News, Press & Media
Often times, we find ourselves talking about ethical leadership with the lens of the for profit sector. In truth, we need to look closely at ethical leadership across all sectors. In particular, we are frequently reminded of the challenges that remain in the nonprofit sector around executive director compensation. Organizations must approach this issue with caution, diligence, and transparency in order to avoid bad press and shaking public trust.
James Abruzzo, Co-founder of Institute for Ethical Leadership, asserts that a board of a large nonprofit organization must agree upon and follow an eight step approach to achieve “best practices” in executive compensation. Access these recommended eight steps here.
More Media Coverage
Thursday, January 19, 2012
By now everyone has heard the story of the capsized Costa Concordia cruise ship and its captain, Francesco Schettino, who has come under fire for abandoning the ship as it was sinking. Although the saying is, "the captain should go down with the ship," many people are not exactly sure of the ethical consequences of the situation.
While many people will have different responses to this particular episode, the sinking of the Costa Concordia has raised the interesting question of what is a business leader or owner's ethical responsibility to his or her customers and employees when facing a life-threatening or dangerous situation?
According to Ann Buchholtz, professor of leadership and ethics and research director at the Institute for Ethical Leadership at Rutgers Business School, leaders must ensure safety to employees and consumers, regardless of the situation.
"Safety from harm is one of the basic rights of consumers," Buchholtz told BusinessNewsDaily. "In fact, we are approaching the 50th anniversary of the 'Consumer Bill of Rights' that President Kennedy introduced in a speech to Congress (on March 15). The first, and arguably the most basic right, is the right to safety – 'to be protected against the marketing of goods which are hazardous to health or life.' Of course, the use of any product or service entails some degree of risk, but what happened to the Costa Concordia passengers is beyond the pale."
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Nonprofits aren't known for minting millionaires, but a few nonprofit executives have pulled down seven-figure pay packages at least once in the past few years, an analysis has found.
While seven-figure pay packages are rare, hundreds of employees of nonprofits in the region make six-figure salaries, according to tax returns examined . The Post looked at hundreds of tax returns filed by dozens of organizations and focused on the 55 nonprofits with more than $9 million a year in revenue.
Nonprofits' economic clout is reflected in hefty paychecks for top executives, said James Abruzzo, a compensation expert at executive search firm DHR International in Newark, N.J. Skilled executives are in short supply, he said. And because nonprofits make their tax returns public, CEOs know how much their peers make, and that has helped to push up pay.
"The trend is that compensation has been rising very quickly," Abruzzo said. "Combine scarcity with transparency, and maybe a little greed - maybe - and that's what you end up with."
Newark, NJ
Monday, November 28, 2011
Once again Rutgers University in Newark will honor individuals and organizations from the campus for exemplary leadership in connecting Rutgers-Newark with the Greater Newark community. The annual Chancellor’s Community Engagement Awards will be given out at a Dec. 15th ceremony that recognizes the valuable relationships that faculty, staff and students have created in Newark and with surrounding communities.
This year's honorees include The Institute for Ethical Leadership.
Newark, NJ
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
In the aftermath of the 2002 Tyco International scandal, involving the excesses by its former chairman and CEO and other senior managers, Tyco International’s new CEO, Ed Breen, assembled a new senior management team to lead the company’s efforts to build an ethical organizational culture. The Institute for Ethical Leadership (IEL) at Rutgers Business School welcomes three key executives to its speaker series titled “The Tyco Story: Past Present & Future – How to Recover from Unethical Management Behavior”. During the November 14th event, the Tyco executives will discuss their experiences working closely with senior management to build and promote a culture of ethics and integrity across a highly-diversified global company.
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Dr. Joe Cerami, Director of the Leadership Program at The Bush School of Government & Public Service, Texas A&M University, chaired a roundtable discussion on at John Jay College of the City University of New York, for the Second Annual Northeast Conference on Public Administration (NECoPA 2011). The roundtable included James Abruzzo, the co-founder of the Institute for Ethical Leadership at the Rutgers Business School (RBS), and Jeanne Marie Col of John Jay College and formerly the United Nations Senior Interregional Adviser in Governance and Public Administration. The Conference theme was on Building Trust and Confidence in the Public Service. Click here to read more.
Monday, October 10, 2011
The Institute for Ethical Leadership (IEL) at Rutgers Business School is pleased to announce a 2-year $50,000 grant from American Express Foundation to help support the Nonprofit Emerging Leaders Certificate Program. This three-day leadership program provides training and education to 18-20 mid-level managers, interested in building their skills and developing their talents, through a rigorous and engaging curriculum that focuses on personal and professional leadership. Participants gain skills to improve their performance to someday lead a nonprofit organization.
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Senior executives from 12 nonprofit organizations in the Newark area have been selected to participate in The Prudential Foundation Nonprofit Executives Leadership Fellows Program, which launches this week at the Institute for Ethical Leadership at Rutgers Business School.
The goal of the two-year program is to help nonprofit leaders increase their knowledge and skills while broadening their perspective on how to effect critical change. The Fellows will meet once a month as a group for formal instruction and peer-to-peer discussions led by a facilitator. They will also participate in leadership and management training sessions, emotional intelligence assessment and...
Newark, NJ
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
The Aspen Institute’s Business & Society Program released the 2011-2012 Global 100 of Beyond Grey Pinstripes and for the first time, Rutgers Business School (RBS) is overall ranked #34 in the world.
Newark, NJ
Monday, September 12, 2011
Senior executives from 12 nonprofit organizations in the Newark area have been selected to participate in The Prudential Foundation Nonprofit Executives Leadership Fellows Program, which launches this week at the Institute for Ethical Leadership at Rutgers Business School.
