Compliance and Ethics efforts were largely unknown at organizations in the U.S. and elsewhere before the 1980s when, following a series of government procurement scandals ("Ill Wind"), several large defense contractors formed the Defense Industry Initiative on Business Ethics and Conduct. (See also the Ethics Resource Center's "business ethics timeline")
Sentencing Guidelines "Model"
On November 1, 1991 the United States Sentencing Commission created a substantial incentive to have and maintain an "effective" program in the form of a credit to organizations that despite having such a program nonetheless run afoul of a legal requirement that carries a criminal penalty. Since then C&E programs or elements of them have come to be a frequent part of settlements of all types of matters with the Department of Justice and other agencies by means of "Corporate Integrity" or "Deferred Resolution" agreements that essentially establish a probation period for the organization. (See Learning from Others' Missteps for examples.)
Here's a Commission description of what they were up to with their famous "Seven Elements" model for compliance efforts -
Although some mandatory compliance or ethics program requirements exist on both the state and federal level, in many industries C&E programs are still voluntary efforts. For some companies C&E is a public demonstration of the organization's efforts to be a good corporate "citizen"; for others it is a risk management device by which the organization's Board of Directors demonstrates that it is exercising appropriate oversight.
Sentencing Guidelines "Model"
On November 1, 1991 the United States Sentencing Commission created a substantial incentive to have and maintain an "effective" program in the form of a credit to organizations that despite having such a program nonetheless run afoul of a legal requirement that carries a criminal penalty. Since then C&E programs or elements of them have come to be a frequent part of settlements of all types of matters with the Department of Justice and other agencies by means of "Corporate Integrity" or "Deferred Resolution" agreements that essentially establish a probation period for the organization. (See Learning from Others' Missteps for examples.)
Here's a Commission description of what they were up to with their famous "Seven Elements" model for compliance efforts -
Sentencing Commission Overview.pdf
- Details
- Download
- 60 KB
7 Element graphic.pptx
- Details
- Download
- 67 KB
Mandatory?
Although some mandatory compliance or ethics program requirements exist on both the state and federal level, in many industries C&E programs are still voluntary efforts. For some companies C&E is a public demonstration of the organization's efforts to be a good corporate "citizen"; for others it is a risk management device by which the organization's Board of Directors demonstrates that it is exercising appropriate oversight.
Translating Theory Into Practice
Here are:
links to descriptions of actual Compliance and Ethics efforts past and present and
a listing of and links to Associations devoted to compliance in various fields.
"How To" and "Why to" Materials:
Creating and Maintaining an Effective Ethics and Business Conduct Program (the DII "toolkit")
Federal Sentencing Guidelines Manual, Chapter 8, Effective Compliance and Ethics Program (USSC 2010)
Business Ethics: A Manual for Managing a Responsible Business Enterprise in Emerging Market Economies, (US Department of Commerce)
"Corporate Compliance Principles" and implementation tips (The National Center for Preventative Law)
A Primer on the False Claims Act (DOJ)
The Secret to a Perfect Ethics Program is in a Bottega Veneta Handbag (Ohringer 2012)
Semi-Tough: A Short History of Compliance and Ethics Law (Kaplan 2012)
The Shadow Regulatory State: the rise of deferred prosecution agreements (Copland 2012)
Strategies for Managing Ethics (Markula Center 2011) (video)
Compliance and Ethics 101: A Guide to Building Effective Compliance Programs (Myers et al. 2011)
When The Government Knocks - The Impact of Compliance / Ethics Programs In Real Cases (Swenson 2011)
Values vs. Compliance-based Ethics Programs (Trevino 2010) (videos)
Knowledge of Good and Evil: A Brief History of Compliance (MacKessy 2010)
Ten Things You Can Do To Avoid Being the Next Enron (ERC 2009)
College and University Compliance Programs (Dunkley 2009)
Principles for Building an Ethical Organization (Schulman 2007)
Shared by Toolbox members:
< Click "edit" above and start typing here>