Why Being Accountable for Your Actions Is So Important Several years ago, I authored a book about happiness and meaning in life titled Beyond Happiness and Meaning: Transforming Your Life Through Ethical Behavior. I’ve heard from many people who read it, liked it, and said they would rethink how they... Read more →
Talk to Your Child About the Dangers of Social Networking The term “social network” is how we connect to other people using a platform that supports online communication, such as Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. Video sharing services such as Snapchat and TikTok are popular among millennials and the Generation Zeers.... Read more →
OVERVIEW OF THE PANEL DISCUSSIONS: I am moderating a panel at the 2023 Ethics Symposium presented by the Public Interest Section of the American Accounting Association (AAA). The panelists are well-known observers of financial statement fraud and critics of audit failures. They will look back and forward to assess where... Read more →
Making Ethical Decisions It has been said that “The true test of a person’s character is how they behave in difficult times.” John C. Maxwell is credited with making this important observation. Maxwell is an American author, speaker, and pastor who has written many books, primarily focusing on leadership. I... Read more →
An Analysis of the Pros and Cons of Affirmative Action On June 29, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling that effectively ends race-conscious admission programs at colleges and universities across the country. The decision reverses decades of precedent upheld over the years by narrow Supreme Court majorities. It... Read more →
Relationship to the Law We all know that a compass is a device for determining directions by means of a magnetic needle or group of needles turning freely on a pivot and pointing to the magnetic north. The expression that your moral compass should be directed due north for ethical... Read more →
I have previously blogged about the concept of being “woke.” It was some time ago so rather than update it, I decided to ask ChatGPT to define the term. I asked twice and got substantially different answers each time. The answers also seem to be somewhat shallow. The best way... Read more →
Gallup Survey Results The results of a 2023 survey conducted by Gallup shows that Americans believe morality in society is on the decline. Here are some of those results: 54% say the state of moral values in U.S. is poor; 33% only fair. 83% think U.S. moral values are getting... Read more →
Protections and Retaliation What makes one person speak out and blow the whistle on wrongdoing while another remains silent? Is it a “moral sense,” as Thomas Jefferson wrote, that instinctively motivates a person’s thoughts and actions? Is it motivated by avoiding harm to others? Is the act of blowing the... Read more →
Controlling for the Risks I have previously blogged about moral questions to consider in the use of ChatGPT. It seems that virtually everyone is talking about its use. Educators fear that students will use it to write term papers. Those in the workplace have concerns about the security and privacy... Read more →