birmingham Business Alliance in an opening session sponsored by Samford.

Miller is an internationally known leader in diversity management who has held senior executive positions at Toyota, Delta Air Lines, The Coca-Cola Company and Intercontinental Hotels.

Teaching and Research at Samford

An essay on Value-Based Deaning was published recently by Judge John L. Carroll, Dean of Samford University's Cumberland School of Law. He argues that law schools can be more successful if their leaders are committed to "sharing power, open communication and transparency, servant leadership, and respect for everyone." The essay appears in the University of Toledo Law Review.

The Samford University Library has published a web-based resource guide on issues related to social media. This is a follow-up to the Oct. 1 program on Freedom of Expression in Cyberspace, conducted by the Mann Center, University Library, Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, and University Fellows. The well-attended forum featured a panel of students and faculty exploring the risks and responsibilities inherent in social media and online publishing.

News and Views

Transparency International has published its 2009 Global Corruption Report, a useful handbook that describes strategies for tackling corruption in business, areas needing reform, and ways for companies, governments, investors and others to raise corporate integrity and meet "the challenges that corruption poses to sustainable economic growth and development." Related Resources: 2009 Global Corruption Report;Transparency International.

Thirty-five percent of students ages 13 to 18 have used cell phones to cheat in the classroom, either by texting answers to others or by storing information on a phone, according to a survey for Common Sense Media by the Benenson Strategy Group. More than 40 percent of these students do not see their behaviors as serious cheating offenses. Meanwhile, three-quarters of parents say that cell phone cheating happens at their teens’ schools, but only 3 percent believe their own teen has ever used a cell phone to cheat. The study reports that teens with cell phones send 440 text messages a week and 110 a week while in the classroom. Related Resource: Report of Survey Findings.

A "Manifesto for a Global Economic Ethic" was published Oct. 6 by a UN-led consortium of organizations. Calling for multi-stakeholder dialog, the document builds on the 1993 Parliament of World Religions’ Declaration towards a Global Ethic by espousing five "universally acceptable" values: the principle of humanity; non-violence and respect for life; justice and solidarity; honesty and tolerance; and mutual esteem and partnership. Related Resource: Manifesto for a Global Economic Ethic.

Also at the UN, more than 1,000 companies have been delisted by the Global Compact since 2008 for failing to meet the mandatory annual reporting requirement, or Communication on Progress (COP) policy. Business members of the Global Compact agree to report annually on progress in implementing ten principles covering human rights, workplace standards, the environment, and anti-corruption. The Global Compact continues to grow at a rate of roughly 100 new companies per month, with total participants now numbering over 7,000 organizations in more than 135 countries. Related Resources: Names of Delisted Companies; UN Global Compact.

October Programs to Address Freedom of Expression in Cyberspace; Women's Leadership

October 1 -- Facebook, blogs, Twitter and other online media have made us all publishers. But what risks and responsibilities come with the territory? When, if ever, should others have a say in what we post in cyberspace? Student and faculty panelists will explore these timely issues at a forum entitled, Freedom of Expression in Cyberspace: Who Should Decide What You Publish? The program will be held Thursday, Oct. 1, at 1 p.m. is co-sponsored by the Mann Center, University Library, the Journalism and Mass Communication Department, and the University Fellows program.

October 19 -- Dr. Betty L. Siegel will speak on Women's Leadership: An Invitational Approach to Success on Monday, Oct. 19, at 3 p.m. in the Mann Center's A. Gerow Hodges Lectures in Ethics and Leadership. She is president emeritus of Kennesaw State University, Georgia's third-largest university, where she served as president for 25 years and was the longest-serving female president of a college or university in the United States. Dr. Siegel is an internationally known speaker and currently holds Kennesaw's Distinguished Chair of Leadership, Ethics and Character.

Both programs are open to the public and will be held on the Samford Univerity campus in the Brock Forum of Dwight Beeson Hall.

Are Universities Responsible for Financial Crisis? Global Scholars Call for Curricular Reform

Mann Center Director John Knapp was among an international group of scholars who issued a joint statement last month calling attention to higher education's complicity in ethical failures precipitating the global financial crisis. The signers were Fellows of the Caux Round Table (CRT), an international organization of leaders in business, government and education that promotes principles for responsible economic activity.

Meeting in Switzerland, representatives of universities in Europe, North America and Asia agreed that educators too often emphasize "technical competencies and practical skills, with little consideration for broader social responsibilities and expectations for principled behavior. This incomplete approach to professional education reflects a disdain for the ethical dimension of practice and was partially to blame for the recent massive market failures."

