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Values-based ethics programs can help employees judge right from wrong.
WHILE THE FATE of former Enron leaders Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling is being determined in what has been labeled the "Trial of the Century," former WorldCom managers are in jail for pulling off one of the largest frauds in history.
Yes, criminal activity definitely took place in these companies and in dozens more that have been in the news in recent years, but what's really important is to take stock of the nature of many of the perpetrators.
Some quotes from former WorldCom executives paint a different picture of corporate criminals than we came to know in other eras:
"I'm sorry for the hurt that has been caused by my cowardly behavior." -Scott Sullivan, CFO
"Faced with a decision that required strong moral courage, I took the easy way out....There are no words to describe my shame."
-Buford Yates, director of general accounting
"At the time I consider the single most critical characterdefining moment of my life, I failed. It's something I'll take with me the rest of my life."
-DaWd Myers, controller
These are the statements of good people gone bad. But probably most disturbing was the conviction of Betty Vinson, the senior manager in the accounting department who booked billions of dollars in false expenses. At her sentencing, U.S. District Judge Barbara Jones noted that Vinson was among the lowest-ranking members of the conspiracy that led to the $11 billion fraud that sank the telecommunications company in 2002. Still, she said, "Had Ms. Vinson refused to do what she was asked, it's possible this conspiracy might have been nipped in the bud."
Judge Jones added that although Ms. Vinson "was among the least culpable members of the conspiracy" and acted under extreme pressure, "that does not excuse what she did." '
Vinson said she improperly covered up expenses by drawing down reserve accounts-some completely unrelated to the expenses-and by moving expenses off income statements and listing them as assets on the balance sheet.
Also the company's former director of corporate reporting, Vinson testified at Bernie Ebbers's trial that, in choosing which accounts to alter, "I just really pulled some out of the air. I used some spreadsheets." She said she repeatedly...