Regulator-Required Corporate Compliance Program Audits

This paper critically examines the ability of compliance program audits to provide adequate assurance of compliance system performance. The empirical evidence comes from the use of compliance program audits in monitoring compliance with enforceable undertakings agreed upon between companies (that have allegedly breached the law) and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. The evidence suggests that the primary value of compliance program audits in this context is as a management review that induces better compliance. Nevertheless, it may be the formal regulatory expectation of verification (and the belief that it is possible) that gives the compliance review its power to encourage management to listen and respond to auditors' recommendations for improvement.
The danger is that the review aspect of the audit will be captured by management concerns. This is evident in a tendency for the audit methodology to focus on management systems at the expense of forensic investigation of harm done (or likely to be done) to consumers and investors, and in a failure to seek out public opinion and input. This style of audit undermines the basic regulatory objective of democratic accountability for corporate responsibility. I conclude by using the literature on critical social audits to show that there is, nonetheless, significant potential for compliance program audits to open corporate management to democracy, and to make some suggestions as to how this might be possible.     

The MMPI-2 L scale as a tool in police selection

The MMPI has been used extensively in the selection of law enforcement personnel. Because police officer candidates have been preselected, however, individuals with obvious mental disturbance have been screened out of the candidate pool before evaluation. It is necessary to search for more subtle variables to serve as predictors of unsatisfactory future performance. The L scale is a subtle variable which can suggest potential for problematic behavior. The value of the L scale in the selection process is discussed. Authors' Note: William U. Weiss, Ph.D., is professor of psychology. The University of Evansville, 1800 Lincoln Av., Evansville, IN 47722. Robert Davis, Ph.D., is executive vice-president and director of science, research, and development, for Matrix, Inc., and Cary Rostow, Ph.D., is president of Matrix, Inc., Baton Rouge, LA. Sarah Kinsman was a psychology major at the University of Evansville at the time this research was conducted.     

Neighborhood Conservation: Political Choices Under the Community Development Block Grant Program

Neighborhood conservation is an objective widely espoused byAmerican cities. But movement from advocacy of conservationto allocation of funds for specific neighborhoods involves difficultpolitical choices for local officials who must respond to neighborhoodscompeting for scarce resources. The experience of Rochester,New York, the state's third largest city, closely parallelsthe national experience—shifts away from renewal and clearanceactivities to conservation and rehabilitation of marginal urbanneighborhoods. Over the first six years of the CDBG program,Rochester officials changed from a general, inclusive approachto neighborhood conservation to a more targeted approach. Thesechoices were shaped in response to local economic, demographicand political factors, including a well-organized network ofneighborhood organizations. The article concludes that the Rochesterexperience led to strengthened relationships between neighborhoodassociations and city hall, but evidence of stabilization andrevitalization in assisted city neighborhoods is inconclusive. ^*The author gratefully acknowledges the comments by Paul R.Dommel, Christopher Lindley and Richard P. Nathan on an earlierdraft of this article.     

THE POLITICS OF PARTICIPATION AND NONPARTICIPATION IN DISPUTE PROCESSES

Although the access to justice movement has placed great emphasis on expanding participation in dispute processing through informal mechanisms, little theoretical or empirical research in the area has explored the relationship between the organization of dispute processing and legal participation. This article develops a framework for investigating that relationship by examining the ideological and organizational structure of participation and nonparticipation in a comparison between mediation and prosecution of minor criminal cases. The analysis suggests that the concept of participation associated with informal mechanisms has played a role in transforming the institutional legitimacy of dispute processing, yet patterns of participation in conventional dispute processes are reproduced in the neighborhood justice center.