The statement continues, "Graduates of professional schools should learn to serve the public interest and the common good, for true professionals integrate and balance the application of technical skills with responsiveness to the legitimate needs and interests of others. The pillars of such professionalism are (1) stewardship of the interests of others, (2) earned trust through their diligence and discipline, and (3) specialized competence to exercise autonomous discretion and informed judgment. . . . Thus, professional responsibility may be understood as the capacity to respond fully to the needs and interests of those who depend upon the professionals’ skills, and the ability to exercise these skills in an ethical manner."

News and Views

Forty years after the Woodstock music festival underscored generational differences in America, the public today sees less conflict between older and younger adults, according to a new study by Pew Research Center. However, by "lopsided margins" the public rates older adults as superior to younger adults in "moral values, work ethic and respect for others. Even younger adults share in these assessments." The sole exception is in attitudes about race, where a plurality of the public gives younger adults higher marks.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) now requires ethics plans from institutions applying for grants. Applicants must demonstrate how they will provide training and oversight to assure ethical research conduct by undergraduate students, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers. The announcement last month states, "The responsible and ethical conduct of research (RCR) is critical for excellence, as well as public trust, inscience and engineering. Consequently, education in RCR is considered essential in the preparation of future scientists and engineers."

A Labor Day survey finds that the recession is taking a toll on Americans' attitudes at work. According to the study by Harris Interactive for the employment firm Adecco, two-thirds are dissatisfied with their compensation, half are unhappy with their bosses, and six in ten feel they get too little support from their colleagues. Seventy-seven percent say their leaders lack vision.

Toyota Executive to Speak about Diversity and Social Responsibility at November Events

Jerome Miller, Toyota USA's vice president for diversity and social responsibility, will speak to community and campus events during a two-day visit to Samford this fall. At the invitation of the Mann Center, he will give a keynote address at the
November 6 Diversity Summit of the Birmingham Business Alliance. A day earlier, he will address students, faculty and guests on the Samford campus as part of the continuing series, the A. Gerow Hodges Lectures in Ethics and Leadership.

Miller is an internationally known leader in diversity management who has held senior executive positions at Toyota, Delta Air Lines, The Coca-Cola Company and Intercontinental Hotels. At the Birmingham Diversity Summit he will discuss the challenges faced by managers in today's business environment, including a recession that has severely affected his own industry. At Samford he will share lessons from his own life story, which began in a poverty-stricken African-American community in south Georgia. More details about both events will be posted in October.

News and Views

For the 15th consecutive year, Australians rate nurses as the most ethical and honest professionals, followed closely by pharmacists, according to the annual Image of the Professions survey, conducted by Roy Morgan Research. The findings mirror those of Gallup's annual Honesty and Ethics of Professions survey, which consistently finds that Americans consider nurses the most ethical of all professionals. Australians view car salesmen, advertising executives and newspaper journalists as the least ethical occupations, and only 17 percent trust the directors of public companies.

The world is a little less peaceful this year, according to the 2009 Global Peace Index, a project of the Institute for Economics and Peace and the Economist Intelligence Unit. The global economic crisis has contributed to an uptick in violence and instability, said the researchers who compiled the third annual Index ranking 144 countries from most to least peaceful, based on indicators like crime rate, political stability, relations with neighboring countries, and military deaths. New Zealand ranks as the most peaceful country this year; Iraq ranks last. The report contends that an economic bonus of up to $7.3 trillion could be realized by increasing world peace, defined by the project as “the absence of violence.” The United States ranks in the middle of the pack at No. 83.

Corruption, violence and political stability are key drivers of the Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI), updated June 29 by the World Bank. The analysis of data from 1996-2008 shows many countries making progress in governance and anti-corruption, but also shows that many are regressing. “We should not presume that rich and powerful countries have the very best levels of governance and corruption control; the financial crisis reminds us that the quality of governance in G8 countries is not always exemplary,” said Daniel Kaufmann, co-author of the report and a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution. The indicators cover 212 countries and territories, analyzing hundreds of variables from 35 different data sources. Click here to access the user-friendly electrponic report.

