Devoted to Managers and those that seek to improve their management skills

With the growing number of corporate scandals being reported by the media, and the increasing number of executives jailed for alleged crimes, it is becoming more important than ever to comprehend what it is that managers and business leaders need to understand concerning operations of the business.

Here are 4 things we need to change to help protect ourselves from ethics violations:

1. Short-term outlooks

We need to continually resist the urge to be concerned about the next quarters' results, as the major criteria for success. This is one of the huge pressure-points in business leader's temptation to do things to prop the numbers up. Warren Buffett has the exact right attitude and outlook concerning this: he doesn't want people with short-term outlooks investing in his company. This is the reason why he doesn't split his Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) stock.

2. Boards need to be more proactive

A lot of boards have become irrelevant to the health of a company as they don't take an active interest in what's really happening within a company they're connected to. There needs to be an increase of insight and interest to see the company excel both financially and ethically.

3. Communicating the truth

There should be no holding back on what is happening within a company. If something isn't going like it should, or results aren't what were expected, we need to just throw it out there truthfully and explain (not give excuses) why it's happened and what will be done to correct it.

4. Take responsibility

When all is said and done, management is responsible for the health of a company. If there is something that needs to be addressed, we must make sure that we take responsibility for the situation. Don't try to throw it off on someone else. If it really was someone else, then we should have done something about it, not just let the problem continue.

A lot of people are trying to get people trained in ethics etc., and that's not bad. But the truth is that if we embrace the things we've talked about here, it will keep us from the vast majority of problems that arise because things haven't been managed with the right outlook and attitude.

The bottom line is that we need to be accountable, take responsibility, communicate honestly and keep a long-term look at the strategy of the company. These will help to keep the proper checks and balances in place that managers so desperately need.