Jennifer Sanchis MPRCA MCIPR’s Post

🌟 Warren Buffett Harnesses the Ethics Premium: A Strategic Advantage 🌟 In a world where business integrity is more scrutinized than ever, understanding the value of ethics in advertising and corporate conduct has become paramount. One of the greatest investors of our time, Warren Buffett, has long championed the principle that ethical business practices are not just a moral obligation but a cornerstone of enduring success. The latest findings reveal a compelling narrative about the tangible benefits of ethical business conduct. The "Ethics Premium" for 2024 is 12.3%, underscoring the significant advantage that ethically driven companies enjoy. This premium represents the margin by which companies recognized in this year's "World's Most Ethical Companies" have outperformed a comparable index of global companies over a five-year span from January 2019 to January 2024, according to Ethisphere. This insight is not just a testament to the moral high ground but a clear indicator of the strategic advantage of ethical practices. It underscores a pivotal shift in the global market landscape, where integrity, transparency, and ethical conduct are not just valued but rewarded. As members of the Institute for Advertising Ethics, we stand at the forefront of advocating for and implementing these practices. This data reinforces our commitment to fostering an industry ethos where ethics and success are intertwined. Let's continue to lead by example, showing the world that ethical business is not only the right way to operate but the most profitable one in the long run. 🔗 Join us in championing ethical advertising. Together, we can set new standards for success, driven by integrity and responsibility. #EthicsPremium #AdvertisingEthics #CorporateIntegrity #SustainableSuccess #EthicalLeadership

Ethics in Business Is there a more boring topic than ethics in business, especially in PR?)) I used to think so too until my husband and I had a conversation about it recently. We came to the interesting idea that less ethical people are often more successful in both life and business. However, in my business, ethics is a super important part. Here are some key principles we adhere to and implement in practice: — Working with Competitors: I know many PR teams that easily take on competitors. We always inform our clients if a direct or indirect competitor approaches us. We discuss whether it is acceptable for the current client. Usually, it ends well, but there are different scenarios: a) not taking the competitor as a client; b) simply informing the current client; c) assigning different teams. — Transparency within the PR Team: The PR team needs to know EVERYTHING, absolutely all the details of a project. PR professionals are akin to lawyers (at least brand and reputation lawyers for the company externally). Like any lawyer, to offer the most effective promotion plan, we need a complete picture of what is happening.   Why is this important? When working with the media, we build our reputation with journalists and clients, and we build the client's reputation with the media. If we do not understand what is actually happening within the company, we: a) will not be able to help; b) will look incompetent along with the client (sorry for the bluntness). — Maintaining Confidentiality: The PR team always keeps confidential information. For example, we have cases that we cannot discuss—sometimes due to signed NDAs, sometimes because they are crisis cases that we ethically cannot make public. Revealing such information would jeopardize both the client and our own reputation. — Honesty and Transparency: In every interaction, honesty and transparency are critical. Misleading clients, media, or the public can lead to a loss of trust and long-term damage to a company's reputation. PR teams should be forthright about what can be achieved and the methods used to achieve those goals. — Social Responsibility: PR professionals should consider the broader impact of their work on society. This includes promoting positive messages, avoiding harmful stereotypes, and contributing to the public good. — Respect for All Stakeholders: Respect for clients, employees, competitors, and the public is essential. This means avoiding manipulative tactics and treating everyone fairly and with dignity. In conclusion, when choosing a PR team, always look at their ethical principles, the ethics of the founder, or the in-house PR professional. This can often be discerned from their social media posts. And be sure to discuss this topic during initial meetings. #pr #comms #communications #ethics