LinkedIn profiles of job candidates are more truthful than the candidates' resumes, according to Reid Hoffman, CEO of the social networking site. Speaking June 15 at a Google-sponsored summit, he explained that details about previous employment, such as dates and job titles, are more accurate on public profiles maintained by individuals and accessible to their former co-workers and other contacts. One might infer that this accountability leaves little opportunity to fudge, especially compared to resumes that are seen only by a select few. LinkedIn is a growing, web-based network of 42 million people worldwide.

What will they think of next? The latest weapon in the assault on acedemic integrity is corrupted-files.com, a service that sells students intentionally corrupted files that can be submitted via e-mail in lieu of an assignment that was not finished on time. The instructions say, "After purchasing a file, rename the file e.g. Mike_Final-Paper. Step 2: E-mail the file to your professor along with your 'here's my assignment' e-mail. Step 3: It will take your professor several hours if not days to notice your file is 'unfortunately' corrupted. Use the time this website just bought you wisely and finish that paper!!!" The purchased download includes Word documents of 2, 5, 10, 20, 30 and 40 pages, suitable for a variety of assignment lengths. Is it cheating? Not according to the web site, which argues that its service is merely an improvement on "lame" excuses like the faked death of a grandmother. "Who's to say your 10-page paper didn't get corrupted? Exactly! No one can! Its the perfect excuse to buy yourself extra time and not hand in a garbage paper."

Teaching and Research at Samford

Darin W. White, who recently joined the Brock School of Business as associate profesor of marketing/strategy, published an article in Journal of Business Ethics entitled, "The Impact of Perceived Leader Integrity on Subordinates in a Work Team Environment." Co-authoired with Emily lean, the research examines the correlation between a team leader’s perceived integrity and his or her subordinates' ethical intentions. Click here to download the article in PDF format.

Promoting Social Justice for Women in Egypt

The Mann Center is participating in efforts to promote social justice and empowerment for women in Egypt. Director John Knapp was a speaker last month at the conference, Women, Leadership and Social Justice, hosted in Cairo by Egyptian First Lady Suzanne Mubarak.

Dr. Knapp also was a member of a panel of leaders representing nine nations, moderated by the First Lady. The gathering concluded with a public event announcing the Cairo Declaration, a call for continued legal and social reforms on behalf of Egyptian women.

The conference was sponsored by Egypt's National Council for Women, founded nine years ago by Ms. Mubarak and responsible for a wide range of initiatives leading to economic, social, political, legal and cultural change. These include small-business development and job-training programs; a national ombudsman's office for women's concerns; new health-care services; adult literacy programs; a Women's Legal Rights Project; and increased numbers of women in the judiciary, the parliament, and the president's cabinet. The most populous country in the Middle East, Egypt is home to nearly 80 million people, 90 percent of whom are Muslims. With 20 percent of the country living below the poverty line, women and children bear a growing economic burden, especially in rural areas.

The Mann Center's involvement is part of its collaboration with Kennesaw State University's International Academy for Women's Leadership. Future activities are planned in the United States and Egypt.

Teaching and Research at Samford

Law Professor David M. Smolin, widely recognized as an advocate for international adoption reform, was quoted recently by the journal Foreign Policy in an article entitled, "The Lie We Love." Professor Smolin is director of the Center for Biotechnology Law and Ethics at Samford's Cumberland School of Law. Among his publications on the subject is a popular essay in The Wayne Law Review, "Child Laundering: How The Intercountry Adoption System Legitimizes and Incentivizes the Practices of Buying, Trafficking, Kidnapping and Stealing Children," in which he argues that "the legal rules of the adoption system are systematically used to 'launder' or legitimize these practices, by processing as 'orphans,' and then adoptees, infants and children who were stolen, bought, or kidnaped from their birth families."

News and Views

American adults trust their medical providers to protect the privacy of their personal information. A recent BBC World News America/The Harris Poll finds that doctors and hospitals are more trusted with confidential information than are email providers, banks, and government agencies. Social networking sites (e.g., Facebook and MySpace) enjoy much less trust. A number of studies show that public trust of institutions has been in sharp decline worldwide for the last decade. Related resource: 2009 Edelman Trust Barometer research report.

Researchers at Duke University found a strong correlation between ethical leadership skills and corporate financial performance. In the Duke Executive Leadership Survey , competencies associated with credibility were identified as being most important for senior executives. These included the ability to engage employees in the company’s vision, to inspire employees to raise their goals, and to promote an environment in which employees have a sense of responsibility for the whole organization. Leadership development was identified as the No. 2 challenge facing organizations, especially as budgets for training and developmnet are being reduced.

