News Center: Faculty Spotlight

Matthew Gilley

Since when does turning a profit for shareholders mean ‘by any means necessary'? And, why do some business leaders at the pinnacle of their careers make decisions that harm their shareholders, their employees, and the very foundations of the national economy? As the Bill Greehey Chair in Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility, K. Matthew Gilley’s research examines the relationship between executive compensation and ethical/unethical behavior, along with corporate governance, and outsourcing. Gilley’s research has led him to become one of the nation’s leading experts in the field. He was named an Invited Academic Fellow of the Ethics Resource Center in Washington, D.C. The ERC Fellows are a select group of corporate, government, non–profit, and academic leaders who engage in meaningful dialog and research on critical ethical issues currently facing the country. Gilley has consulted corporations and government agencies on all aspects of business ethics. He is also a co–founder of the Greater San Antonio Ethics & Compliance Roundtable.

Beyond just conducting research on these hot topics, Gilley is also working in the classroom to prepare students in the Bill Greehey School of Business to be better leaders when they reach the corner office. Gilley designed his Business Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility course so that students have the opportunity to work for some of America’s largest companies by conducting research for senior ethics and corporate responsibility officers. Recent client companies have included IBM, USAA, AT&T, Starbucks, Procter & Gamble, and Duke Energy. Gilley also brings business newsmakers to his classroom, including Keith Darcy (executive director of the Ethics and Compliance Officer Association in Boston, the world’s largest such organization); Shannon Schuyler (head of corporate responsibility worldwide for PricewaterhouseCoopers in Chicago); and Armando Falcon (former chief regulator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac).

On corporate greed and the public’s mistrust of Wall Street today ...
“The vast majority of business leaders are good people who wake up early every morning and do the hard work of building great businesses that provide the goods and services that make our modern society the healthiest, safest, and most enjoyable in human history. Without the wonderful things accomplished every day by those pursuing profits, our world would be a much different, and much less appealing, place. Nonetheless, a small minority of business leaders have chosen recently to engage in misconduct on a grand scale, which has led a significant portion of the American public to doubt the value of capitalism to human advancement. Indeed, studies show that trust in business is near an all–time low; barely half of Americans trust business. And given the significant media attention and the scope of recent ethical scandals, it is hard to blame those who are skeptical. Misconduct by those in some corporations has led to serious damage to our economy and to individual lives.”

On the benefits of Capitalism ...
“We do not hear often enough about the ethical leaders who are doing great things with their companies, creating value for all stakeholder groups associated with their organizations. This is unfortunate, because no economic system in history has so improved the lot of mankind like capitalism has.”

On Creative Capitalism ...
“Creative capitalists who focus on more than just the importance of profitability will be the leaders of tomorrow’s most successful businesses. Those leaders will be the ones creating companies that have the highest margins, which are critical to a businesses’ ability to create ever more useful products and services; employ growing numbers of people; support the local, national and global economy; and give back to the community. Such businesses will be those winning the public’s trust and enhancing the viability of our capitalist system. More business leaders are incorporating ethics and corporate social responsibility (CSR) into strategic decision–making. In the future, the most successful business leaders will be those who realize that they can, indeed, do well by doing good.”

On government oversight ...
“Less faith in business appears to have led to more support for government controls. And, given extensive corruption and the power of special interest groups within our government, a reliance on additional government intervention in industry is likely to have unintended consequences that are far worse than the effects on our economy of misconduct by individuals within industry.”