Replying to LO27687 --
In a message dated 1/27/02 9:41:32 PM,
learning-org-digest-approval@world.std.com writes:
>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 ... the bottom line. . >>
Oops I did not keep the source for this response.
I never thought about this before, but I also see myself as an
ex-accountant. I must be the non-famous one.
I could buy both virtue and lack of courage as two reasons why people
don't come forward. There is also a lot of inertia. At the beginning it
is not always clear that a transaction crosses the line. IN a large
company the size of Enron 1,000s maybe 10,000s of transactions take place
everyday. People see something that looks funny and most of the time it
isn't anything more than that. As a critical mass of deceit begins to
build then people become embarrassed. "Why didn't I notice this sooner?
Is it real(true)? Whom should I talk to? Whom can I trust?" Inaction is
so much easier than ACTION. Action requires breaking the routine, taking
a risk, exposing one's self to ridicule if you're wrong or the illegality
cannot be proven.
Certainly people have courage (or maybe they are just crazy) that step up,
but I don't think the reverse is true that one is a coward if they don't
act.
We recently saw a move called, "Divided We Fall." It takes place in
Czechoslovakia during World War Two. A man and his wife decide to hide a
Jewish friend during the war in their home. A neighbor had a chance to
help this individual earlier and instead tried to report him to the
Nazi's. At first, I judged this gentleman as a coward and a disgrace.
But then in watching the movie I learned that he had a wife and five or
six kids. I don't know if the movie wished to make this point but it
caused me to think about "choices." It is one thing to choose for
ourselves. Hopefully we would all step up to the task and do the right
thing. It is another deal entirely to put your family, your co-workers or
your neighbors at risk. Do I have the right to put someone else at risk?
I am not sure. In the movie, the hero, a relatively mild man, asked his
wife if it was Ok. She supported him. Thank God, we have people like
that in the world. People who are brave enough to do the right thing.
But what do you do when the first transaction is, just a little sin? A
transaction that leaves it self open to interpretation? Grey can be such
an ugly color. Oh well no answers here.
I did catch a buglar one time in my home, was that brave or foolish? I
did confront a CEO one time of a company I worked for about something I
felt was wrong (knees quaking and heart about to blast through my chest).
He assured me he did not want to do the wrong thing, and supported my
position. Did I stop something bad from happening.....who knows? I
believe that many people do this everyday. We don't know about it because
those incidents do not turn in to Enron's. We hear about the failures,
not the successes......that is unfortunate.
Love to all,
Michael Bremer
The Cumberland Group
630-789-8262
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