The Access to Medicine Index (AMI) rates and ranks the efforts of 20 of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies to increase universal access to medicine. The AMI uses eight measures, broadly assessing each firm's policies and actions, especially as they impact developing countries. Wim Leereveld, chairman of the foundation sponsoring the project, explains, "The main purpose is to encourage pharmaceutical companies to do more. What gets measured gets managed - and whilst these companies have respect for governments, and NGOs, they mostly respect each other – so the list had to be a rank.” Related resources: AMI web site, featuring an interactive tool for comparing corporate information.

A large majority of Americans believe access to legal assistance is extremely or very important to people in crisis. According to a new study by Harris Interactive for the American Bar Association, nearly nine in ten think non-profit legal services provider is necessary to help those who cannot afford lawyers, and two-thirds support federal funding for such services.

Will Crisis Raise Awareness of Financial Exploitation of The Poor?

The current financial crisis may serve to "reawaken us to . . . some core ethical values: protection for the most vulnerable; balance of the economic opportunities for both lenders and borrowers; and justice and fairness that marks the borrower/lender relationship with truthfulness," said theologian D. Cameron Murchison in an April 29 lecture in Samford's Hodges Chapel. He argued that today's lending practices often conflict with biblical and theological understandings of moral responsibility. "Not only are the poor charged interest (against the earlier theological and ethical wisdom of the church), but they are also charged more interest than those who live in more favorable economic circumstances." He cited examples including subprime mortgages, payday loans, check-cashing fees, rent-to-own charges, and credit card scams.

Dr. Murchison is Professor and Dean of Faculty at Columbia Theological Seminary, a graduate school affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). He was the principal writer of the denomination's policy document, A Reformed Understanding of Usury for the 21st Century.His appearance at Samford, part of the Mann Center's A. Gerow Hodges Lectures in Ethics and Leadership, was co-sponsored by Beeson Divinity School and Brock School of Business.

Theologian Cameron Murchison to Speak April 29 On The Ethics of Borrowing and Lending

The global economic crisis was precipitated largely by irresponsible lending practices in the United States. Yet the ethics of money lending is not a new concern, particularly in the church where biblical and theological understandings of the issue have been debated for centuries.

On April 29 at 10 a.m., the Mann Center will present a lecture by Dr. Cameron Murchison, professor and dean of faculty at Columbia Theological Seminary, on Money Lending in the 21st Century: A Christian Ethical Perspective.

This program is part of the A. Gerow Hodges Lectures in Ethics and Leadership and is co-sponsored by Beeson Divinity School and Brock School of Business. It will be presented in Reid Chapel on the Samford University campus. Guests are welcome to attend and convo credit will be available for Samford students.

'Seven Revolutions' Follow Up: Online Resources on Global Trends Available From CSIS

The Seven Revolutions project, presented March 24 at Samford, is accessible online at the Global Strategy Institute of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

The site features facts and video vignettes on each global trend -- population, resource management, technology, information flows, economic integration, conflict, and governance. Also available are video interviews with noteworthy thinkers with expertise on the trends.

Seven Revolutions project director Erik Peterson (pictured above) addressed an audience of more than 300 students, faculty and guests on the topic, "How Will Your World Change by 2025?"

News and Views

Large majorities of Americans believe too much political power is held by big businesses, political action committees, lobbyists and the news media. By contrast, nine in ten Americans believe small business and religious institutions have too little power and influence, according to a survey released March 12 by Harris Interactive. It is worth noting that the findings of the annual study are essentially the same as in previous years, despite the current economic crisis. Related resource: Harris Interactive press release.

Peace Through Commerce, a nine-week e-conference hosted by World Bank Institute, is now under way. You may participate in the online discussion by registering online. The international e-conference will cover nine themes over nine weeks, with a new theme beginning each Monday. Participants first watch a few short video presentations from international business and development experts, then write comments in response to the discussion questions posed by moderators and other participants. Each week’s presenters also participate in the online discussion to address direct questions and give input. Related resource: "Waging Peace Through Commerce," an Policy Innovations article from the Carnegie Council.

Public concerns about media ethics will be addressed by the Society of Professional Journalists in a series of "town hall" meetings during Ethics in Journalism Week (April 26 - May 2). The organization wants to "explain our ethics . . . and our desire to be accessible and sensitive to public opinion." Opinion surveys worldwide show that public trust of the news media is declining. The town hall meetings in four U.S. cities will invite public comments and questions. Meanwhile, a new study by Pew Research Center finds that fewer than half of Americans believe losing their local newspaper would hurt civic life in their community "a lot." Many daily newspapers are hard hit by the recession, and some are closing their doors. Related resource: Pew announcement of survey findings.

