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================================================= Ethics Today Online Published
by the Ethics Resource Center =======================================================
**************************************************************************** ** A Word from the President: Research Ethics Since the end of World War II, pure and applied research has been the foundation of economic, social and political development in the United States and many parts of the world. Research has brought amazing advances in medicine and transportation and fundamental changes in society. Although most people think of universities when they think of research, a massive amount of pure and applied research has been done by companies - from pharmaceuticals to computers, from automobiles to food. What we often don't consider is research integrity. Basic ethics is as important in research as it is in any other endeavor. In fact, without an ethical foundation, research can lead to some of the most grotesque policies in the name of science. One only has to be reminded of the Tuskegee experiments where African-Americans were left without treatment for syphilis so physicians could watch the progress of the disease. Or of Buck v. Bell, the Supreme Court opinion that stated, "Three generations of imbeciles are enough" and approved the involuntary sterilization of people considered "feebleminded", an accepted medical diagnosis in its day which included those who would now be called mildly retarded as well as women who had children out of wedlock. Today researchers are confronted with more subtle pressures. New grants for research often rely on previously successful grants. Universities award tenure and promotion on the basis of successful grants and publications. In companies, a sometimes-huge investment in developing a project or a product can create internal pressures on researchers. Researchers might also find themselves working for advocacy groups that either slant the research or the research report to fulfill an agenda. In addition, personal pressures can have an impact. It is very difficult to admit after years of work in a particular area that the effort has not borne results. Certainly, there are both external and internal bodies that oversee this process. At the federal level in the United States, there are dozens of investigative bodies to evaluate the products of federal grants. Internal research integrity controls are standard in most industries. But are they enough? Organizations engaged in research need to focus on the special pressures that researchers confront in science, engineering, and the social sciences, and on the special ethical values that undergird their activities. Specifically, there are a number of principles that apply to any organization engaged in research:
Many people might add to this list; it is far from exhaustive. All of these principles are further reinforced if an organization already has a firmly established ethical culture. As in any organization, a formal ethics program, including an ethics office, code of conduct, ethics training, and a helpline or hotline, will serve to constantly remind researchers - and other employees- of how critical integrity is to any project. Stuart C. Gilman, President ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** Survey Research: A Summary of Best Practices Surveying, whether for marketing, social sciences or public opinion, is the most efficient method for collecting information about a large group of people. A researcher is able to collect the opinions, perceptions and observations of a small, representative subset of a population in order to generalize to the whole. However, this capability is not to be taken lightly. Many dangers exist if a researcher opts to conduct a survey irresponsibly and without rigor. Luckily, many organizations and associations have developed sturdy guidelines that, if followed conscientiously, will result in a sound study. In this article, ERC Research Analyst Leslie Altizer, discusses each of the major principles that a researcher should follow when conducting a survey based upon the guidelines of three major survey research organizations. He provides a brief overview of various steps -- problem definition/goal setting, selecting a sample, questionnaire design and testing, data collection, data processing, and report writing -- that should be followed in order to conduct a thorough and valid survey research study. Read this article at: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A myriad of moral questions arise in the context of health care delivery that present dilemmas addressed by bioethics reflection. For example, is a physician always morally obligated to tell a terminally ill patient that he or she is dying? What ethical considerations must be addressed in surrogate motherhood and in vitro fertilization? Should research into cloning technology and genetic manipulation be promoted? In this guest column, Vincent Guss, Ethics Consultant and Director of Pastoral Care, Inova Alexandria Hospital, provides an introduction to bioethics, which he describes as, "a type of applied ethics that includes deliberation by all parties significantly affected by health care professionals, involving the perspectives and participation of all professionals representing pertinent disciplines, including medicine, nursing, pastoral care, social work, law, and other allied health professions." Read the rest of this article at: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** Cheating Far More Pervasive Today Than Ever Before Say Forum Presenters Tougher sanctions are needed to curb pervasive cheating in business, education and sports, according to leaders in these fields who participated in a recent forum, "Are We a Nation of Cheaters?" The forum, sponsored by the Ethics Resource Center (ERC) and Demos, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research and advocacy organization based in New York, examined the depth of America's crisis of integrity and identified solutions for strengthening ethics at the individual and organizational level. Speakers at the February 25 forum included:
The forum, hosted by Kiplinger Washington Editors, Inc., included a welcome delivered by Knight Kiplinger, Editor in Chief of The Kiplinger Letter. Read the press release at: The ERC has made available on its website the following remarks from the forum:
Using examples from his career and education, Mr. Augustine discusses the state of ethics in business today and the difficulties one faces in "comporting oneself in an ethical fashion." The problem, he notes, is that doing the ethical thing can be difficult, for a number of reasons.
