Intensity Score: Level of Responsibility
The ‘level of responsibility’ pillar measures the level of involvement of different parties within the company, by assessing the legal impact and implications level.
Legal Impact: The goal is to identify, when available, the stage and risk of any legal or regulatory processes in relation to this event. This may look at whether the event involves complaints, allegations, fines, lawsuits, or other types of formal legal actions. This helps gauge the scale of risk the company is facing.
Implication Level: The scope ranges from direct involvement of top-level executives (Board of Directors, CEO,..) in a scandal to indirect involvement by senior management, secondary business lines, or areas that contribute only a small share of revenue. The more direct and significant the involvement of high-level executives, the greater the reputational damage.
Examples:
| Level | Event | Impacted Stakeholders |
|---|---|---|
| Low | FDA issues cybersecurity warning on GE medical equipment that monitors patients (link) | Operational management rather than top executive decisions. No lawsuit started. |
| Ford recalls over 90K vehicles for Ecoboost engine failures (link) | Operational issues with less direct involvement from top executives. No lawsuit started. |
|
| Medium | Walmart facing gender discrimination lawsuits from female employees (link) | Mid-level management and departmental policies, significant but not direct role of top executives. Lawsuits started. |
| Ford recalls over 90K vehicles for Ecoboost engine failures (link) | Operational issues with less direct involvement from top executives. No lawsuit started. |
|
| High | Boeing CEO blasted by Senate panel: ‘It’s a travesty that you are still in your job' (link) | CEO's responsibility for addressing major issues at the company. US Senate implication. |
| JPMorgan to pay $290 million in settlement with Epstein's victims (link) | Direct involvement of top executives. Lawsuit settlement with substantial fine. |