Video presentations and other materials are now avalable from the International Seminar on Business and Human Rights, a recent conference commemorating the 60th anniversary of the adoption of Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations. The program considered current challenges involving business and human rights. The videos are available in the original languages of the speakers; translations will be published in the coming weeks. A Summary Report and materials from workshops may be downloaded at no charge. Related resource: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Are public apologies sincere when celebrities, athletes or government officials are accused of wrongdoing, or are they usually the work of publicists trying to minimize damage? An article by the news service of the United Methodist Church examines this question with the help of several ethicists including Bishop Kenneth Carder, professor of the practice of Christian ministry at Duke Divinity School, who says, “I fear that apologies have become techniques for diminishing the consequences of behaviors that are destructive and damaging.”

Teaching and Research at Samford

2009 HEAL Conference: The Intersection of Faith and Ethics in Health Care

The annual conference of Samford's Health Ethics and Law (HEAL) Institute will be held Friday, April 17, with principal speakers including Daniel P. Sulmasy, O.F.M., M.D., Ph.D., and Karen Lebacqz, Ph.D. Dr. Sulmasy is a general internist and philosopher who holds the Sisters of Charity Chair in Ethics at St. Vincent’s Hospital, Manhattan, and serves as professor of medicine and director of the Bioethics Institute of New York Medical College. Dr. Lebacqz, professor emerita of theological ethics at the Pacific School of Religion, has written extensively on professional ethics, bioethics and ethical theory. This year’s program examines the relationship between spirituality and health care from many perspectives.

Seven Revolutions: March 24 Presentation to Explore Trends Reshaping Global Society

Make plans to join us on March 24 for a dramatic view of global society in the year 2025. Our speaker will be Erik Peterson, director of the "Seven Revolutions" project at the Global Strategy Institute of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, D.C.. The project identifies and analyzes some of the key challenges that policy makers, business executives, and other leaders will face in the future. It is used by governmental agencies and leading corporations to promote strategic thinking on long-term trends that few leaders take the time to consider.

"Seven Revolutions: How Will Your World Change by 2025?" will be presented March 24 at 10 a.m. in Brock Recital Hall at Samford University. (Convo credit is available to Samford students.) This is a program in the Mann Center's A. Gerow Hodges Lecture Series, conducted in partnership with the Brock School of Business. Guests from off campus may register online for this program at no charge.

This lively, multimedia presentation will look at global trends in population, resource management, technology, information, conflict, governance and economic integration. "When taken together, the change that we can envisage in these seven areas suggests the need for far-sighted leadership animated by vision and innovative approaches," Peterson says. "This, I believe, is where higher education is especially important. Our overarching challenge is to provide the knowledge for leaders to develop vision, to inculcate them with the understanding to execute on their vision, and to help them develop a conceptual and ethical foundation on which difficult -- sometimes excruciating -- tradeoffs will have to be made."

Teaching and Research at Samford

2009 HEAL Conference: The Intersection of Faith and Ethics in Health Care

The annual conference of Samford's Health Ethics and Law (HEAL) Institute will be held Friday, April 17, with principal speakers including Daniel P. Sulmasy, O.F.M., M.D., Ph.D., and Karen Lebacqz, Ph.D. Dr. Sulmasy is a general internist and philosopher who holds the Sisters of Charity Chair in Ethics at St. Vincent’s Hospital, Manhattan, and serves as professor of medicine and director of the Bioethics Institute of New York Medical College. Dr. Lebacqz, professor emerita of theological ethics at the Pacific School of Religion, has written extensively on professional ethics, bioethics and ethical theory. This year’s program examines the relationship between spirituality and health care from many perspectives.

Dennis Sansom, Ph.D., "Can Christian Ethics Be a Legitimate Ethic? An Analysis of the Relation Between the Moral Ideal and Ethical Reasoning" (a working paper).

Speaking at a recent colloquium of Samford's Department of Religion, Dennis Sansom contended that "we do not primarily settle on which ethical system is the best based upon what is reasonable to a reasonable person. Rather, we settle on an ethic based upon a more profound commitment, and that is our sense of what kind of person we should be, of what is the ideal type of person." He presented a working paper that, in part, responds to claims by the late James Rachels that faith adds nothing to morality or ethics. (Rachels was a philosopher at University of Alabama at Birmingham for more than 25 years.) Sansom describes ethics as "the rational reflection upon a moral conviction about human purpose," arguing that the "rational merit" of any system of ethics, including Christian ethics, must be judged by whether it faithfully reasons about its moral ideal."

