Month: December 2005

By Posted on Posted in Ethics in Government

Some good news: The Wall Street Journal reports, in its December 1, 2005 issue,* that the Norwegian Petroleum Fund, in charge of managing the income from Norway’s rapidly increasing oil revenues, has hired Henrik Syse, a professor of ethics and philosophy, to be its “moral compass.”

Syse cheerfully admits he hadn’t even known the difference between a stock and a bond. And he’s totally happy to go to work on the tram, no fancy limousine for him.

Norway has adopted the corporate governance standards of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. It’s Syse’s job to implement new ethical rules that prohibit investments that might put the fund in the position where it “may contribute to unethical acts or omissions.”

I find this refreshing and delightful. And I’d love to see more companies and government organizations embracing the idea that they need a moral compass. In my own small way, with the Ethical Business Pledge campaign, I’ve tried to provide a tool for finding that compass.

* The article, “Oil-Rich Norway Hires Philosopher As Moral Compass: State Seeks Ethics Lesson On Investing Its Bonanza,” by staff reporter Andrew Higgins, is available to non-subscribers for $4.95–or ask your local librarian to locate it for you.

Facebooktwitterpinterestlinkedinmail

By Posted on Posted in General Commentary

According to the NY Daily News, military contractor David H. Brooks just spent–are you sitting down–ten million dollars on his daughter’s Bat Mitzvah! Brooks says the figures are exaggerated, but he doesn’t deny that it involved private jets, multiple performances by rock superstars, and a very expensive swanky New York venue.

A Bat Mitzvah is a religious coming-of-age ceremony. A teenager (usually–I’ve been to the Bat Mitzvah of a woman in her 70s) leads a section of the prayer service, reads from the Torah (the five original books of the Bible) and chants a Haftorah (a section from one of the later Old Testament books such as the Prophets). Usually there’s a party afterward. It should not be about ostentatious displays of wealth and one-upping your neighbors.

With several hundred people attending, renting one venue for the ceremony/reception and another to prepare the food (an elaborate full luncheon), hiring a couple of workers, my daughter and two friends became Bat Mitzvah a couple of years ago. If memory serves me correctly, this whole event cost around $1800, or $600 for each participating family. And it was a great event–I daresay probably a good deal more spiritually meaningful than this obscene $10 million blowout. I can only imagine what her wedding will be like. Maybe Dennis Kozlowski, disgraced CEO of Tyco known for his lavish parties, will do the catering.

Facebooktwitterpinterestlinkedinmail