The Institute for Enterprise Ethics at the Daniels College of Business was established to extend the College's resources in business ethics to the practitioner community of executives, officers and directors of commercial and social enterprises in the Denver metropolitan area. With its focus on enterprise Ethics and Compliance, Enterprise Leadership and Governance, and Enterprise Social Responsibility and Sustainability, the Institute's mission is to help executives, officers and directors keep their organizations at the forefront of enterprise ethics. Daniel Sweeney (pictured above) is the Director of the Institute For Enterprise Ethics.
The Institute's programs are designed to be of value to businesses and service enterprises large and small. Participants benefit from having access to the latest knowledge, research and practical experiences of seasoned business executives and respected scholars. They learn from their peers the tried and true approaches to dealing with emerging enterprise ethics issues. They are exposed to the debate and dialog on current ethical behaviors. And, they have an opportunity to network with other practitioners with like interests.
The Institute serves its mission by hosting a variety of programs, including:
- Frequent peer-to-peer round table discussions
- Regular webinars
- On-going electronic discussions
- Proprietary research by leading faculty
- Custom executive and organizational development programs
- Special events featuring presentations by outstanding leaders of recognized ethical enterprises
On February 7, 2013, the Institute hosted a round table discussion on the topic “Social Media and the Ethics and Compliance Program.” The Institute understands that whether it be in the corporate board room, on the industry blogs, on the Facebook pages of employees or in the Twitter streams of key sales and marketing people, social media is significantly effecting how information flows around office, corporate and industry circles.
Such a free-flowing, unregulated and ubiquitous network of communication raises some new and untested issues for the design and management of a company’s ethics and compliance program. Some of the issues addressed by round table attendees included:
- What are the limits and allowances for employer monitoring of employee social media activity and how do these vary around the world?
- How can social media be employed to make the ethics and compliance program more effective?
- What are the principle risks posed by the ubiquity of social media to and effectiveness of the ethics and compliance program?
- What are some of the “best practices” for adapting the ethics and compliance program to the new world of social media?
The round table discussion examined these and other questions regarding the impact of social media ethics on compliance programs and was moderated by Brad Friedman, JD. founder and president of The Friedman Group, LLC, an inbound and social media marketing firm catering to professionals and businesses that must follow certain regulations in order to participate on social networks, and Kevin O'Brien, Chair of the Business Ethics and Legal Studies Department at the Daniels School of business.
The topics listed above, and more, were discussed by about 30 executives from major corporations who deal with compliance matters on a daily basis. The conversation was lively, informative and extremely educational. Following the three-hour round table discussion a “Wrap-Up” interview took place with Mr. Friedman and Kirsten Liston, CCEP, Senior Compliance Advisor at SAI Global Compliance and a participant in the discussion.
The Institute for Enterprise Ethics at the Daniels College of Business is an incredible resource for the Denver metropolitan community and beyond. It's various programs raise issues that must be talked about by executives of businesses large and small. The Institute's ability to provide a forum for these discussions is a tremendous asset of the Daniels College of Business as evidenced by the high caliber individuals and businesses that participate in the Institute's programs.
I encourage you to learn more about the Institute for Enterprise Ethics. I encourage your business, to get involved with the Institute. The return on your investment will be ascertainable in many different ways. Learn more about the Institute here and please share your comments below.