Dennis Sansom chairs the Department of Philosophy and is a Mann Center associated scholar.

News and Views

A conference on Ethics, Politics and Public Corruption will be held April 3 in Birmingham, co-sponsored by the American Bar Association (ABA) Criminal Justice Section and the Alabama State Bar. A national line-up of speakers includes ABA President Thomas Wells. Conference sessions will consider the roles of prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges and the news media in criminal cases involving public officials.

The American Anthropological Association has changed its code of ethics to strengthen protection of human research subjects, and to encourage free dissemination of scholarship. One addition to the revised code reads, "Anthropologists have a responsibility to be both honest and transparent with all stakeholders about the nature and intent of their research. They must not misrepresent their research goals, funding sources, activities, or findings. Anthropologists should never deceive the people they are studying regarding the sponsorship, goals, methods, products, or expected impacts of their work. Deliberately misrepresenting one’s research goals and impact to research subjects is a clear violation of research ethics, as is conducting clandestine research."

A new report from the non-profit Committee for Economic Development calls on directors of public companies to take greater responsibility for societal issues. Rebuilding Corporate Leadership is the product of an initiative led by William H. Donaldson, former chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. He contends that "although public corporations increasingly are the core of a system unsurpassed in creating jobs, income, and wealth, corporate leaders -- directors and managers -- must do better, by integrating societal concerns into corporate strategy to strengthen long-term competitiveness and in so doing, the sustainability of both the corporation and the society in which it operates. In short, corporate leaders cannot ignore their place in the social fabric."

A study of government corruption in 57 countries was released last week by Global Integrity, an international non-profit organization that tracks global trends. The 2008 Global Integrity Report uses more than 300 indicators to assess accountability
mechanisms and transparency measures that may prevent corruption. Where weaknesses in such safeguards exist, corruption is more likely to occur. On the "watch list" of countries where high-level government corruption is most likely: Angola, Belarus, Cambodia, China, Georgia, Iraq, Montenegro, Morocco, Nicaragua, Serbia, Somalia, the West Bank, and Yemen. Additional Resource: Transparency International ratings of countries on bribery issues.

An informative web resource in business ethics and corporate responsibility has been launched by the European Academy of Business in Society (EABIS) and the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD). The Business in Society Gateway aims to become the "world’s most comprehensive online resource centre" of its kind, providing access to research, as well as information on educational activities in Europe and elsewhere. Meanwhile, the international Caux Round Table has a new web site, offering useful resources and perspectives on a range of issues. Founded in 1986, Caux Round Table is a longtime advocate of a set of ethical principles for business.

Survey of American Teens: 38 Percent Say Cheating is Necessary for Success at School

With findings similar to those of a study reported last month in this newsletter, a recent survey of American teens reveals a widespread belief that cheating is necessary to get ahead, even though 80 percent of respondents expressed confidence in their preparedness to make ethical decisions at work.

Here are several more highlights of the survey, conducted by Junior Achievement and the accounting firm Deloitte:

> Twenty-seven percent think behaving violently is sometimes, often or always acceptable. One in five said they had personally behaved violently toward another person in the past year.
> Roughly half 49 percent) of those who say they are ethically prepared believe that lying to parents and guardians is acceptable.
> Teens feel more accountable to themselves (86 percent) than they do to their parents or guardians (52 percent), their friends (41 percent) or society (33 percent).
> Only 54 percent cite their parents as role models. Most of those who did not cite their parents named friends or said they didn’t have a role model. Just 3 percent cited members of clergy as role models.
> Just 25 percent said they would be “very likely” to reveal knowledge of unethical behavior in the workplace.

Taken together, these findings suggest that families, schools and other institutions are falling short in the moral formation of U.S. teens. That so many young people feel little accountability to others has disturbing implications for their future lives as students, employees and citizens.

How Will Your World Change by 2025?

Make plans to join us on March 24 for a dramatic view of global society in the year 2025. Our speaker will be Erik Peterson, director of the "Seven Revolutions" project at the Global Strategy Institute of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, D.C.. The project identifies and analyzes some of the key challenges that policy makers, business executives, and other leaders will face in the future. It is used by governmental agencies and leading corporations to promote strategic thinking on long-term trends that few leaders take the time to consider.