Ethics in Procurement (5 ways to deal with it) : _______________________________ Procurement often involves handling sensitive transactions and relationships. Here are five ways to deal with it : #First : Identifying Common Ethical Issues :- 1. Conflicts of Interest: When personal relationships or incentives cloud professional judgment. 2. Supplier Favoritism: Choosing a supplier without proper evaluation or due process. 3. Kickbacks or Bribes: Receiving gifts or benefits that influence decisions. 4. Unfair Practices: Pressuring suppliers to accept unreasonable terms or payments. 5. Lack of Transparency: Hiding procurement decisions or skipping competitive bidding. These aren’t just bad practices, they’re also red flags that can undermine trust within your organization and with external partners. #Second : Building an Ethical Procurement Framework :- 1. Code of Conduct: Develop a procurement-specific code of ethics . 2. Training Programs: Awareness is your first line of defense. 3. Transparent Policies: Document your procurement processes, to ensure decisions are clear and auditable. 4. Accountability Mechanisms: Create systems where employees can report unethical behavior without fear of retaliation. Anonymous whistleblower hotlines are an effective tool. #Third : Build a Culture of Integrity :- Ethics in procurement isn’t just about rules; it’s about culture. When integrity becomes a core value, ethical decision-making follows naturally. 1. Lead by Example: Procurement leaders must model ethical behavior in all decisions and interactions. 2. Reward Ethical Choices: Recognize and reward employees who prioritize ethics 3. Encourage Open Communication with your team #Fourth: Use Technology to Implement Ethical Procurement :- Technology can play a significant role in minimizing unethical behavior: 1. Spend Analysis Tools: Monitor spending patterns to spot irregularities or potential misuse of funds. 2. Supplier Management Software: Ensure that supplier selection is based on objective criteria, not favoritism. 3. Contract Management Systems: Automate contract reviews to reduce the risk of unfair terms or hidden clauses. By integrating these tools, you can make procurement processes more transparent and less prone to ethical breaches. #Fifth:Trainings on Ethical Procurement :- Training on ethics becomes more impactful when it’s interactive and practical. For example, simulating situations using case studies and interactive exercises helps employees build confidence and make ethical decisions under real-world pressure. Additionally, incorporating real-life examples from your organization or industry can make the training more relatable and relevant. Discussing actual cases of ethical breaches, their consequences, and how they could have been prevented reinforces the importance of adhering to ethical practices. _________ References : purchasing and procurement center. Procurement leaders, Newsletter.

Every year, I go through a lot of applications for the World's Most Ethical Companies. The work I do is just part of the thousands of hours that the Ethisphere team puts in to evaluate the hundreds of applications that we get every year. The Ethics Quotient questionnaire at the heart of the application process contains more than 240 questions. There's a reason why I don't have much time to spare between October and January All of this produces an enormous amount of data, from which we draw some very interesting conclusions and insights about the best practices that unite the World's Most Ethical Companies. For example: * 100% of this year's Honorees use employee engagement surveys * 96% of Honoree ethics and compliance teams provide their Boards with reports detailing the company's ethical culture * 90% of Honoree ethics and compliance teams are included as part of their organization's mergers and acquisitions (M&A) due diligence efforts But there aren't many categories where everybody is doing the same thing, and that's where things start to get interesting. Even the best of the best still have room for improvement. Identifying areas for improvement is key for companies striving for recognition. Remember the engagement surveys I mentioned earlier? While everyone's doing them (which is great), some companies go further in their surveying efforts: 81% of Honorees elect to ask questions about the company's ethical culture in exit surveys and 74% use a dedicated ethical culture survey where they can get at the heart of key culture insights - whether employees are comfortable speaking up, if employees see leadership behaving ethically and not just talking about ethics, whether employees have trust that their company will do the right thing when presented with an issue, and many other important perceptions and awareness points. A lot of the statistics we uncover illustrate success stories underway - like the increase in Board diversity we've noticed this year (55% of Honorees have 16-35% underrepresented persons represented!). On their own, these numbers might not appear terribly impressive. When the figures, compared with prior year data, show an eight-point gain, we start to see a positive trend emerge. It reveals a culture of companies adopting robust ethics, compliance, and integrity elements to improve their organizations. Key to this is intentional and repeated measurement and improvement. A World's Most Ethical Companies Honoree never sees this recognition as a one-off achievement; rather, it's part of an ongoing process to understand where an organization can, and should, do better. Sharing how these organizations have achieved excellence is one of the most interesting and illuminating aspects of what I do at Ethisphere. I'll share more data and insights from this year's Honoree class at the upcoming Global Ethics Summit this week (April 22 - 24), and I hope to see you there - in-person or virtually, of course.

