K. Graney Podcast: Ethics

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Left to Right: Kate Olsen and Kevin Graney

PODCAST

Hi everyone; it’s Kevin. Today is Tuesday, October 17 (date recorded). When each of us joined Electric Boat, we were asked to read and sign the GD Standards of Business Ethics and Conduct handbook, what we commonly refer to as the “Blue Book,” which we periodically review as part of our ongoing training.

The Blue Book gives us some guiding principles for how we’re to behave and conduct business every day. Remember that performing or behaving with integrity and purpose is key to our core values and the business. So today on the podcast I’m joined by Kate Olsen, our EB Manager of Ethics and Compliance, who is our dedicated Ethics Officer here and took over this role about a year ago. We’ll talk about what we all need to do to ensure we’re conducting ourselves and our business in the right way.

So Kate, welcome to the podcast. Let’s start with a little bit about you and your background.

Thanks for having me. I joined Electric Boat in 2014. I started in compliance in Materials Management, and I eventually became the Manager of Administration and Compliance in that department. While in that position, I began supporting our Ethics Program as a Lead Ethics Officer. I moved over to HR Compliance at the end of 2021 and took over as Ethics Officer in July of last year when the previous Ethics Officer retired.

Thanks for the background, and we talked a little bit before we started recording about your background as a lawyer as well. So great to have you aboard since 2014. We talk a lot about our mission, I think it’s important and clear and something that everyone I know who wears an EB badge feels pretty passionate about. That is about delivering the safest and most capable submarines to our Navy customer in defense of our nation. Today more than ever with what’s going on in the world, our ability to deliver submarines is absolutely crucial to our nation’s defense.

How we conduct ourselves in an ethical manner while executing that mission means that we’re doing the right thing and acting responsibly with our co-workers, our customers and everyone else we interact with while representing Electric Boat. I think all of us are ambassadors of Electric Boat. Along with understanding and committing to the Blue Book and our core values—Valuing Each Other, Behaving with Integrity and Purpose and Committing to Excellence—let’s talk about what we all need to do to ensure we’re conducting ourselves and our business in the most ethical way possible.

Absolutely. We continuously demonstrate our commitment to the principles of the Blue Book and core values in the way we show up every day. We can apply this to our individual roles by learning the details of the policies that impact your particular area of responsibilities. This also includes asking for guidance and assistance when you need it and holding each other accountable for ethical work standards. Lastly, share your concerns about ethical misconduct when you have them. This can be with your supervisor, management, HR, myself, the Ethics Officer, or the Ethics Helpline.

While we should always be conducting ourselves appropriately and ethically, let’s talk about some specific situations when people need to be particularly focused on ethical concerns.

Ethics issues can cover a lot of different topics. Some of the top ones are around fraud, waste and abuse; this includes mischarging. We must be prudent stewards of taxpayer money, and be aware of appropriately charging our time. It is your responsibility to record your time and expenses carefully, promptly and accurately.

Additionally, ethics concerns can come up through conflicts of interest. This is when private interests interfere or appear to interfere with business interests; we expect any potential conflicts of interest be disclosed and evaluated. EB has a very conservative threshold for accepting gifts, so if you are offered a gift, you should consider the value and perception around accepting it.

Another area this comes up is with how we treat each other. As you said in your President’s Intent, our people are the bedrock of our business. We should treat each other with dignity and respect; this includes the right to be free from improper or offensive conduct at work. We do this by abiding by the Blue Book, adhering to our Core Values and following our policies on workplace conduct.

You talked a little bit about gifts. My own personal rule of thumb is don’t do it. When in doubt, though, always ask your manager, your supervisor or the Ethics Officer whether or not it’s something you can accept. In my case, I just choose not to even put myself in that position. In that way, no one will question my integrity. I think, in a lot of ways, we could all live to that same standard. So if people have questions about a particular situation regarding ethics or workplace conduct, let’s talk about what they should do and who they should raise their concerns to.

Yes, I want folks to know that there are resources, and we are here to help. Questions are encouraged. We count on you all to bring the questions and concerns to our attention so we can address them. If something is on your mind, it is always advisable to seek guidance before making a decision.

It is OK and expected for you to raise ethical concerns to your direct supervision and management or come straight to me and my team. Additionally, if you’re not comfortable reporting problems internally, you should contact the General Dynamics Helpline which is available 24/7. We’ll link the information here.

There’s a lot that’s done with regard to discretion on your part to make sure people are comfortable when they come to you. There’s a lot we do to protect them, right?

Yes, thanks for pointing that out. Conversations with me as the Ethics Officer are kept confidential so folks should feel comfortable knowing that.

Good, that’s important. Thanks Kate, appreciate you taking the time to remind us about our ethical responsibilities and the resources available if we need help.  We’ll provide a list of contact names, links and phone numbers in the podcast transcript so if you have any concerns or want that information, please check out the transcript.

Thanks everyone; we’ll talk again soon.

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