"Seven Revolutions: How Will Your World Change by 2025?" will be presented March 24 at 10 a.m. in Brock Recital Hall at Samford University. (Convo credit is available to Samford students.) It is a program in the Mann Center's A. Gerow Hodges Lecture Series, conducted in partnership with the Brock School of Business.

This lively, multimedia presentation will look at global trends in population, resource management, technology, information, conflict, governance and economic integration. "When taken together, the change that we can envisage in these seven areas suggests the need for far-sighted leadership animated by vision and innovative approaches," Peterson says. "This, I believe, is where higher education is especially important. Our overarching challenge is to provide the knowledge for leaders to develop vision, to inculcate them with the understanding to execute on their vision, and to help them develop a conceptual and ethical foundation on which difficult -- sometimes excruciating -- tradeoffs will have to be made."

Youth Survey: Academic Dishonesty Worsening

Academic dishonesty continues to grow as a problem in secondary schools. So says the Josephson Institute's 2008 Report Card on the Ethics of American Youth, based on a survey of nearly 30,000 students in U.S. high schools. Nearly two-thirds reported cheating on a test within the last year, and 38 percent had done so more than once. More than one-third had plagiarized an assignment using the Internet. There were no significant differences between male and female students.

Perhaps surprisingly, students at non-religious independent schools reported the lowest cheating rate (47 percent), compared to 63 percent at religious schools. On a regional basis, students in the Southeast reported the highest rate of cheating (70 percent). The rate was 64 percent in the west, 63 percent in the northeast, and 59 percent in the midwest.

How do the students view this behavior? Ninety-three percent actually said they were satisfied with their personal ethics and character, while 77 percent said that when it comes to doing what is right, "I am better than most people I know." Ironically, 26 percent admitted they lied on one or two questions in the ethics survey, which also covered issues outside of school, including stealing and lying.

Additional resources: Journal of College and Character; Center for Academic Integrity; Plagiary (scholarly, online journal on plagiarism, fabrication and falsification).

Teaching and Research at Samford

Wilton H. Bunch, M.D., Ph.D., "Ethics of Direct Advertising to Consumers," SpineLine (Nov.-Dec. 2008): 38-41.

Writing in the journal of the North American Spine Society, Dr. Wilton Bunch examines the problem of direct-to-consumer advertising by manufacturers of prescription drugs and medical devices. "Advertisers may claim that patients seek more information, but it seems that patients are swimming, and sometimes drowning, in a sea of health information. . . .," he contends. "Most of these advertising vehicles are unregulated and totally interest driven." He gives particular attention to issues in orthopedic medicine (e.g., advertising of joint implants), which is his own field of practice. "Surgeons need to make a virtue out of what is now perceived as a vice," he concludes, by using consumer awareness of products as an opportunity for patient education.

Dr. Bunch is a professor of philosophy and an associated scholar of the Mann Center.

News and Views

People are as willing as ever to inflict pain on innocent strangers in blind obedience to authority, according to recent experiments replicating the infamous 1963 study by psychologist Stanley Milgram. In the original experiment, familiar to many who have taken undergraduate psychology courses, ordinary citizens were told they were participating in a study of the effects of punishment on learning. The subjects were instructed to administer electric shocks to a "learner" (who was strapped to a chair and fitted with electrodes) whenever test questions were answered incorrectly. Eighty percent were willing to deliver what they believed were 150-volt shocks; 65 percent continued as the level increased to 450 volts and appeared to cause great harm to the learners. The new study, published in the current issue of American Psychologist, yields similar results, though the researcher at Santa Clara University modified the methodology somewhat to comply with ethics rules regarding human subjects. Additional resource: Stanley Milgram, Obedience to Authority: An Experimental View, New York: Harper & Row, 1975.

On his first full day in office, President Obama issued an executive order designed to limit the influence of special interests by closing the revolving door of lobbyists in and out of the executive branch of government. Though the order is entitled, "Ethics Commitments by Executive Branch Personnel," its scope is limited to specific matters involving lobbyists: a ban on gifts by lobbyists to employees; recusal of political appointees from participating in matters relevant to the interests of past employers or clients; and restrictions on lobbying access to the executive branch by political appointees after they leave their government jobs. Not surprisingly, the policy is already proving difficult to maintain in a city with a tradition of cozy relationships between lobbyists and public officials. Additional resources: Office of Government Ethics internal memorandum on the policy; the ethics pledge signed by political appointees; and a publication from the Council on Excellence in Government describing a broader range of ethical principles and issues relevant to public-sector institutions.

