Where Is Your Company Most Prone to Lapses in Integrity?

Eugene F. Soltes

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Article | Harvard Business Review | July–August 2019

Where Is Your Company Most Prone to Lapses in Integrity?

by Eugene F. Soltes

Abstract

Every sizable organization has integrity gaps—areas where what’s considered appropriate behavior diverges from the norms set by its leaders. Within these pockets, things like offensive language, overly aggressive sales practices, or conflicts of interest may be overlooked or even implicitly condoned. Such lapses not only endanger the reputation of the company but also pose regulatory and liability risks.

Keywords: integrity; Organizational Culture; Ethics;

Format: Print

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Citation:

Soltes, Eugene F. "Where Is Your Company Most Prone to Lapses in Integrity?" Harvard Business Review 97, no. 4 (July–August 2019): 51–54.

About the Author

Eugene F. Soltes

Professor of Business Administration

Accounting and Management

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Background Note | HBS Case Collection | December 2019 (Revised January 2020)

Background on Insider Trading Liability

Trevor Fetter, Eugene F. Soltes and Grant Wahlquist

There are numerous restrictions against trading on material, nonpublic information (MNPI)—typically called “insider trading.” This note describes the limitations facing managers and investors as enforced civilly and criminally within the United States.

Keywords: insider trading; Legal Liability; Ethics; Crime and Corruption; Finance; United States;

Citation:
Fetter, Trevor, Eugene F. Soltes, and Grant Wahlquist. "Background on Insider Trading Liability." Harvard Business School Background Note 320-080, December 2019. (Revised January 2020.) View Details

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Article | Journal of Financial Reporting

Creating Firm Disclosures

Amir Amel-Zadeh, Alexandra Scherf and Eugene F. Soltes

Managers expend significant time and effort preparing disclosures about firm performance and strategy. Although prior literature has explored how variation in the style and presentation of disclosures impacts investors' perceptions of firms, little is known about how firms actually create these disclosures and how this process impacts presentation. Based on field data collected from nearly 200 firms, we show that there is considerable variation in who prepares disclosures, when they are prepared, and the amount of effort expended by different types of managers (e.g., legal, public relations/marketing, finance, investor relations, senior leadership). We find that these differences in organizational processes are associated with differences in the structure, style, and tone of 10-Ks and conference calls. Ultimately, our investigation begins to illuminate how individual managerial efforts vary across firms and contribute to differences in public disclosures.

Keywords: disclosure; earnings conference call; field study; MD＆A; textual analysis; Corporate Disclosure;

Citation:
Amel-Zadeh, Amir, Alexandra Scherf, and Eugene F. Soltes. "Creating Firm Disclosures." Journal of Financial Reporting 4, no. 2 (Fall 2019): 1–31. View Details

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Teaching Note | HBS Case Collection | August 2019

Creating Accountability in Afghanistan

Jonas Heese, Gerardo Pérez Cavazos, Eugene F. Soltes and Grace Liu

Teaching Note for HBS No. 120-024.

Citation:
Heese, Jonas, Gerardo Pérez Cavazos, Eugene F. Soltes, and Grace Liu. "Creating Accountability in Afghanistan." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 120-030, August 2019. View Details

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Where Is Your Company Most Prone to Lapses in Integrity?

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