Just when you thought, oh, the well is capped and Tony Hayward’s gone, maybe we can get back to normal—comes this little bit of news, courtesy of my colleague Chris MacDonald, a business ethics guy in Canada: BP faked a photo of its Houston command center to make it look busier and more determined than [...]
Entries Tagged as 'Transparency vs. Secrecy'
Faked Photos: Is There No End to BP’s Stupidity?
August 2nd, 2010 · View Comments · Business Ethics, Transparency vs. Secrecy, propaganda
A Chance to Confront Racism
July 21st, 2010 · View Comments · Diversity, People Helping People, Shel's Personal Life, Social and Economic Justice, Transparency vs. Secrecy, language
“I’ve been beating myself up for not challenging your racism when you expressed it. So today, I’m going to stop beating myself up and tell you that I didn’t appreciate your put downs of those who look different from you, and I’ll not have you cut my hair again.” Then stand still and listen for dialogue. It may be quite vitriolic, but you may be able to go deeper. And you owe him that much.
You do this, not for his soul, but for yours. But there may be a side benefit of reaching his, too (maybe not right away).
Tim O’Reilly & SF Chronicle on SF Privacy Changes
May 21st, 2010 · View Comments · Business Ethics, Marketing Trends/News, Transparency vs. Secrecy, Web 2.0/Social Media, privacy
Personally, I go into the online world with the expectation that there is no privacy. And therefore the specific changes don’t bother me over-much. But as someone who writes about ethics, I have a problem with obtaining consent for one restricted set of behaviors and then wildly expanding it while requiring opt-out (and difficult opt-out at that) rather than opt-in. It’s nothing more than an electronic form of bait-and-switch–something I find unethical and in fact argue against in my latest book on business ethics, Guerrilla Marketing Goes Green: Winning Strategies to Improve Your Profits and Your Planet (co-authored with Jay Conrad Levinson).
Tags: apple computer·bait-and-switch·facebook privacy·google·Guerrilla Marketing Goes Green·Jay Conrad Levinson·mark zuckerberg·san francisco chronicle·tim o'reilly·user bill of rights
Manipulative Biofuel-Industry “Survey” Guaranteed to Create Biased Results
March 22nd, 2010 · View Comments · Energy & Sustainability, Ethics: General, Marketing Techniques and Philosophies, Politics, Transparency vs. Secrecy, propaganda
I am totally sure this so-called survey will be used to trumpet the citizens of Massachusetts’ supposed stance in favor of biofuels and against the proposed law. While the law’s definitions could be sharpened, I actually feel that eliminating nuclear power and large-scale wood-burning biomass plants from being counted in the progress toward a Green economy is a GOOD thing.
Tags: biofuels·green energy·manipulative surveys·renewable energy·survey bias
Media is Complicit in Accepting Tiger Woods’ Scripted, Unquestioned Apology
February 19th, 2010 · View Comments · Media Ethics, Transparency vs. Secrecy, media-general, propaganda
My friend Peter Shankman solicited comments from PR practitioners about Tiger Woods’ apology scheduled for later today, and the fact that reporters will not have access to him during the event; they’ll actually be in another building. This drew lots of comments on Tiger but basically none other than Peter about how the media will [...]
TSA Subpoenaed My Friend For Telling the Truth
December 29th, 2009 · View Comments · Ethics in Government, Protests and Crackdowns, Transparency vs. Secrecy, censorship
My online friend Christopher Elliott of
Ben Franklin: Genius and Contradictions
November 27th, 2009 · View Comments · Business Ethics, Entrepreneurship, Ethics: General, Publishing, Transparency vs. Secrecy, propaganda
While visiting Minneapolis, I took in the opening day of the new Ben Franklin exhibit at the Minnesota History Center in downtown Saint Paul. I’ve long ben a Franklin fan. To me, his far-reaching curiosity, big-picture viewpoint, multiple interests, creativity, willingness to question authority and even make fun of it, media and persuasion skills, dedication [...]
Tags: abolitionism·Ben Franklin·Benjamin Franklin·contradictions·diplomacy·ethics·invention·morality·science·slavery
The Unethical Nature of Anti-Competitive Behavior
October 26th, 2009 · View Comments · Business Ethics, Transparency vs. Secrecy
Guest post by Elizabeth Johnson I was very proud of the notebook computer I had purchased a year ago; in my mind, I felt I had secured a good deal and that it was value for money. The only flaw (if you could call it that) was that it came with the Norton Antivirus security [...]
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Sidewiki Makes Me Question Google’s “Don’t Be Evil” Mantra
October 7th, 2009 · View Comments · Business Ethics, Ethics-International, Media Ethics, Transparency vs. Secrecy, Uncategorized, Web 2.0/Social Media
mmediate spark of this post (which has been brewing for over a week), is my deep concern about Google’s Sidewiki.Sidewiki, as I understand it, allows users who have the Google Toolbar installed to comment, unmoderated, in an area that appears on the left side of the webpage–but those comments are only visible to others who have the Toolbar installed! Among the many evils this can lead to: spamming, blocking site owners’ sources of revenue (or even replacing them with links that benefit those commenting), loss of control over one’s own website, black hat search technique, slander of site owners or contributors, unethical business practices such as deceptive advertising, and even something as simple as wrecking the aesthetic and content integrity of a carefully designed website
Tags: censorship·don't be evil·google·intellectual property rights·privacy·sidewiki
Should You Be Open About Polarizing Interests?
August 4th, 2009 · Comments Off · Politics, Transparency vs. Secrecy, Web 2.0/Social Media
My friend Elsom Eldridge has a nice article about how to avoid becoming “Social Media Roadkill.” And I agree with almost everything he says. Almost everything. With my usual focus on transparency, here’s what I disagree with (emphasis added): Be personable but don’t give people a reason to dislike you. Mention your dog or your [...]