Companies in China, India and Russia are among the most likely to bribe public officials when doing business abroad, according to a new report by Transparency International, a non-governmental organization working to combat corruption. By contrast, businesses based in Belgium, Canada, The Netherlands and Switzerland are among the least likely to engage in bribery. The industries most prone to bribe officials are construction, real estate, oil/gas, mining and heavy manufacturing. Financial services and technology rank among the least corrupt. TI Chairman Huguette Labelle said, “The inequity and injustice that corruption causes makes it vital for governments to redouble their efforts to enforce existing laws and regulations on foreign bribery and for companies to adopt effective anti-bribery programmes."

Is intense competition for online "eyeballs and page views" is eroding the ethical and quality standards of journalism? Bob Steele of The Poynter Institute thinks so. Writing last month in a publication of Harvard University's Nieman Foundation for Journalism, he argues that the "time-honored journalistic values of accuracy and fairness are eroded" when information is posted online, in real time, without verification. As editors increasingly encourage reporters to blog and Twitter, and as traditional media rely on non-journalistic blogs and web posts as sources, the resulting errors undermine credibility. Steele concludes, "The intense financial forces, the thinner staffs, and the risk-taking culture create a mixture where heightened quality control measures are all the more essential."

Ethical Echoes: Roosevelt's 1933 Inaugural Address

The last time a president was inaugurated amidst a widespread financial crisis was March 1933, when Franklin D. Roosevelt's first words as president underscored the indispensable role of ethics in the market system. He pointed to the moral culpability of business leaders in precipitating the Great Depression, calling them "unscrupulous money changers" and exhorting the nation to "apply social values more noble than mere monetary profit."

The following words were brought to our attention by Steven Young, a friend of the Mann Center and director of the Caux Round Table.

Excerpt from Franklin D. Roosevelt's Inaugural Address of March 1933:

"In such a spirit on my part and on yours we face our common difficulties. They concern, thank God, only material things. Values have shrunken to fantastic levels; taxes have risen; our ability to pay has fallen; government of all kinds is faced by serious curtailment of income; the means of exchange are frozen in the currents of trade; the withered leaves of industrial enterprise lie on every side; farmers find no markets for their produce; the savings of many years in thousands of families are gone.

"More important, a host of unemployed citizens face the grim problem of existence, and an equally great number toil with little return. Only a foolish optimist can deny the dark realities of the moment.

"Yet our distress comes from no failure of substance. We are stricken by no plague of locusts. Compared with the perils which our forefathers conquered because they believed and were not afraid, we have still much to be thankful for. Nature still offers her bounty and human efforts have multiplied it. Plenty is at our doorstep, but a generous use of it languishes in the very sight of the supply. Primarily this is because rulers of the exchange of mankind's goods have failed through their own stubbornness and their own incompetence, have admitted their failure, and have abdicated. Practices of the unscrupulous money changers stand indicted in the court of public opinion, rejected by the hearts and minds of men.

"True they have tried, but their efforts have been cast in the pattern of an outworn tradition. Faced by failure of credit they have proposed only the lending of more money. Stripped of the lure of profit by which to induce our people to follow their false leadership, they have resorted to exhortations, pleading tearfully for restored confidence. They know only the rules of a generation of self-seekers. They have no vision, and when there is no vision the people perish.

"The money changers have fled from their high seats in the temple of our civilization. We may now restore that temple to the ancient truths. The measure of the restoration lies in the extent to which we apply social values more noble than mere monetary profit.

"Happiness lies not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort. The joy and moral stimulation of work no longer must be forgotten in the mad chase of evanescent profits. These dark days will be worth all they cost us if they teach us that our true destiny is not to be ministered unto but to minister to ourselves and to our fellow men.

"Recognition of the falsity of material wealth as the standard of success goes hand in hand with the abandonment of the false belief that public office and high political position are to be valued only by the standards of pride of place and personal profit; and there must be an end to a conduct in banking and in business which too often has given to a sacred trust the likeness of callous and selfish wrongdoing. Small wonder that confidence languishes, for it thrives only on honesty, on honor, on the sacredness of obligations, on faithful protection, on unselfish performance; without them it cannot live. Restoration calls, however, not for changes in ethics alone. This Nation asks for action, and action now."