Ethikos Editor’s Weekly Picks: Why is a College-Admissions Code of Ethics Such a Big Deal

By Eric Hoover for The Chronicle of Higher Education

The news seemed to stun an entire profession. On Tuesday, admissions officials and college counselors learned that the U.S. Justice Department is investigating whether the organization that represents them has violated federal antitrust law. At issue: the National Association for College Admission Counseling’s new 15-page ethics code.

This week the department requested information from several members of a committee that recently helped revamp the association’s “Code of Ethics and Professional Practices,” an extensive list of rules and standards that govern the admissions process. After receiving a “civil investigative demand” for documents from the department, one committee member told The Chronicle she was so shaken she had to sit down right away. Another member said he was baffled because the notes he had to turn over “are pretty boring.” As news of the investigation spread, many people in the field express their dismay on social media. “This is bonkers,” one admissions director tweeted, “BONKERS.” Read more

by Constance E. Bagley, Bruno Cova, and Lee D. Augsburger for Harvard Business Review

One defining feature of 2017 has been seeing corporate directors and officers being held personally responsible for illegal behavior at their companies. For example, after Wells Fargo Bank paid more than $300 million in penalties for creating over 3 million sham customer accounts, Judge Jon Tigar of the U.S. District Court in San Francisco refused to dismiss claims against the fifteen members of the Wells Fargo board. And Oliver Schmidt, the highest ranking Volkswagen officer residing in the United States, was sentenced to seven years in prison and ordered to pay $400,000 for his role in the VW diesel emissions scandal. Read more

By Marcel Schwantes for Inc.

Warren Buffett gave some great advice a few years ago on key attributes to look for when considering job candidates. He narrowed it down to three, but one is purely non-negotiable. Buffet said:

You’re looking for three things, generally, in a person: intelligence, energy, and integrity. And if they don’t have the last one, don’t even bother with the first two.

Buffett is dead on. Here’s why integrity is so important in the people you hire, especially your future managers. Read more

By Dina Bass for Industry Week

The rapidly advancing area of artificial intelligence will require a new field of laws and new regulations governing a growing pool of businesses involved, according to Microsoft Corp., a 25-year participant in AI research.

Companies making and selling AI software will need to be held responsible for potential harm caused by “unreasonable practices” — if, for example, a self-driving car program is set up in an unsafe manner that causes injury or death, Microsoft said. And as AI and automation boost the number of laborers in the gig economy or on-demand jobs, Microsoft said technology companies need to take responsibility and advocate for protections and benefits for workers, rather than passing the buck by claiming to be “just the technology platform” enabling all this change. Read more