Published by the Ethics Resource Center 
   Special: Education Issue -- April, 2006   

ERC is pleased to announce two upcoming educational events.

• ERC is launching a new series of web-based seminars in order to share our knowledge and insights related to organizational ethics. We will be offering webcasts on various topics related to our research on a regular basis throughout the year. The first series of three 1 1/2 hour long web based seminars is on "Understanding, Affecting, and Measuring Ethical Culture."
  More information about this Series
  
  
  
• In addition, ERC President Pat Harned, ERC Board Chair Steve Potts and several ERC Fellows will be participating in the US Chamber of Commerce Business Civic Leadership Center's "2006 Partnership Conference: Strengthening Organizational Values and Stakeholder Trust"
  More information about this Conference

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ERC Webcasts: Understanding, Affecting, and Measuring “Ethical Culture”

Join ERC researchers, leaders in measuring ethics program effectiveness, in a lively discussion on “ethical culture.”

This series of three 1 ½ hour web-based seminars will expose participants to the ethical elements of organizational culture (“ethical culture”). ERC researchers will discuss what is known about ethical culture and why we should care; the impact of leadership on ethical culture; and, finally, measuring ethical culture.

Dates:

May 4, 2006 at 2:00 p.m. EDT : What Is Known About “Ethical Culture” and Why We Should Care
May 18, 2006 at 2:00 p.m. EDT : The Impact of Leadership on Ethical Culture
June 1, 2006 at 2:00 p.m. EDT : Measuring Ethical Culture

Cost:

$350 for webcast series (three webcasts in a series)  

Register and pay for webcast series

Webcast #1: May 4, 2006 at 2:00 p.m.
What Is Known About “Ethical Culture” and Why We Should Care

This webcast will address such questions as:

• Does organizational culture actually exist?
• How can we define ethical culture?
• What are the ethical elements of organizational culture?
• What types of behavior does organizational culture control?
• What is the relationship of organizational values and organizational behavior?
• Should ethics officers care about culture?

This webcast will also consider:

• ERC research into program effectiveness metrics, including the relationship between organizational culture and expected program outcomes, including:
• Ethics-related actions
• Employee participation
• Accepting personal responsibility
• Willingness to hold accountability at all levels of the organization
• Pressure to compromise standards
• Benchmarks of organizational culture
• The role of organizational culture in risk assessment, program design and implementation, and program evaluation
• The FSGO requirement of due diligence in promoting an organizational culture of ethical conduct to be deemed an effective program
• The relative contribution of a formal ethics and compliance program and a strong organizational culture

This webcast will look at how the leadership of an organization might impact organizational culture, including such questions as:

• What is the impact of various leadership styles on culture?
• How do punishment and reward systems impact culture?
• How does a leader’s management of a crisis or transition impact culture?
• How do management decisions about budgets and fiscal matters impact culture?
• How does a focus on shared purpose and values impact culture?
• How does a leader involve employees in culture change?
• Does an effective ethics program impact culture—why and why not?

This webcast will also consider factors that impact culture outside of a leader’s control, such as:

• The impact of stories, rumors and myths on culture
• The impact of national, regional, racial, gender, economic, political culture on the culture of an organization

Webcast #3: June 1, 2006 at 2:00 p.m.

Measuring Ethical Culture

The final session will treat in detail how to collect, analyze, and display data related to the measurement of ethical culture. Participants will learn:

• How to design effective collection instruments
• Most effective means of collecting the data
• Common demographic measures
• How to relate organizational culture data to expected program outcomes
• How to create an index of organizational culture
• How to display findings about organizational culture and expected program outcomes

If you have additional questions about this ERC webcast series, please contact Ingrid@ethics.org

US Chamber of Commerce Business Civic Leadership Center's "2006 Partnership Conference: Strengthening Organizational Values and Stakeholder Trust"

The Business Civic Leadership Center (BCLC) 2006 Partnership Conference: Strengthening Organizational Values and Stakeholder Trust will be held at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce building in Washington, DC, on May 18-19, 2006.

This national conference will focus on how companies are strengthening and communicating positive business values and addressing corporate citizenship issues and attitudes raised by the recent corporate scandals. The conference is an opportunity to develop tools, relationships and strategies to strengthen your organization and to promote a more positive environment for the business community.

Topics Include:

• The Business Case for Business Values -- Driving Performance
• Promoting a Culture of Commitment
• Training and Motivating
• Inspirational Leadership
• Communications Strategies

Attendees will participate in various working meetings featuring specific case studies, issues, and strategies and will contribute their insights, experiences, and expertise to the discussion.

ERC President Pat Harned will moderate a session on May 18 on organizational development strategies. ERC Board Chair Stephen Potts and ERC Fellow Scott A. Roney, Vice President, Corporate Compliance & Regulatory Affairs, Archer Daniels Midland Company, will be part of a panel discussion May 19 on how business, nonprofits and government agencies can work together to promote trust and integrity. Mr. Roney will also participate in a panel on "Defining Inspirational Leadership" on May 18.

Founding ERC Fellows Chair Norm Augustine, former Chairman and CEO, Lockheed Martin, will give the keynote speech on "What Success Looks Like". Other speakers include leaders from Accenture, Archer Daniels Midland, Chiquita, Edelman, Fortune Magazine, IBM, KPMG, Lenovo, McAfee, and Southwest Airlines.

The Business Civic Leadership Center (BCLC), formerly the Center for Corporate Citizenship, is a 501(c)(3) affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. BCLC is dedicated to advancing business and society relations and presents the Partnership Conference annually on a particular social issue about which companies are concerned.

For more information or to register, visit
http://www.uschamber.com/events/ViewEvent.htm?eventID=520

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http://www.ethics.org

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