Ethical Collapse: Signs and Cases in Point

Marianne Jennings, author of The Seven Signs of Ethical Collapse, analyzed recent corporate scandals in a presentation and discussion for the Business and Organizational Ethics Partnership in February 2012. Jennings, professor emeritus of business ethics at Arizona State University, showed how each of the organizations that got in trouble displayed many of the seven symptoms she outlined in her book:

- Pressure to maintain numbers

- Fear and silence

- Young'uns and a bigger-than-life CEO

- Weak board of directors

- Conflicts of interest overlooked or unaddressed

- Innovation like no other company

- Goodness in some areas atones for evil in others