Replying to Andrew Campbell in LO27687 --
>Dear Learners,
>
>I have a few questions. I have a few statements.
>
>Where does the 'buck stop' in modern organizational life?
The buck stops wherever someone can be stuck with it. The name of the
game that I have observed for many years now is to duck, avoid, evade,
shirk and otherwise manage to not assume or accept responsibility for
anything -- except success.
>Who is accountable as a 'leader' -whether as CEO or supervisor?
True leaders, that is, those who are committed to goals and objectives
that transcend their own self interest and who can enlist others to assist
in pursuing these goals and objectives, might be viewed by "the powers
that be" as valuable assets or they might be viewed as posing a distinct
threat to the status quo. If a true leader emerges in the form of a CEO,
the gods will no doubt smile upon the endeavor. Let that true leader
emerge elsewhere, especially lower down the hierarchy, and trouble might
be brewing. In any event, a true leader is accountable not to his or her
superiors but to those who follow. Assuming or accepting that kind of
responsibility strikes me as extremely rare.
>Is the net result of 'corporate' corruption reversible?
I believe too many profit from corporate corruption to reverse it.
Instead, blatant wrongdoing will be punished, although not necessarily in
ways that are commensurate with the wrongdoing. For example, I'll wager
that the execs who took Enron down the tubes will not forfeit the millions
they made and were paid. Only the little folks get screwed; that's why
the good Lord made so many of them.
>Is someone who drives ordinary and faithful followers to the brink of
>total ruin and maybe even suicide a terrorist by another name?
Not a terrorist, Andrew, but certainly a corrupt and perhaps evil person.
>When will those with enough talent and cleverness to manipulate so many
>systems of privilege to their own advantage create enough intelligence
>within themselves to realise that the time they say they never had enough
>of doesn't exist?
Never. That kind of introspection and reflection doesn't occur in anyone
who is dominated by self interest.
>Why has no-one (so far as I know in the public domain here) 'picked up'
>the tab I offered on the Enron scandal posting I wrote? Is it not a worthy
>enough as an issue to have a dialogue on then;-) now, in the near
>future...;-)
I don't know. I missed it, I guess. I've been caught up in moving and
haven't paid much attention to my email for almost a month. I'll go back
and take a look.
>Tom Johnson the famous ex-accountant, when asked what was 'wrong' with the
>system of 'corporate business' said there was 'not enough virtue'. He said
>that '70%' of what 'is wrong' is to do with virtue. Was he a twit? What is
>virtue worth to corporate life.
In my opinion, it's not a lack of virtue; it's a lack of courage. People
know right from wrong, legal from illegal, and moral from immoral (even if
these do vary a bit from place to place and time to time). But, in
business, their allegiance is not to ethics or laws or mores. In
business, they serve Mammon and their allegiance is to the bottom line.
Thus it is that someone who can "cook the books" in clever and imaginative
ways can put self interest first and not get caught until it is too late.
Then, too, there is the matter of governance. There is no provision for
higher ups to be called to account by those lower down. Board members are
not likely to spot early on any internal shenanigans; that's usually done
by insiders. Unfortunately, insiders who spot it don't have anywhere to
go with their information. To answer your question directly, I don't
believe that the dominant world view places any value on virtue in
corporate life; indeed, virtue is probably seen as misguided, misplaced
and potentially problematic (although no one in any position of power
would ever say so).
>As life becomes more transparent a new form of democracy will arise. I can
>see it arising. All such emergences have lashing tails, vortices. There is
>pain in abundance at attending such birthings. It will be like a kind of
>madness. Can anyone here sense it upon the far horizon?
I have long thought that democracy was on its way into the workplace and
even said so in print at least once. I tied that to the emergence of
knowledge work and knowledge workers. I should have tied it to economic
interest. I suspect, however, that it is still on the way and far from
having arrived. One thing seems certain: if those at the top of our large
corporations are allowed to continue operating in an essentially unchecked
mode, particularly if they are aided and abetted by accountants, auditors
and consultants, any pain will be felt by the little folks, not the big
wigs.
>Shall we keep on doing what is familiar and plentiful toward our 'limited
>case' mortgages, becoming 'clinically obese' to the point of epidemic
>proportions, our children going 'quietly mad' ( one in five children in
>'developed countries' sic. show signs of clinical depression) while four
>fifths of the world lives on less than two dollars a day?
I think the question directly above says something about the human race in
general.
>Where is the virtue, who is the virtuous. Does it matter and do we care?
I don't believe many of the virtues or the virtuous are found in business.
Nope. I don't think so.
Regards,
Fred Nickols
nickols@att.net
Distance Consulting
http://home.att.net/~nickols/articles.htm
--Fred Nickols <nickols@att.net>
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