AIHA – Wisconsin Section

Topic:  “Building the Ethical Organization: Key Elements and Best Practices”

Speaker:  K. Praveen Parboteeah, Ph.D., Univ. Wisconsin – Whitewater College of Business and Economics

Since 2008, AIHA, ACGIH, ABIH and AIH’s Joint IH Ethics Education committee have been leading efforts to raise the level of awareness for ethics concerns in the Health and Safety profession.  To reinforce the importance of ethics, the ABIH has administered ethics requirements for IH professionals.  To broaden our understanding of this topic, we are very fortunate to have Professor K. Praveen Parboteeah from UW Whitewater as our dinner meeting speaker.  Dr. Parboteeah is responsible for teaching both graduate and undergraduate courses in business ethics and strategic management.  He has written several safety related papers including “Ethical Climates and Workplace Safety Behaviors: An Empirical Investigation” which was published in the Journal of Business Ethics, and another published in Professional Safety, entitled “Ethical Climate and Safety Performance:  Design better programs, improve compliance and foster participation.” Parboteeah has been involved in many ethics efforts at the University of Wisconsin – Whitewater including the creation of a new undergraduate course in business ethics, a faculty workshop series, and the creation of a business ethics student association. Parboteeah is also a judge for the Wisconsin Better Business Bureau Award, an award given annually to companies that display high ethics and integrity.  Parboteeah is also a regular instructor of the business ethics course at Germany’s leading business school, namely the Otto Beisheim School of Management, WHU.

It is undeniable that having the appropriate ethics program can do a lot to help employees behave ethically.  Employees often face gray situations and companies are therefore expected to provide guidance regarding how to deal with such situations.  Parboteeah will therefore discuss some of the latest research regarding a well-designed ethics program and the best practices for each aspect.  Specifically, Parboteeah will discuss aspects such as the code of ethics, the role of ethics officers, the nature of ethics training and the need for continuous improvement as key elements of a successful ethics program.  However, it is well-known that companies such as Enron and World Com had solid code of ethics and even employees at Andersen had ethics training.  Why do programs sometimes fail?  Parboteeah will conclude his presentation on the role of ethical culture and specifically ethical climate in ensuring that an ethics program is successful.

Date:  November 17, 2009
4:00 to 5:30  Board Meeting
5:00 to 6:00  Social Hour/ Networking (meet in bar)
6:00 to 7:00  Dinner
7:00 to 8:30  Meeting, Program

Location:   Delafield Brewhaus http://www.delafield-brewhaus.com , Delafield, WI
3832 Hillside Dr
Delafield, WI 53018-2174
(262) 646-7821

Directions:     
From Milwaukee: Take I-94 west and exit on Hwy. 83 in Delafield. At the stop light turn left, heading south. At the third stop light turn left heading east (Hillside Drive). Restaurant is about one mile east of Hwy. 83.

From Madison: Take I-94 east and exit on Hwy. 83 in Delafield. Turn right, heading south. Turn left at the second traffic light (Hillside Drive). Go past the theater and Home Depot. Restaurant is at the top of the hill on the right.

Cost: $30.00 (includes dinner, dessert, tax and gratuity)                                                

Dinner:  Buffet

Registration:  Please register online at www.aihawi.org with your credit card or complete the reservation slip (to be posted soon) and send it with a check payable to WI Section-AIHA. Payment must be received no later than the end of business on Friday November 13, 2009.  If you need to cancel your reservation, please contact Steve Strebel at 608-224-6216 by November 13th or your reservation will not be refunded.