September 2016

During a recent wide-ranging interview with a well-known editor of a global business journal, the issue of CAEs dealing with unethical corporate behavior came up. Part of the discussion included the topic of CAEs having the courage to confront the very people who sign their paychecks.

At one point she asked a simple yet compelling question, “Is the cost of courage unemployment?”

The vast majority of CAEs will successfully navigate their careers without having to deploy extraordinary courage in the face of illegal or unethical behavior by their companies or executives.

However, from Cynthia Cooper at WorldCom to Michael Woodford at Olympus, there are a number of examples of courageous corporate executives who put their careers on the line to speak out against fraud and criminal behavior.…

There are few things that capture the public’s attention faster than widespread flight delays. Ask Delta Air Lines and British Airways. This summer the two venerable carriers were tested when unexpected technical glitches grounded flights and delayed customer check ins.

In Delta’s case, 2,300 flights were cancelled over three days in early August when equipment failures and a subsequent power outage darkened computer terminals at its Atlanta headquarters. All Delta flights were grounded for a time until power was restored.

An IT glitch was blamed for British Airways’ kiosk check-in systems shutting down worldwide over part of the long U.S. Labor Day weekend.…

There are few things that capture the public’s attention faster than widespread flight delays. Ask Delta Air Lines and British Airways. This summer the two venerable carriers were tested when unexpected technical glitches grounded flights and delayed customer check ins.

In Delta’s case, 2,300 flights were cancelled over three days in early August when equipment failures and a subsequent power outage darkened computer terminals at its Atlanta headquarters. All Delta flights were grounded for a time until power was restored.

An IT glitch was blamed for British Airways’ kiosk check-in systems shutting down worldwide over part of the long U.S. Labor Day weekend.…

In a disappointing, but not surprising move, the Houston Independent School District failed to renew the contract of its chief auditor last week. Richard Patton, whose two-year tenure at the school district was marked by success in turning around a struggling internal audit function, fell victim to an all-too-common danger for conscientious practitioners.

Simply put, Patton was let go for doing his job.

Patton was suspended by the district in March for unspecified allegations of misconduct and was allowed to return to work in a diminished capacity in August. Despite requests by Patton’s attorney, the district has refused to make public the investigation, which cost the district a reported $17,000, so the reasons for his suspension remain unclear.…