Mr. Augustine says he believes the solution to what seems to be an epidemic of unethical behavior in business and in many other areas of our society involves both the stick, which makes it clear that there is a price to be paid for ethical misconduct, and the carrot, the essence of which is the setting the proper tone at the top, talking about ethics and then proceeding to walk the talk. Read the full text of Mr. Augustine's
remarks at:
While writing his book "The Cheating Culture," David Callahan says he tried to understand why there is so much cheating in so many different places -- from the highly publicized cases in business and sports to "all the minor cheating that seems to be everywhere lately." He pins much of the blame on "broad trends of the past quarter century" that made more people cheat "because it makes sense." He lays out four reasons that cheating often seems rational:
Like Mr. Augustine, Mr. Callahan says he believes that these challenges can be faced and conditions changed to reward integrity. Read the full text of Mr. Callahan's
remarks at: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** Ask the Expert: Why Did the Need for Ethics in Research Arise? "The way the question is framed presupposes that ethics in research is somehow new or different," writes ERC Principal Consultant Frank Navran. "I would suggest that the concept of research is founded on presumptions of ethics on the part of the researcher. Ethics is a precondition of research rather than a supplement." In this response, Mr. Navran considers some of the basic assumptions that research rests upon and addresses related questions such as why there is so much focus on ethics in research today and why so many researchers have failed to meet the standards of honesty and integrity. Read the response at: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** Readings on Scientific Research Ethics from the National Academies Press Referenced in many other articles on research ethics, these publications from the National Academies Press provide a solid grounding on the topic of responsible research. They are all available free for online reading or can be purchased in hard copy from the National Academies Press.
First published in 1988 and widely distributed to graduate and undergraduate science students, "On Being a Scientist" was updated in 1994 to incorporate new developments in science ethics, case studies and material from "Responsible Science," published by the National Academies Press (NAP) in 1992. According to NAP, this volume "presents penetrating discussions of the social and historical context of science, the allocation of credit for discovery, the scientist's role in society, the issues revolving around publication, and many other aspects of scientific work. The booklet explores the inevitable conflicts that arise when the black and white areas of science meet the gray areas of human values and biases." Read this handbook online at:
Responsible Science is "a comprehensive review of factors that influence the integrity of the research process. Volume I examines reports on the incidence of misconduct in science and reviews institutional and governmental efforts to handle cases of misconduct." This publication, says NAP, recommended that "individual scientists in cooperation with officials of research institutions should accept formal responsibility for ensuring the integrity of the research process. They should foster an environment, a reward system, and a training process that encourage responsible research practices." It also recommended that scientists and research institutions "integrate into their curricula educational programs that foster integrity, and that institutions adopt formal guidelines on the conduct of responsible research." Read Volume I online at: Read Volume II online at:
This report focuses on "the research environment and attempts to define and describe those elements that enable and encourage unique individuals, regardless of their role in the research organization or their backgrounds on entry, to act with integrity. Although integrity and misconduct are related, the focus of this report is on integrity." Chapters in this publication discuss: the definition of integrity as it applies to both individuals and institutions; an organizational framework for the research environment; the pros and cons of various elements that can foster integrity in the research environment; the importance of education in fostering integrity; and the preference for using self-assessment to measure integrity in the research environment. The report also includes five appendixes that list data sources, resources, and a historical overview. Read this publication online at: Locate other NAP publications on the
topic of science and ethics at: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** Online Resources on Research Ethics The following represent a sampling of the many publications and resources on the Internet that are related to ethics in research: -- Avoiding Plagiarism, Self-Plagiarism,
and Other Questionable Writing Practices: A Guide to Ethical Writing This guide on avoiding inappropriate writing practices was created to help students and professionals identify and prevent such practices and to develop an awareness of ethical writing. -- Center for Research Ethics Goteborg
University (Sweden) CRE does research in the area of research ethics and offers training and courses in the ethics of science. The Center's site contains an excellent list of links to online research ethics sources, divided into three subject headings: Institutions and Resources, Online Discussions and Texts, and Journals. -- The Poynter Center for the Study
of Ethics and American Institutions An endowed ethics research center at Indiana University Bloomington, the Poynter Center maintains an extensive list of links to research ethics sites. -- The Online Ethics Center for Engineering
and Science at Case Western Reserve University This site contains cases, essays, resources, references and regulations bearing on the responsible conduct of research, including issues of research integrity and of the treatment of research subjects. It covers a variety of disciplines, from engineering and computer science, the physical and life sciences to medicine. -- University of Pittsburgh, Office
