Since this blog is for a law and ethics class, a statement of full disclosure seems like an appropriate way to begin.
As I take time out to think about our class and pour through the first day's notes, I’m reminded of many things - from the importance of checking Blackboard assignments to that surprising picture of Mr. DeMent, to my favorite Jeopardy answer: “Bay of Pigs-in-a-Blanket,” Fr. Mark Bandsuch’s comments on product liability and the ethics of advertising to children, John Pepper’s breakdown of the “value of values,” Carly Fiorina, and Lynn Brewer of Enron fame (although I’ve just read in a USA Today article that popped up on a Google search that there is some question as to whether Brewer exaggerated her role at Enron in order to achieve notoriety on the speaking circuit and thereby – highly ironically – committed an ethics violation whilst speaking out against ethics violations?? Could it be?) – but then there it is – that one little note - the one that suddenly overshadows all other reflections and abruptly halts my ruminations on Lynn Brewer - indicating that we are taking a trip to Federal Prison… Federal Prison!
In my rational mind I know that the title of the class is “Business Law and Ethics” the objective of which is to “develop a heightened awareness of the legal and ethical aspects of business,” but right now all I’m reading is: “The Class That Is Going to Federal Prison for a Day… and Apparently Also Eating Lunch with Prisoners.” Thoughts such as ‘what have I gotten myself into’ and ‘where have all the boring professors gone’ have fleetingly crossed my mind.
So here’s my full disclosure: I’m not looking forward to spending a day in a Federal Prison.
Needless to say, I’m inspired with what is probably a slightly above normal level of apprehension, fear, and even flat out dread of that particular day.
Beyond the dread, however, the thought of visiting a prison in the context of a business law class definitely provides fodder for reflection as it brings to mind many recent cases of famed white collar criminals such as Martha Stewart, Bernie Madoff, Ken Lay, the Christie’s and Sotheby’s executive indicted for price fixing, et al…. This impending trip also reminds me of the time I visited a former friend and co-worker convicted of fraud at a military confinement facility in South Korea.
The man I was going to see was a former Master Sergeant in the Army (out of respect for his privacy I’ll refer to him as MSgt. Smith) whom I had worked with in the 19th Theater Support Command’s Public Affairs Office in Daegu. The entire time we worked together – roughly four months – I knew MSgt. Smith to be a good NCO who took care of the soldiers working under him, produced quality work, and was enjoyable person to work with in the office. In other words, there were no outward signs of any kind of criminal tendencies. When I was questioned by investigating officers before his trial, I had nothing but good things to say about him. However, as it turned out – the evidence showed that for many years, MSgt. Smith had been committing Basic Housing Allowance (BHA) fraud by stating that he was married with children living in his custody when he was in fact divorced. How could our good sergeant have totally abandoned his Army values and done this was a question that stymied everyone in the office. Not to mention, how could he think he would get away with it?
Some time after his conviction and sentencing, I picked a nice hot sunny day to drive a few hours north on the Korean highway in a Hyundai I had purchased for $500 with doors that opened only from the outside and no air conditioning to make a visit to MSgt. Smith. The good news is that my Hyundai got me there and back. The bad news is that the man I found in confinement was completely unlike the proud soldier I’d known – he appeared deeply humbled and shamed wearing chains around his ankles (perhaps a bit drastic for a white collar criminal, although as a young lieutenant I was in no position to question the uniform of the day at a military confinement facility). The objective of my trip was not to uncover MSgt. Smith’s motivations for committing fraud, but I was hoping that he might drop some hint or give some explanation. That day, to my dismay, I was left without answers. Over the following years, the simplified explanation that I created to explain MSgt. Smith’s crime of fraud was that some people must lack commitment to values whereas others do not.
However, now I’m sure it’s not quite that simple. When I recount this story and reflect on the anecdote in class about the prosecutor and the ham, an alternate answer presents itself – there’s no way to know for sure, of course, but it’s quite possible MSgt. Smith committed BHA fraud for ham. By that I mean, I’m beginning to think he felt a sense of entitlement to the BHA money that he had while he was married. When he was first divorced it probably seemed like a leap to continue getting the extra BHA allowance. I’m sure he knew that what he was doing was wrong, but then over the many years as the money kept coming, he probably came to believe it was money he was owed – in other words, it was a slippery slope before he came to believe he should be getting the ham in every paycheck.
If there’s one lesson to take from MSgt. Smith in a business context, I believe it’s the importance of guarding against that slippery slope - realizing that it isn’t necessarily just a matter of some people are unethical and some are not, but to realize that all of us are susceptible (ok, some perhaps more than others, but no one is completely immune) to acting unethically (even if it’s in a small way, i.e. the people who stiff the 'bagel guy' in Freakonomics). Obviously, a business organization can’t spend all its time talking ethics, but it must take absolutely every opportunity to reinforce and emphasize in as many ways as possible within the organization the importance of living and promoting values every day.
Ethics violations don't necessarily happen overnight or in one big bold move, but are probably - more often than not - a slippery slope starting from what may at first appear to be a minor violation.
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