Novartis associate awarded prize for contribution to Corporate Citizenship

November 16, 2006

The Max Weber prize for business ethics was awarded to Novartis associate Michael Fuerst in Berlin this week for his research and Ph.D thesis entitled: Risiko-Governance. Die Wahrnehmung und Steuerung moralökonomischer Risiken (Risk Governance: The perception and control of moral-economic risks). The keynote speech was delivered by Franz Muentefering, German Vice Chancellor and Federal Minister for Labor and Social Affairs.

In his dissertation, Michael Fuerst, an Integrity & Compliance Manager at Novartis International AG, explores the area of new organizational economics, explaining that moral-economic risks can not be managed adequately if risk management focuses exclusively on establishing and safeguarding formal rules, as happens in most approaches to corporate risk management and corporate governance.

 

Is competition moral?

The Max Weber prize's guiding theme is on the following question: “Is competition moral? - Business ethics in an economy-based society”. In his thesis Fuerst focuses on how “softer” factors like values, morals and culture, which were not taken into account in the past, play a significant role in corporate governance. The reality, Fuerst argues, is that moral-economic risks are only properly recognized and controlled once more attention is paid to internal formal and informal processes.

 

The Novartis Ethics Compliance Program

One example of such an internal process is the Novartis Ethics Compliance Program that promotes an ethical culture and supports Management to ensure responsible conduct in our business activities. The values-driven Ethics Compliance Program defines the key elements and processes required to establish, promote and enforce ethical standards and behavior in Novartis, thereby managing ethical risks and ensuring high performance with high integrity.

Awarded in memory of Max Weber, one of the major founders of modern sociology, this prize, which was created seven years ago, rewards work that is aligned with Weber's research contributions in the field of entrepreneurial economic ethics.