of Research Integrity, Guidelines for Ethical Practices in Research This set of guidelines provides practical suggestions for maintaining integrity in research, with sections on plagiarism, misuse of privileged information, data, authorship, interference, obligation to report, curriculum vitae, conflict of interest, responsibilities of a research supervisor, responsibilities to funding agencies, special obligations in human subject research, and laboratory animals in research and testing. -- The Office of Research Integrity
(ORI), Office of Public Health and Science (OPHS), Office of the
Secretary of Health and Human Services ORI "promotes integrity in biomedical and behavioral research supported by the Public Health Service (PHS) at about 4,000 institutions worldwide, monitors institutional investigations of research misconduct and facilitates the responsible conduct of research through educational, preventive, and regulatory activities." The website includes information about programs, procedures for handling misconduct, publications, resources, policies, regulations and statutes. -- University of California, San Diego
(UCSD), Research Ethics Program This site contains information about courses and workshops on scientific integrity and scientific ethics, federal and institutional rules on topics such as training, animal and human subjects, conflicts, misconduct and whistle blowing, and resources on the responsible conduct of research for researchers and instructors. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** ERC Fellow Pat Gnazzo Testifies on US Sentencing Guidelines On March 18, 2004, the United States Sentencing Commission heard testimony from Ethics Resource Center Fellow and Vice President Business Practices, United Technologies Corporation, Pat Gnazzo on the proposed changes to the organizational sentencing guidelines at a public hearing in Washington, DC. Presenting along with other members of the business community, Mr. Gnazzo, representing the ERC Fellows Program, gave recommendations on improving the proposed guidelines. The ERC Fellows proposed modifications in the following areas of the guidelines:
The ERC Fellows Program sent a letter to the USSC expressing its appreciation for the work completed and also its concerns about several of the proposed changes, along with suggested modifications. Read the comment letter which served
as the basis of Mr. Gnazzo's testimony at: Read the Washington Post's account
of the hearing at: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry to Host Ethics Center On February 18, the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) and the ERC announced plans to establish the Gulf Center for Excellence in Ethics (GCEE) in Dubai. The center will be hosted at DCCI and make available organizational ethics and governance programs to business and government organizations throughout the Gulf and the Arab world. The Merck Company Foundation, the corporate social responsibility arm of the leading pharmaceutical company Merck Sharp & Dohme, will provide funds for building the center's ethics training and consulting capacities. Read the rest of this press release
at: Several publications printed versions of the announcement, including the following: -- Dubai to establish region's first
business ethics centre, February 19, Gulf News -- DCCI and ERC plan to set up Gulf
Centre for Excellence in Ethics, February 19, Khaleej Times ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** ERC Fellows Stephen Potts and Norm Augustine Appointed to NIH Conflict of Interest Panel On February 19, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced the full membership of its new NIH Blue Ribbon Panel on Conflict of Interest Policies. A working group of the Advisory Committee to the NIH Director, the panel is co-chaired by ERC Founding Fellow Norman R. Augustine and Bruce Alberts, Ph.D., President of the National Academy of Sciences. ERC Fellows Chairman Stephen D. Potts also serves on the panel. NIH Director Elias A. Zerhouni, M.D., said, "We have assembled leading experts on institutional management and ethics to provide an impartial review of NIH's consulting practices and provide recommendations to my advisory committee for systemic changes to ensure NIH ethics policies and procedures regarding outside activities are fully transparent to the public." The panel, whose charge includes reviewing and making recommendations for improving the existing rules and procedures under which NIH currently operates regarding real and apparent financial conflict of interest of NIH staff, held two meetings in March 2004. Read the February 19 press release
at: The NIH has compiled a page of conflict
of interest resources, which also provides more information about
the Panel, including meeting agendas and opportunities to submit
comments, at: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** Beyond Reproach: The Case of the Job-hunting Client [The ERC writes a monthly column for The Government Services Insider, a new monthly newsletter focusing on the activities and best practices of the Federal government professional and technical services industry. In an ethics feature called "Beyond Reproach," the ERC provides analysis and action recommendations regarding how to resolve a specific ethical question arising from actual business circumstances, based on ideas solicited from readers. This column was published in February 2004. ] Concern: "There's always someone who doesn't get the word or read the papers. A former major client of ours who is still in the government has raised the possibility of employment twice recently. We still do work with her agency, but not with her program. She's implied that she could do us some good and also seemed to suggest that not hiring her would be a mistake. I'm afraid to think what that means. This situation poses several challenges. What should I do?" Response: There are several issues within this question. There are obvious legal challenges and client management challenges, but the most critical issue is the ethics challenge. All of the relevant legal and business questions in this case are founded on fundamental ethical principles. Values such as fairness and openness (transparency) are critical for you as a contractor. The procurement and contracting process requires a level playing field as well as an open, clear process. Your competitive advantage is your product, your price and your reputation. The former client might have skills you actually want, but what would you be getting along with them? Would you hire an employee who had a tendency to cut corners to get her way? What damage could she do to your organization's culture? Read the rest of Dr. Gilman's response
