Video replay of the virtual event held on Wednesday, April 28, 2021, via Zoom.

Ann Skeet, Senior Director of Leadership Ethics, along with Business Ethics interns Isabella Draskovic (graduating class of 2021) and Jonathan Sampson (graduating class of 2022), interview Kirk Hanson, Senior Fellow and former Executive Director of the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, about Hanson's recent book and the ethics of corporate misconduct.

After 50 years of advocating for ethical behavior in business, former Markkula Center executive director Kirk Hanson and co-author Marc Epstein of Rice University have asked why unethical behavior in business is still so common. Their new book, ROTTEN: WHY CORPORATE MISCONDUCT CONTINUES AND WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT, answers this important question and describes why attempts by corporate executives, ethics officers, government regulators, and a generation of business ethics professors like themselves to stop misconduct have failed.

Hanson and Epstein argue that corporate misconduct is rooted in a failure to contain black sheep (individuals), black sheep (corporate cultures), and black sheep (corrupt industries and competitive markets). They argue that companies allow black sheep to stay in the company, that a black corporate culture produces one scandal after another, and that black sheep instill in business professionals and business students a cynical belief that to be competitive and successful, one must take the easy way out.

Hanson returns to the Markkula Center to make his and Epstein's arguments and suggest ways we CAN encourage better behavior from companies and corporate leaders now.

Please take the opportunity to connect with your friends and family and share this video with them if you find it useful.