My new article on Rethinking Ethical Leadership in the C Suite has been published here Paywalled, but here's the abstract: The author is a clinical associate professor at NYU Stern School of Business, and the executive director at Ethical Systems. She writes that “behavioral ethicists agree that while leading by example is important, it’s crucial to focus on building employee capacity for ethical decision-making.” She further contends that “Companies… they must also manage the full spectrum of ethical commitments in practical ways. This poses particular challenges when you’re dealing with an increasingly vocal yet divided workforce.” She also discusses the nuances of sustainability and ESG {Environmental, Social, and Governance} within organizational ethics. Quotes are presented from such experts as Hui Chen, “a former prosecutor who became the first in-house compliance counsel expert in the US Department of Justice”; Klaus Moosmayer, chief ethics, risk, and compliance officer at Novartis; and Nell Minow, described as “one of the leading corporate governance specialists in the United States.” For instance, according to Chen, “I’ve been baffled by the complete lack of interaction between the ethics and compliance community and the ESG community, because to me they’re really the same thing.” The author concludes: “Organizations don’t just need tone at the top; they need to solicit and support awareness, accountability, and voice at all levels.” Right???? https://lnkd.in/d2dZhFTG

What exactly is "Team Ethical Culture" and how can it render a well-implemented ethics program as 'insufficient'❓ That is exactly what we asked Guillem Casòliva Cabana, PhD, CCEP-I, Keynote Speaker on the new Culture & Compliance Chronicles podcast 🎤 series. I first had the privilege of meeting Guillem Casòliva Cabana, PhD, CCEP-I, Keynote Speaker at the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics (SCCE) ECEI in Amsterdam during panel led and moderated by LRN Chief Advisory Officer, Ty Francis MBE, CCEP and where the panel was also joined by Helene Kadjar, Unilever and Samer Jannoun, CCEP-I, FICA, Meta focusing on new ideas and trends with respect to learning and education. I then had the chance to get to know more of Guillem's work (at Booking.com) and his Phd 🎓 theses on "Unravelling Team Ethical Culture" which is a work of research that is both thought-provoking as well as counter-intuitive 💡. Wanting to share more of this work, we hope you will join Ropes & Gray LLP Partner Amanda Raad (Co-Chair of the Anti-Corruption and International Risk Practice, and Co-Lead of R&G Insights Lab) and Nitish Upadhyaya (Director of Behavioral Insights) for the launch of this Ropes & Gray LLP Insights Lab and Front-Line Anti-Bribery LLC podcast series where Guillem (as our first guest 👏🏼) answered some very challenging questions, including: ▶️ How and why well-implemented compliance programs can be insufficient to effectively prevent unethical behavior. ▶️ Why differences in ethical culture across and within organizations (team culture) can have a significant impact on ethics and compliance programs and initiatives. ▶️ How to utilize surveys, focus groups, and compliance champion programs to detect where unhealthy “micro-cultures might exist” and how to action that information in a way as to constructively address those ‘hot-spots’ 🔥. In sum, as Guillem shares “organizational culture is a constellation ✨ of team ethical culture.” The podcast is available here ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/eg-e5Te4 . . . and is also available on Apple (https://lnkd.in/e597UGfU), ... as well as Spotify (https://lnkd.in/ed8ANtjz) or wherever else you listen 🎧 to your content. Thanks to the Ropes & Gray LLP team for the opportunity to co-host this monthly series including Eric Gaudet, Partner, Sean Seelinger, Taylor Mindrebø Wolcott, Jeremy Miller, Kristina Kazerani, and Janet Wigren among so many others. Stay tuned for future episodes (we promise no more than one per month and each episode will be about 30 minutes ⏰) with upcoming guests including Ryan Rohlfsen and Stephanie Niven. #culture #compliance #integrity #analytics #behaviors #podcasts