at: Learn more about Government Services
Insider at: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** ERC Fellows Seeking Pace Award Nominations The ERC Fellows Program is seeking nominations for the 2004 Stanley C. Pace Ethics and Leadership Award. The award honors an organization, individual or group of individuals displaying excellence in the ethics field and recognizes the recipient's accomplishments and contributions in ethical business management. Additionally, the award focuses global attention on the increasingly critical role of ethics in the conduct of our lives and work, raising issues that help businesses, nonprofits, educational institutions and governmental agencies find practical solutions to today's ethical problems. Nominations are due by June 1, 2004 and will be voted on at the July 2004 ERC Fellows meeting. Read more about the Pace Award and
get a copy of the nomination form at: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** Lockheed Martin Reports Results of Ethics Survey Administered by ERC Lockheed Martin printed a special insert entitled "Taking Our Ethical Pulse" in the March 2004 issue of LM Today, its monthly employee newletter, in which it printed the findings of its 2003 Ethics Survey, administered by the Ethics Resource Center. The conclusions are based on an analysis of more than 60,000 surveys completed in November 2003 by Lockheed Martin employees. Many of the results are compared with employee responses to previous similar surveys. The insert includes 38 graphs showing responses to the survey's questions about employee perceptions of ethics at Lockheed Martin and their knowledge of its ethics programs. "We are pleased that employees continued to have a positive view of the Corporation and its ethical business culture," said Lockheed Martin Chairman and CEO Vance Coffman. "At the same time, we recognize there is always room for improvement and we will strive for that improvement." The four page insert includes an essay, "Living our Ethics in an Era of Scandal," by Lockheed Martin's President and CEO Bob Stevens. "As long as there are opportunities for selfish, unethical actions, there will be people who choose to engage in them," he writes, adding that the operative word is "choose." "Ethical conduct is an active, informed choice that must be continuously renewed and reinforced," he says. For this reason, he explains, Lockheed Martin invests heavily in ethics awareness, compliance and training. "We believe that the more our employees think about the ethical hazards and complexities of the workplace, the more likely they are to make the right decisions when the time comes." The special section also includes an article by ERC President Stuart Gilman, entitled "Ethics Survey Results Are Consistent, Positive", in which he notes that the results of the 2003 survey showed "incredible consistency" with the largely positive results from 2001. He goes on to compare some of the results of the surveys, noting, "This is the fifth time the ERC has been privileged to conduct Lockheed Martin's ethics survey since its inception in 1995." Dr. Gilman says that Lockheed Martin employees reported high levels of seeing the company's six principles - honesty, integrity, respect, trust, responsibility and citizenship - applied "always" or "often" at work. The more that employees reported seeing those principles at work, says Gilman, "the less likely they were to feel pressured to violate Lockheed Martin's standards of ethical business conduct, the less ethical misconduct they observed, and the more likely they were to feel their supervisors would discipline employees who violated the ethical standards." Get a PDF copy of LM Today on Lockheed
Martin's website at: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** Student Ethics Office Update [The Student Ethics Office™ (SEO™) model meets students' needs while maximizing results by tapping into their insights and enthusiasm. SEOs™ are modeled on corporate ethics offices and replicate most of the elements of a corporate ethics office, so students not only capitalize on the expertise of partnering companies, but they see how ethics will pertain to their working life. The ERC is currently working with three schools in Maryland and in Virginia to pilot the SEO™ model regionally and Ethics Today will regularly report on their progress.] This month, at the request of one of the SEO pilot schools, and with assistance from members of the school community, the ERC translated its "core values" survey into Spanish and posted the survey online with a bilingual introduction and instructions, allowing the school and the ERC to reach a larger percentage of the community served by that school district. "This recommendation, which came from a school, and was facilitated by members of the school community, is a great example of the importance of making the students and the schools the key players in the development of the student ethics offices," said ERC Associate Consultant Katie Sutliff, who coordinates the program. Learn more about the ERC's Student
Ethics Office™ (SEO™) model and find out how you can get involved