The goal of the two-year program is to help nonprofit leaders increase their knowledge and skills while broadening their perspective on how to effect critical change. The Fellows will meet once a month as a group for formal instruction and peer-to-peer discussions led by a facilitator. They will also participate in leadership and management training sessions, emotional intelligence assessment and coaching, and guidance in mentoring other leaders within their organization.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Today's advice comes from Harvard professor of leadership Bill George's interview with Rutgers Business School.
Newark, NJ
Saturday, July 16, 2011
High school students from the greater Newark area study the ethical implications of our increasing use of robots in science, combat and everyday life. Sponsored by Merck through Rutgers Institute for Ethical Leadership, students attend the week-long session for free, experiencing college life while learning about important philosophical issues and developing critical thinking skills. Special thanks to Akshaar for providing video of the robotic arm in action.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
The Institute for Ethical Leadership (IEL) at Rutgers Business School seeks to create awareness and education about the importance of ethical leadership. Under the direction of co-founders Alex J. Plinio and James Abruzzo, the IEL aspires to establish itself as the place that leaders, across all sectors, look to for guidance, partnership, and support to develop and improve the ethical culture among their executive and board leadership and within their organizations.
In April, IEL hosted “Authentic Leadership in the Age of Social Media” with the pharmaceutical company Merck, where Bill George, former Chairman and CEO of Medtronic and Harvard Business School Professor of Leadership, inspired and entertained his audience with both personal and professional stories about leadership and development. He later sat down for a Q&A session to talk with us about the role of business schools and organizations play on promoting authentic leadership for 2011 and beyond.
Bill George Ethics Institute for Ethical Leadership Leadership Merck The Institute for Ethical Leadership
Newark, NJ
Friday, April 22, 2011
When disaster strikes, there isn't a manual for CEOs. However, the honorable thing to do to is at least tender a resignation, whether or not it's accepted, because "you become the organization, you stand for it," Poole noted. It might make sense to resign even if the board isn't howling for your head. There's a difference between what's right for you and what's right for the company, according to Ann Buchholtz. She's the research director at Rutgers Business School's Institute for Ethical Leadership. Your own interests are perfectly fair to take into account when it comes to choosing to leave, she said.
Ann Buchholtz Ethics Institute for Ethical Leadership Leadership Management & Global Business Department
Thursday, March 24, 2011
"There may be some companies that would be perfectly well served if employees would come to them first," says Ann Buchholtz, research director at the Institute for Ethical Leadership at Rutgers Business School in Newark, N.J. "But there are other companies where [such a requirement] really does put the whistle-blower at risk ... And if we really want these problems brought to light, we can't put obstacles in the way of whistle-blowers."
Ann Buchholtz Ethics Faculty Institute for Ethical Leadership Management & Global Business Department
Monday, February 28, 2011
James Abruzzo is an expert on the performing arts sector and president of Abruzzo Associates. He is the co-director of the Institute for Ethical Leadership at Rutgers Business School and is writing a book, Arts Leadership, which will be published in 2012.
Faculty Institute for Ethical Leadership James Abruzzo Management & Global Business Department Performing Arts
Newark, NJ
Thursday, February 10, 2011
A $450,000 grant over three years to the Institute for Ethical Leadership (IEL) at Rutgers Business School will launch the Prudential Foundation Nonprofit Leadership Fellows Program and help IEL continue providing leadership development programs for nonprofit executives and next generation leaders and build a strong base of individuals who are prepared to take on top leadership positions.
Newark, NJ
Saturday, January 22, 2011
How to Create a Company Philosophy: Don't Put It Off Understandably, many companies set their sights on becoming profitable and delay the task of thinking hard about what they stand for and building that into their business. But experts say that founders and owners ignore crafting a philosophy at their own peril.'What typically happens is that business people will want to talk about their products, their delivery systems, their profitability models. They'll want to get right down to the nitty gritty,' says Alex Plinio, co-founder of the Institute for Ethical Leadership at Rutgers Business School.
New Jersey
Friday, January 14, 2011
The economy is improving and consumer confidence is rising — so now is the time to reconnect with donors who are once again comfortable giving their money to charity, leaders of nonprofits across the state were told Friday morning at a symposium in Woodbridge presented by the accounting and consulting firm Sobel & Co. James Abruzzo, co-founder of the Institute for Ethical Leadership at Rutgers Business School, in Newark spoke at the conference.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
James Abruzzo, co-director of the Institute for Ethical Leadership at Rutgers Business School, said that aside from a nonprofit's obligation to vet multiple firms in a "competitive-bidding process," someone in Mr. Ben-Ami's position would at a minimum have to disclose his stake in the firm and recuse himself from any decision to hire it.
Even if those conditions were met, Mr. Abruzzo said, "it still doesn't feel right."
"There's a certain amount of trust that is one of the assets of a nonprofit," he said. "And if you undermine that trust by doing something that even seems like it's self-dealing, that's injurious to the organization."
Ethics Faculty Institute for Ethical Leadership James Abruzzo Management & Global Business Department
Hackensack, NJ
Thursday, December 23, 2010
In the last two decades, Hackensack University Medical Center has grown from a community hospital into the state's busiest, with nationally known specialists in cancer care, stem cell and organ transplantation, pediatrics and trauma, among other fields. It has been ranked one of the nation's top 50 hospitals for four years by an independent rating service using Medicare data.
But its executive compensation raises questions, some experts say.
"They are spending taxpayer money," said James Abruzzo, co-director of the Institute for Ethical Leadership at Rutgers Business School and a compensation consultant to non-profit organizations. "The institution has a tax exemption, which means everyone else's taxes are higher."
Ethics Faculty Institute for Ethical Leadership James Abruzzo Management & Global Business Department
