• Home
  • About
  • Articles
  • Interviews
  • Models
  • Slides
  • Blog
Unconventional Wisdom
  • Home
  • About
  • Articles
  • Interviews
  • Models
  • Slides
  • Blog

Governance Gone Wrong, Very Very Wrong...

7/14/2012

0 Comments

 

Wall Street executives say "wrongdoing is necessary" 

At this stage of the game, the headline above should hardly surprise anyone. The first thing that comes to mind is that if 25% of Wall Street executives admit to knowing about or witnessing unethical behavior in their companies first-hand, imagine how prevalent it really is. The second is that cheating is not limited to Wall Street!

My personal opinion, which is simply based on direct and repeated observations, is that cheating, in its many forms, exists in all industries and walks of life. It is all around us.

As it turns out, I am currently doing some research on this subject as part of a project I am working on. Fortunately or unfortunately, revelations like this continue to crawl out of the woodwork like cockroaches.
About the Survey
Labaton Sucharow LLP today announced the results of its survey of 500 financial services professionals across the United States and United Kingdom. The survey is being released in conjunction with the launch of the firm's SEC Whistleblower Eligibility Calculator.
  • Article via Reuters
  • Video via CBS News
  • Securities & Exchange Commission: Whistleblower Program

Isolated Incident or Pervasive Patronizing? (err, Paterno-izing)

Speaking of cockroaches, the video below from Fox News describes how Joe Paterno and other top Penn State officials hushed up child sex abuse allegations against Jerry Sandusky more than a decade ago for fear of bad publicity, allowing the former assistant football coach to prey on other youngsters, according to a scathing report issued Thursday on the scandal. All of this makes me wonder, is this an isolated incident or yet another example of the pervasive patronizing that permeates our populace? You make the call, sports fans...
Every director of a public company should read six pages (97-102) of the former FBI Director Louis Freeh’s report on the Penn State sexual abuse scandal. Those pages contain his findings about his own client: the Board of Trustees of Penn State.

Source: WSJ Deal Journal

Are we predictably irrational?

Lest we focus too much on sensational headlines (you really can't make this stuff up) I want to introduce you to the work of a behavioral economist that just makes a lot of sense to me. In the video below, Dan Ariely (visiting professor @MIT and aspiring comedian) talks about the "bugs" in our moral code (i.e., the hidden reasons we think it's OK to cheat and steal). He uses clever studies to make his point that we are predictably irrational and can be influenced in ways we cannot grasp. According to Ariely, the most difficult thing for most of us is to recognize that, sometimes, we are so blinded by our own incentives that we cannot see how our conflicts of interest work on us...
Dan Ariely talks about our "buggy" moral code...
Video Source: TED

EXPLORE FURTHER
  • Press release about Wall Street survey in lead story above
  • Wall Street Journal Blog story on Penn State announcement
  • FBI Director Louis Freeh’s report on Penn State sexual abuse scandal 
  • Dan Ariely's Blog & Website
  • Feeding the Donkeys, Dan Ariely's podcast
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    RAMBLE ON

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    RAMBLE ON, the name of my SLOG was inspired by the Led Zeppelin song with the same name. It also describes the content, which reflects my very random observations about life, work and my endless pursuit of the sublime. See tag list below...

    Archives

    November 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012

    Tags

    All
    3rd Alternative
    Aaron Hernandez
    Abuelito
    Advisors Fees
    Andrew Zolli
    Angela Maiers
    Anniversary
    Aspen Institute
    Asset Based Fees
    Asset Class
    A To B Syndrome
    Attitude
    Authenticity
    Best Band Ever
    Blackberry
    Blown Away Guy
    Book Reviews
    Books
    Bookstore
    Brain
    Brene Brown
    Brother David Steindl-Rast
    Business Optimization
    Cavemen
    Charts
    Child Development
    Clay Christensen
    Client Advocacy
    Client Experience
    Cliff
    Clouds
    Coaching
    Coffee Is For Closers
    Communication
    Competition
    Consulting
    Content Marketing
    Copernicus Radio
    Coral Gables
    Crying Cow
    Culture Narrative
    Curiosity
    Dan Ariely
    Dan Fogelberg
    Dishonesty
    Education
    Einstein
    Election
    Environment
    Epicurean Friends
    Exit
    Experience
    Extrapolation Bias
    Farm Bill
    Fast Cars
    Fee-based
    Financial Advisor Iq
    Financial Advisors
    Finra
    Fiscal Cliff
    Foresight
    Fusion Impact
    Gambler
    Glengarry Glen Ross
    Google
    Governance
    Gratitude
    Health
    Humor
    Indifference
    Infrastructure
    Innovation
    Inspired Thinking
    Investment Policy
    I Wonder
    Janisse Ray
    Jim Brown
    John Gardner
    Joni Mitchell
    Krista Tippett
    Leadership
    Led Zeppelin
    Let It Shine
    Listening
    Loyalty
    Marketing
    Market Timing
    Mark Kelly
    Maxell
    Merrill Lynch
    Miami
    Michelangelo
    Monkberry Moon Delight
    Nasa
    National Nutrition Month
    New York
    Nobel Prize
    Nutrition
    Obama
    On Being
    Philosophy
    Pieta
    Politicians
    Practice Management
    Pricing Anomolies
    Productivity
    Ram
    Ramble On
    Reich
    Resilience Thinking
    Rim
    Romney
    Schwartzberg
    Sculptors
    Self-renewal
    Slog
    Social Media
    Space
    Sports
    Stephen Covey
    Storytelling
    Strategy
    Sustainability
    Talking White Paper
    Teachers
    Team Building
    Technology
    Ted
    Templeton
    Think Outside Box
    Time In Vs Timing
    Travel
    Truth
    Unconventional Wisdom
    Video
    Voice
    Vulnerability
    Wealth Management
    What Is A Slog?
    Win-win
    You Matter


    My "Fiscal Cliff" Playlist

    Sonos Wireless Music Player

    1 FREE Audiobook RISK-FREE from Audible


    Picture
    "When you realize how little you know, you have become a philosopher."
    ~ Socrates ~


    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
Picture
Articles & Papers | Talking White Papers | Conceptual Models | Radio Interviews | Slides & Training
  • Home
  • About
  • Articles
  • Interviews
  • Models
  • Slides
  • Blog