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Companies
in the US are suddenly realising that ethics and integrity of employees
play a very significant role in the smooth running of their organisations.
Business leaders are going to expect higher ethical standards from
their business partners and companies they deal with, writes MOHAN
BABU
One
topic receiving a lot of attention in recent times is the importance
of integrity and honesty in the corporate world. The role of integrity
in our day to day lives, especially of those in business and management,
is being tested in light of the recent corporate scandals erupting
in the US. Starting with the fall of Enron, Anderson and K-Mart
last year, and the bankruptcy of a number of visible Fortune 500
companies, scandals and layoffs in corporate America have left people
high and dry. In many cases, the public has found visible scapegoats
like Bernie Ebbers (ex CEO of Worldcom) and Dennis Kozlowski (of
Tyco), to identify corporate greed. These individuals, inspite of
being among the highest paid executives, stooped to low levels for
a few dollars more. Of course, for every documented culprit, hundreds
are roaming free.
Just
recently prosecutors charged Tyco’s former chief executive,
Dennis Kozlowski, and its ex-chief financial officer, Mark H Swartz,
with stealing $170 million in unauthorised compensation and illegally
reaping another $430 million from stock sales. A recent Wall Street
Journal report went on to add, “In the indictments, prosecutors
painted a picture of a company run like a “criminal enterprise”,
in which top executives paid themselves huge bonuses without Board
approval and hid the payments from shareholders. Messrs Kozlowski
and Swartz have pleaded not guilty.” On similar lines, New
York Attorney General sued five current and former top telecom executives,
demanding that they return more than $1.5 billion in profits allegedly
reaped through self-serving relationships with investment bank Solomon
Smith Barney. These are not just stray cases but a massive overhaul
of the corporate governance system taking place in the US.
Companies
in the US are suddenly realising that ethics and integrity of employees
and workforce also play a very significant role in the smooth running
of their organisations. The focus of boardrooms, that until recently
hinged solely on corporate earnings, ROI and maximising shareholder
wealth, is shifting towards other “essential” factors,
including ethics and integrity. This back-to-basics approach ties
in with the core values that we as individuals are expected to adhere
to. Most of us have been raised to be ethical in our dealings and
generally try to hold ourselves to the highest levels of moral and
ethical standards. Problems arise when individuals with differing
standards of ethics and morality work in organisations that give
a free reign to personal behaviours. This renewed focus on integrity
is bound to lead to a major overhaul of the system. Along with this,
business leaders are going to expect higher ethical standards from
their business partners and other companies they deal with. Dealings
with foreign companies (including Indian IT companies) will start
to receive a higher level of scrutiny.
In
India, we are content to classify government officials and politicians
into the “corrupt” category and turn our eyes the other
way when it comes to corporate embezzling and white-collared crime.
Of course, corruption among government officials and politicians
is well documented, and a pet obsession of ours. However, even a
cursory look around will tell you that corruption is all around
us, even in the high-tech IT world. Surprised?
Let’s
take a hypothetical example. A large Indian company bags a 2,000
man-month project to be implemented in five months. Simple math
tells me that about four hundred people should be working on the
project for five months before it can be successfully completed.
Even if the company employed “super programmers” only,
the project would need upwards of 350 people dedicatedly working
all the time. However, in the real world, you and I know what really
happens. A core group of individuals work their tails off and the
management shuffles people in and out of the project since they
are trying to manage a few other such “2,000 man-month”
projects. Needless to say, the work gets done, client gets billed
and the company receives payment. Did the company really need 350
or 400 people? Was the project really a “2,000 man-month”
effort? I could fill the dots from my own experiences but I think
I have made my point. While companies focus on the end results,
i.e. delivery of projects and recovering the amounts due, they invariably
cut corners, overcharge and resort to other such “routine”
business tactics.
Individual
consultants too are not blame free. If I, the programmer, had an
opportunity to bill for (and receive payment for) overtime in a
project, would I routinely do it? You bet I would! Would I be honest
when I told the client that the project “really” needed
overtime? Maybe. It is this “maybe” that has a way of
coming back to bite us.
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PEOPLE
