Page 19 - PCCA Journal 1st Quarter 2012

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PCCA Journal|1
st
Quarter 2012
19
and take action. Many firms start the process by interviewing
involved parties or asking for written statements to deter-
mine the veracity of the claim. Perhaps the most important
determination is whether and at what point to involve legal
counsel. If a violation is determined to have occurred, inter-
nal or external legal counsel will typically handle the case to
preserve attorney-client privilege. Granite Construction has
established a strict Upjohn procedure (after the 1981 Supreme
Court decision regarding company privilege) for initiating
critical investigations. However, many incidents relate to
human resources. Repercussions for violations of the ethics
policy should be as clear as the policy itself: suspension, rep-
rimand, or termination each have their place. “I learned from
people I worked for in the past that nothing was tolerated,”
said Jim Moynihan, “and it’s easier if you also don’t tolerate
anything.”
Forging the “Integrity Chain”
Many of the firms FMI spoke to had established ethics poli-
cies or language well before it was a legal requirement to
do so as part of the FAR. Others were contractors who do
no federal work and have no punitive reason to make the
significant investment in an ethics and compliance program,
but they have put one in place. Given the current focus on
overhead costs, what motivated firms to go the extra mile in
designing training modules and online courses and assign-
ing new roles and responsibilities for involved individuals at
significant cost to the firm?
Ralph James, Ph. D. and direc-
tor of FMI, introduced the concept
of the “integrity chain” in his 2002
book of the same name (see Exhibit
C). “One way to understand the
importance of the integrity chain
is to break the chain,” James said,
noting four consequences of poor
integrity on business:
Increased investment in selling
costs,
Increased risk,
Misunderstandings, and
Companies have to hide their
past.
The design and construction in-
dustry is based on trust and repeat
clients so the costs of breaking the
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