Aren’t you tired of top business executives protesting innocence, and outrage when one of their trusted employees is found acting unethically. They seem astonished that this could happen on their watch. Particularly as they have continuously emphasized their company values – and even have the ‘values statement’ proudly hanging in their opulent receptions. This is particularly true of the banking world at present.
They forget however the old management reality that ‘all employees are smart ans that they all act system rational’ . In other words employees don’t listen to what top management says, they simply work out very quickly what gets inspected, what gets appreciated, what earns them the greatest recognition, and do it with enthusiasm.
As Michael le Boeuf said “The greatest management principle in the world is : ‘the things that get rewarded and appreciated get done’
Said another way by Upton Sinclair, 100 years ago, in his book ‘The Jungle’ – “It is very difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on him not understanding it.”
In laymans terms, it is very difficult to get a man to act ethically if his big bonus depends on him not acting ethically, owing to pressure being put on him to perform and reach stretching financial / performance targets.
How often have you heard your boss say “do whatever it takes – just make it happen”. Seldom do the words ethically, or in the best interest of clients come into the thinking.
The reason bank employees behave the way they do, is because that is what is expected, rewarded and revered. All employees are incentivized by greed – all great performance is rewarded with money – and that’s the culture that has been instilled. Big banks don’t make for the most pleasant working environment – often long hours, big bureaucracies, system driven, pressure to perform, and hence banks need to pay over the top salaries to attract best talent and they then dangle even bigger incentives to those that perform. It’s all about incentivizing people to make money.
Little wonder why the bankers are now called Banksters.