Ethics & Compliance: Building a Culture of Integrity In today's world, ethics and compliance are fundamental — they're the foundation of sustainable success. As we navigate complex regulatory environments, it's crucial to prioritize integrity in every aspect of companies’ operations. 🚀 The Power of a Robust Ethics & Compliance Program A well-designed ethics and compliance program serves as a compass for organizations, guiding decision-making and fostering a culture of trust. From my point of view, a strong E&C program must include the following: 1️⃣ Clear ethical policies that set expectations for all employees 2️⃣ Regular training to reinforce ethical standards 3️⃣ Accessible reporting mechanisms for concerns 4️⃣ Consistent enforcement of policies Strong ethics and compliance programs can: 🟩 Enhance reputation and brand value 🟩 Mitigate risks and avoid costly penalties I would say that compliance is not just about avoiding penalties; it's building a momentum and a legacy ... a momentum for the organization at the time company is having its E&C program in place but also a legacy for the next leaders and employees, and it may also improve attractivity for customers, partners, candidates. Any worldwide company is subject to many regulations, from very specific to more generic … let’s quote some very well-known FCPA in the US, Bribery Act in the UK, Loi Sapin in France … just to name a few! So, it's not a video game, it's a serious matter. 🌟Beyond Compliance: Ethical Leadership True ethical conduct goes beyond mere compliance. It requires leadership that: 👉 Demonstrates unwavering commitment to ethical practices 👉 Encourages open dialogue about ethical dilemmas 👉 Recognizes and rewards ethical behavior Once again, everything comes from the top of the company. We cannot ask employees to be ethical if their leaders are not! That’s pure logic. And then, we go back to the mojo of “lead by example”. From my very personal POV, I think Ethic & Compliance matters so much. When I’m looking at companies’ websites, I’m taking a look at that kind of info, but also any kind of certification … let’s think about https://lnkd.in/eJCts_-H Let's commit to making ethics and compliance the cornerstone of our businesses. Let’s make it concrete and real, just not words that are fancy. What steps is your organization taking to strengthen its ethical culture? Share your thoughts below! 👇 #EthicsAndCompliance #BusinessIntegrity #FCPA #BriberyAct #LoiSapin #CorporateEthics #LeadershipInAction 

Sure, most large organizations and companies have a code of ethics or a similar program, but do employees truly believe in it? What about asking 12,000 employees in 16 countries? This is what the Institute of Business Ethics did in its international 2024 Ethics at Work Survey and it shows quite encouraging trends even though substantial challenges are still there. You should check the full survey (a lot of good stuff for any ethics-related training or presentation) but my top findings are: 👍 Employees report increased familiarity with ethics resources, including confidential reporting (61%) and access to advice/hotlines (53%), up significantly since 2021. 👍 Misconduct awareness rose to 25% in 2024, with issues like sexual harassment and bribery remaining top concerns. 👍 More employees are willing to speak up to report misconduct (64%, up from 57% in 2021) ... 👎 ... meaning a third of those who were aware of misconduct did not report it, mainly because they feared for their job or that no corrective action would be taken (both reasons at 34%, with no change since 2021). 👎 The top two kinds of pressure leading to unethical behavior are "I was following my boss's orders" and "unreasonable deadlines". 👎 Female and younger employees often report less favorable ethics experiences. My highlights reflect the importance of a dedicated focus on ethics, not just for checking a box, but as a foundation for workplaces where integrity and accountability are the norm and I am happy that Brink's new value #WeDoWhatsRight is fully aligned with this. #EthicsAtWork #IBE2024 #WorkplaceEthics #CorporateCulture #Integrity #OrganizationalGrowth Vakhid Saparov Keisha Collier Dragone Jason Wu Marie Duvivier Pamela McCloud Lindsay Krause Blackwood Elizabeth Galloway Hal S. (thanks to IÉSEG School of Management - Simone de Colle for bringing the survey in my feed initially)

