The Greater Dallas Business Ethics Award has just announced its 2016 award honorees:
These awards will be presented at a very public recognition event which many of Dallas’ finest companies will be part of. I’m delighted to be the keynote speaker for this May 17th event. And, I’m especially honored as last year’s event speaker was Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings.
The Greater Dallas Business Ethics Award honors Dallas based companies that clearly demonstrate a “measurable commitment to ethical business practices in everyday operations, management philosophies and responses to crisis or challenges.” As Michael Webb, chairman of the award program says, “These companies are great examples of ethics at work. They exemplify businesses operating under ethical principles and doing the right thing for their company and related stakeholders. Their work reinforces the positive, ethical values of our local business community.”
This Dallas program seeks out those companies which make it a point to operate under ethical principles. A panel of judges, from academia, business and previous award winners review the company’s ethical policies, programming and practices. Students from the Posey Leadership Institute at Austin College conduct site visits and interviews for each award submission. A Better Business Bureau Review and qualifying rating of B+ and above is also part of the requirement.
The award program has also produced nine previous winners of the national American Business Ethics Award Program (ABEA); more honorees than any other affiliated program in the United States. The Greater Dallas Business Ethics Awards program partners with the Cary M. Maguire Center for Ethics and Public Responsibility at SMU, the Financial Planning Association of Dallas/ Ft. Worth, the North Texas Ethics Association and Success North Dallas, among others. Read the full story here. The event is open to the public and tickets/tables are available at gdbea.org.
This year one of the award honorees will also receive the inaugural Cary M. Maguire “Spirit of Ethics” award, a new level of recognition to a company that demonstrates and champions above-and-beyond ethical practices.
It is gratifying to be included as part of this ceremony. As I’ve repeatedly said, too many companies pay lip service to ethical policies and procedures, yet the actual practice of ethics goes by the wayside.
Ethics is not a one-time thing, it is a way of life, a way of doing business and serving the community that is a very part of the pillars of a company. Ethics is a daily practice, and all time thing, and to publicly honor the companies that embody its working principles sends a very clear message.
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