Ethics and the HP Board

Hewlett Packard's Patricia Dunn is under fire for allegedly snooping on her fellow board members to discover the source of a leak that made public the board's luxurious meeting at some swanky spa. "Shame on Dunn," the media and many ethics experts are saying.

Excuse me, aren't we missing something here?

If Dunn indeed obtained board members' private phone records illegally she does deserve censure. But what are the ethical issues behind Dunn's behavior?

Seems to me that the HP board has a problem even closer to home. Posh meetings at expensive spas? Come on, have you learned nothing from reading the news the last couple of years?

HP needs to take a good look at its governance policies and procedures in light of how it best can serve its constituencies - HP shareholders, employees, customers, and vendors as well as the public. Why should someone have to "leak" information to get serious dialogue going around moral issues?

Corporate ethics is about more than getting caught. It's about defining a corporate culture and aligning all corporate behavior with who it says it is.

-Bob Ryan
www.swimstartingwithme.com