Building a Boardroom Built on Trust: Ethics and Integrity The boardroom sets the ethical tone for the entire company. This post explores how fostering strong ethical principles and maintaining integrity are crucial for good governance. ➡️ Building Ethical Foundations  A strong ethical foundation in the boardroom is the cornerstone of: Ethical Corporate Culture: The board's ethical conduct sets the standard for the entire organization, fostering ethical behavior throughout the company. Long-Term Sustainability: Companies with strong ethics build trust with stakeholders, leading to long-term success. Public Confidence: Ethical conduct fosters public trust in the company and its leadership. ➡️ Managing Conflicts  Conflicts of interest can erode trust. Strong measures help maintain boardroom integrity: Disclosure: Board members must disclose any potential conflicts of interest, allowing for impartial decision-making. Recusal: When a conflict arises, board members should recuse themselves from related discussions and voting. Independent Oversight: Independent directors play a critical role in identifying and addressing potential conflicts. ➡️ Protecting Whistleblowers  Whistleblower protection is essential for ethical practices: Robust Whistleblower Policy: Boards should establish and enforce strong whistleblower policies that encourage reporting of unethical conduct without fear of retaliation. Independent Investigation: A clear process for investigating whistleblower reports, ensuring fair and impartial handling of concerns. Zero Tolerance: A commitment to a zero-tolerance policy for unethical behavior builds trust and encourages ethical conduct throughout the company. By prioritizing ethics and integrity, boards can build a foundation for a successful and trustworthy organization. What are your thoughts on the importance of ethics and integrity in the boardroom? Share your insights in the comments! Directors' Institute - World Council Of Directors | World Development Corporation | Zeeshaan Pathan | Sheikh Ayub #boardroom #ethics #integrity #governance #whistleblowers #CorporateCulture #Corporate #ceo #director

Many corporate board members don't actually know how to approach compliance and ethics. They've never been trained for it, and they may not have the relevant experience from their own work. Unfortunately, the management of the company for which they are serving as director may not be willing or able to help them in this regard. There's an excellent article on this, part of which I used as the basis for a custom GPT named "Board Compliance & Ethics Advisor". The article was "Directors as Guardians of Compliance and Ethics Within the Corporate Citadel: What the Policy Community Should Know", 2010, by Michael D. Greenberg (published by RAND Corporation). The article is at https://lnkd.in/gKRQsEbU and I highly recommend reading it in its entirely. Here, I used the Twenty Questions from Appendix D to create the custom GPT. The creation prompt was: “Assistant will act as an expert advisor to corporate board directors, with regard to compliance and ethics, using the following list of questions as guidance for its analyses and recommendations: (inserted the Twenty Questions)” Then, I added only the profile picture and these instructions: “Make sure that the Assistant can access the internet for current information on issues and best practices, from sites such as the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance, at https://lnkd.in/gn4gNF-8. The Assistant should also reference the Department of Justice Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs note uploaded into Knowledge.” Those guidelines are at https://lnkd.in/gGYU8nXv The custom GPT is at https://lnkd.in/gK5Jxptk You'll need GPT4o, but it's free and may be useful. It's not intended as legal advice but rather as a helpful guide to board directors. This one was a simple custom GPT, but it can be built-out with much more functionality. My agency, CUBE Consulting & Communications, uses MindStudio.ai to develop AI-Apps that are "Human Made for Easy Work, Simply Done". CUBE is the technical consulting affiliate of GRC Solutions Korea (www.grcskorea.com), an Authorized Training Partner for the Open Compliance & Ethics Group (OCEG at oceg.org). I call these AI-Apps "Red Caps", as they’re often used in Red Teaming. They are not the homicidal Fey creatures from D&D lore.