Corporate Reform Tops Ethics News in July
Jul 29th, 2002 • Posted in: TrendlinesSpecial to Newsline from editor Carl Hausman
As the direct connection between business ethics and investors’ pocketbooks became more apparent in July, nervous lawmakers and regulators tightened the screws on the types of accounting and reporting practices that led to the recent wave of corporate implosions.
Much of the story culminated in this week’s report on congressional passage of a major corporate reform bill, as well as in our reports about the widening international attention paid to the issue — this week in Canada and South Korea. International corporate reform was also featured in our July 22 edition in reports on the European Union’s new requirement that stock options be treated as expenses, and the establishment of a new Canadian accounting oversight authority. The business-ethics dealings of government leaders were the subject of several reports this month, including scrutiny of President Bush’s corporate record (July 15 and 8), as well as Vice President Cheney’s (July 15).
While business ethics dominated the news, various ethical angles on international relations also made headlines. This week’s report focused on controversy over the withholding of U.S. funds from the United Nations Population Fund, and also included a report on allegations that Iran bankrolled a terrorist attack in Argentina. In previous issues, we reported on controversy surrounding a special fast-track U.S. visa program (July 22), alleged corruption in Indonesia (July 15), and a U.S. government report on trading with so-called enemy nations (July 8).
Ethics in education is a recurring topic, and several reports dealt with the issue. In this week’s edition of Ethics Newsline we reported on a Web site break-in that appeared to result from an increasing climate of competitiveness in college admissions, and the controversy over textbook adoptions in Texas. Other items this month concerned a cheating scandal in Vietnam (July 15), a suit by British students who claimed they were bullied (July 8), and court decisions involving the Pledge of Allegiance, school vouchers, and random drug testing in schools (July 1).
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