at: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** Publications and Media Coverage -- "Students Learn to Build Character," February 2004, ASCA School Counselor ERC Associate Consultant Katie Sutliff combined with Lee Kaiser, a guidance counselor at Kings Glen Elementary School in Fairfax County, VA, to author this article that discusses the successful student-centered character education program implemented at Mr. Kaiser's school. The student character club at Kings Glen consists of two fifth grade and two sixth grade teams who are expected to model and exemplify positive character traits and who act as representatives for their classmates. Their weekly brainstorming and strategy meetings are based on the premise that students know students best. Projects are prioritized and shared with classmates; those that the teams believe are in tune with the club's mission, are feasible, and will be welcomed and supported by others are introduced to the entire school community. "They are learning positive character development and doing so more effectively because it is coming from their fellow students," says one sixth grade teacher. Parents and community have been included since the start of the program and the students have been involved in a great deal of community service work. In turn, local businesses demonstrate their support by donating merchandise that is used to recognize students who display good character. "Club members are learning life skills, and they come to understand how organizations develop and execute action plans," write the authors. "They learn to work and care for others, respect and appreciate differences and follow through on their responsibilities. In turn, the staff members benefit because they realize the Kings Glen students are doing the work, not the teachers, school counselors or administrator, who can too often be overworked, overwhelmed and overcommitted."
ERC Principal Consultant Frank Navran provides a series of questions that a board can use to assess the ethical culture of organizations. He includes sets of questions in ten areas, including operational values; perceived pressure to commit misconduct; observed misconduct; job satisfaction; perceived safety of the guidance/reporting mechanisms; perceptions of a double standard; ethics as a "legitimate" business issue; mutual trust; presence of a common language, common ethical reasoning process and a "common sense" of what constitutes the right thing to do; and confidence that leadership is committed to the highest ethical standards for the long term. Read Mr. Navran's article, "Specific
Points for a Director to Examine In Determining The Effectiveness
Of An Ethics Program", on which this piece was based, at:
This article about the ERC's recent forum, "Are We a Nation of Cheaters?" focuses especially on the presentation by Virginia Secretary of Education Belle S. Wheelan and digests her discussion of four main reasons that students cheat -- competition, lack of academic preparation, ineffective or absent teaching that cheating isn't right, and "the thrill of not getting caught." Read this article at:
Movement of employees between the Pentagon and big defense contractors has always been active, says this article, but a recent case has put this "revolving door" under intense scrutiny again, with action being taken by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, the General Accounting Office and the White House. A number of factors work against significant revision of the complex rules that allow Pentagon officials to accept defense-industry jobs, however. The defense industry constantly seeks highly experienced government officials who are valuable not only because they know the ways of the Pentagon but also because they have high-tech knowledge, achieved during their tenure with the government. In addition, an overhaul could diminish the attractiveness of the government work. "I have met a number of people who really want to serve the public, and they go into the government because they want to serve their country," said ERC President Stuart Gilman. "But they wouldn't want to do this if they thought they couldn't get a job to support their family when they left the government." Read this article at:
Most people can agree on some big ethical issues, says this article, yet every person faces a multitude of ethical decisions every day, such as whether to surf the Internet at work or tell cashiers of errors in making change. The article, which touches on issues from the Holocaust to plagiarism to issues in the news today, cites the findings of the ERC's National Business Ethics Survey 2003, which found improvements in ethics since the survey conducted in 2000. It also notes that 10 percent of employees overall still said they felt pressure to compromise the ethics standards of their organization and that 44 percent of nonmanagement employees said they did not report misconduct they observed. "We all get stuck in the situation where we know what the right thing is and for a variety of reasons we don't do it," says Scot Yoder, visiting professor of philosophy at Michigan State University. Read this article at:
This press release, which cites a study linking strong compliance and ethics programs to stronger stock prices, also discusses a database being developed by the Open Compliance & Ethics Group (OCEG). The database will feature simplified interpretations of compliance regulations and tools for evaluating the quality, scope and commitment of compliance and corporate governance. The project, to be released this summer, combines individual input and review of more than 200 contributors, including leading thinkers from Federal authorities, the Business Roundtable, the Conference Board, the Ethics Resource Center, the AICPA, major law firms, accounting giants and large corporations. Read a copy of the OCEG press release
at:
This article by ERC Board member Frank Vogl discusses the long time need for a document like the recently signed UN Convention Against Corruption, which calls on governments to replace secrecy with transparency in their public procurement practices and dealings with the private sector. Especially for countries like the United States that have laws making it a criminal offense to bribe foreign officials, ERC President Stuart Gilman says it can "help to create a level playing for doing business around the world."
