Corporate greed has recently dominated the headlines in the United States. The list of fallen and disgraced Chief administrative Officers and Chief Financial Officers is long and alarming, and the stories emerging from the rubble of major corporations are quite disturbing.
How did this all come to pass?
What were the causes?
Who failed to lead?
What happen to teaching ethics?
Failed Corporate Leadership - Lessons in Corporate Greed
Ethics is now being taught in the classrooms in the Graduate Schools of enterprise throughout American and now the world. It is too limited and a very late. The paradox is at those same Graduate Schools of Business, is that less than two decades ago the Mba classes were hearing and learning all the benefits, administrative "perks," tricks of the boardroom, and the tales of "big bucks", war stories of corporate raiders, merger and acquisition mega-millionaire and billionaires, and king's ransom "golden parachutes."
It should not surprise anything that having Ivan Bosky bragging about his lucrative deals that they were making a lack of morals virtue and coveting all the toys and "perks." The world of the immoral world of greedy Ceo is full of 100 foot yachts, 10,000 sq. Ft homes with tennis courts, media rooms, and ten car garages, immorality and affairs, approved goal for a senior executive, predicted behavior, and mandatory for all victorious Ceo's.
For the Ivan Bosky to be invited to deliver a major lecture to all the Mba students of one of the most prestigious Graduate Schools of enterprise with the predicted message: "Greed Is Good!" is beyong reliance in an institution of higher learning. Universities are supposed to produce are leaders, not our blunders.
It is as sad but telling commentary on the state of our public lack of moral integrity which the beloved movie, Wall Street, had actor Michael Douglas, as Corporate Raider Gordon Geeko, which he portraited as a rich tycoon of industry. In the movie, Gordon Geeko is presented as a marvelous deal maker with no morals. Geeko in the movie uses actual quotes and close paraphrases the soon to be indicted, fined, and jailed Ivan Bosky message "Greed Is Good!" It is very sad commentary that that same message was delivered to the world and all the hopeful employees who now knew that it was Ok to steal, lie, and cheat!
The events of the last ten years report a material flaw in the moral fabric of some previously well-respected corporate leaders. The ever-present pressure of the next quarter's profits, and the push to increase "earnings per share" and drive up the stock price have caused some senior executives of American firms to ignore the basic morals of honesty, especially if the news is bad. Unfortunately, some of the corporate executives began to believe their own press kits, lost their moral compasses, and fell victims to the disease of corporate greed. All of the executives whose behavior is described above have failed to demonstrate "moral virtue" or live a life consistent with basic honesty, the easy basic laws of the Old Testament's, "Ten Commandments."
Just as we hopefully raise our own children by those three great teachers, "example, example, and example," we must interrogate that our leaders and other key role models provide the "right example." Moral virtue has been sadly lacking in these top executives in major American publicly traded corporations. In order to build trust, Americans must wish that our corporate and political leaders demonstrate by every action, thought, and deed that they stand for honesty and integrity. The leaders described above failed to be trustworthy. These fallen administrative have demonstrated failed leadership.
Let's ramble through the recent corporate crime scene and the results of preaching in the Ivy Halls in the Mba classrooms that in fact making money regardless of the cost to other and that "Greed is Good!" to the Mba students and entire the world that has unfolded from teaching the "Seeds of Greed." The combined losses from corporate fraud, corporate greed, job losses, and Federal Government bailouts are climbing daily into the dozens of Trillions of Dollar.
The totals only continue to grow, and the economic problems they generate materially adversely ensue the stability of the stock market. The true tragedy is the devastation to millions of private investors' finances and the personal havoc to the employees who lose not only their jobs but their resignation all at the same time.
Even the watchdog New York Stock exchange (Ntse) has had a scandal. Retiring Chairman Dick Grasso's infamous multi-million dollar resignation package, stylish by the Nyse Board of Directors, shocked every person when the over 9.5 million payout package deal became public knowledge.
The senior executives at Enron have become an icon of corporate greed, weighty fraud, dishonesty, unethical behavior, and failed leadership. Andrew and Lea Fastow have fallen from grace, plea bargained, and have been convicted. Andrew, Enron's former Cfo, will begin to start his 10-year sentence for securities and wire fraud as soon as his multi-millionaire heiress wife, Lea, completes her one-year prison term for insider trading of Enron stock in her house charity. Lea Fastow, along with Enron senior executives Kenneth Lay, the (now deceased) founder and former Chairman of Enron, Jeffery Skilling, the former President and Ceo of Enron, and Richard Causey, Chief Accounting Officer of Enron, all denied any wrongdoing. The juries have tried them and found them guilty, guilty and guilty.
Enron's Kenneth Lay, Jeffery Skilling, and Richard Causey all arrogantly refused to plea business agreement with federal prosecutors, or admit their guilt. All three of them are now tried and convicted on a range of criminal charges together with securities fraud, bribery, collusion and conspiracy to commit fraud, wire fraud, filing false financial statements, and many more. In addition to the criminal charges pending, there are civil lawsuits from investors and employees who have lost billions in the fall of Enron.
The late Kenneth Lay prolonged to proclaim his innocence of any criminal acts at Enron, even after his conviction. He additionally claimed that he, the founder and former Chairman of Enron, was unaware of the Enron financial details. Yet before the United States Senate Committee Lay instead of testifying he took "the Fifth" The end must be drawn that Lay knows he is guilty of many criminal acts. He was clearly not willing to admit his guilt before the United States Senate Committee.