Samir Khalil, executive director, HIV Policy & External Affairs, Europe, Middle East and Africa, for Merck, was invited to participate on a panel discussing how business can contribute to peace and democracy at the meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Mr. Khalil's presentation focused on the links between health and development, and the role that healthcare companies must play to foster both. He also discussed Merck's key role in the development of independent ethics resource centers, the oldest of which is the Gulf Center for Excellence in Ethics, founded in 1998, which are supported through a partnership between the ERC and The Merck Company Foundation. "By setting ethical standards, private industry can, and does, contribute to peace and democracy," he said. The article goes on to discuss the collaboration of Merck and the ERC in establishing centers in Colombia, South Africa and Turkey, as well as to discuss some of the services offered by the Gulf Center and Ethics Institute of South Africa. -- "Worries Over Just the Appearance of Impropriety Are Causing Companies To Take a Closer Look at Potential Conflicts of Interest," February 25, Orlando Sentinel Conflicts of interest aren't limited to high-ranking public officials or even corporate executives, says Harry Wessel in this column. Employees at all levels often face conflicts of interest, and even more routinely face "the appearance of impropriety." ERC President Stuart Gilman suggests that companies "identify conflicts of interest and what they look like to average employees." Dr. Gilman cites Lockheed Martin as having a model ethics program, which includes the following description in its Code of Ethics and Business Conduct: "A conflict of interest occurs whenever an individual's private interest interferes with the interest of the corporation." The Code requires that "any situation, transaction, or relationship that might give rise to an actual or potential conflict of interest" be disclosed in writing. For an example of a conflict of interest that frightens current corporations, Dr. Gilman points to the case of Arthur Andersen, which effectively went out of business because of a conflict created by serving as consultant and auditor to Enron. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -- On February 20, ERC President Stuart Gilman spoke to participants in the Humphrey Fellowship Program at the University of Maryland about ethics in journalism. He discussed current ethics issues for journalists, including transparency, honesty and integrity. He also talked about some of the ethical problems faced today by corporations, the development of ethics programs in the last decade and key findings of the National Business Ethics Survey 2003 that show the impact of those programs. The Humphrey Fellowship Program brings to the US accomplished professionals from designated countries at a midpoint in their careers for a year of study and related professional experiences. -- On March 11, Dr. Gilman participated in a videoconference on the OECD Guidelines on Managing Conflict of Interest in the Public Sector. The conference was sponsored by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), in partnership with the National Association for Business Economics (NABE) and the Ethics Resource Center. -- Dr. Gilman also made a presentation on March 1 to ethics advisers at the Boeing Company. -- Associate Consultant Katie Sutliff conducted a training session on business ethics for the National Industries for the Blind on February 24. Her presentation to participants in the Leadership Development Fellowship, as well as other staff and employees, included small group discussion of case studies in which participants applied ethical decision-making techniques. The Leadership Development Fellowship is a program for blind individuals that combines on-the-job experience with formal management training. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As a non-profit organization, the Ethics Resource Center depends on contributions from many generous donors. Without their dedication and trust, many of the programs and projects highlighted in this newsletter would not be possible. The ERC thanks the following for their contributions of general support:
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