In the accompanying post, we discuss the global distress resulting from the dramatic nosedive of world economies. The general belief is that this situation was brought about by greed and corruption in financial firms, while our government loosened regulations and oversight. Most of you will agree that the lack of integrity (excerpt from lecture in September 2007 (3:09): Make Integrity a Habit) is a major cause for this mess. But but is there more?
Has there been a lack of all five positive core values (integrity, commitment, persistence, teamwork and communication) in the actions of corporate executives and government?
Can you discuss this, citing examples?
Yes. Lack of commitment started when the government started its deregulation. These regulations were put in place during the great depression (1929) to protect companies and individuals. Without regulation, companies had the opportunities to push the limits and got into a grey area of integrity. Once one company started making money down this path, other companies pushed the limits furthering themselves form integrity. Every company was out for itself, no teamwork here. There was no communication between these companies and the government.
Enron is a prime example. A natural gas company expanded rapidly into the water, fiber optics, newsprint, and telecommunications industries. There integrity was jeopardized when they deceived lending institutes and the public to obtain more funding. They had no commitment or persistence towards Californians; electric rates soared and Enron caused blackouts. The executive managers had no teamwork; they got side tracked away from the mission. The positive core values have been ignored.
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20011224/greider
I agree that integrity within the corporate world, especially within the US has declined and has progressively become worse over the last 10 to 15 years. If the government provided more oversight to these organizations the lack of integrity may not be as widespread as it currently is.
A good point mentioned here highlights the importance of regulation and to explain how bad things could go there couldnt be a more perfect example than Enron. The government clearly failed in its integrity to protect the companies and individuals.
Although I agree that the lack of integrity, the greed, and the corruption of the corporate executives played a big part of the economic crisis, I do not think the executives are the only ones that should take the blame. What about all the people that took on a mortgage that they were unable to pay? While the mortgage companies are partially to blame because they provided loans that they knew people couldn’t afford in order to make big commissions, shouldn’t the person who signed for the loan that they couldn’t afford also be held accountable? In my opinion, the government should not be required to bail out bad business decisions…. Those caused by the mortgage companies OR those caused by the individual who received the mortgage. I realize that there are people that have lost their jobs and therefore couldn’t pay their house notes but society as a whole has fell to greed and corruption. Everyone is living beyond their means and always wanting more and more. I think that the government has some part in the crisis with their pressures on the mortgage companies to provide more loans to lower income families or minorities. I think the financial crisis was something that has been building for a long time, since the Clinton era, and has just gotten progressively worse since. I feel that the lack of the five positive core values in corporate executives, government, and some mortgage holders contributed to the crisis. One basic problem is the lack of accountability in all parties. The problem is that we taxpayers are the one that is left holding the bill.
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=75717
Not long after I graduated with my B.S. I bought my very first car (well, I had one before but I got it for $1000 at an auction). When I was filling out the paperwork the manager congratulated me and said I was one step closer to the American dream. I asked him what he meant and he said, “You know, buying your own car and then owning a home.” I gave him a blank stare and said nothing. I’d always thought the American dream was freedom.
It seems as though over the decades and millenia our value system has been severely compromised. You point out that some of the blame is on the home buyers who knowingly bought homes they had non business buying. Why were they so desperate to buy a home? Certainly, as a homeowner myself, I can understand the thrill and pride in owning your own home, but when did this desire to own something become so intense as to obscure all judgment?
It would seem that the government is stuck between making the decision to simply treat the symptoms or address the cause. The recently passed stimulus bill will merely treat the symptoms, not the underlying cause.
Well stated, Joshua – about the dream…
The dream of a car and a home is rooted in the Second Level of Desires.
Freedom, as you have said, is a dream in the Fourth Level!
PC
I think Josh makes the best of points in his discussion of “treating symptoms”. I believe that America has failed to identify and combat any root causes of our country’s problems for so long. It is such a common practice for us to fight fires and that is essentially what a stimulus package is going to do.
If we all can agree that Greed was one of the reasons for the economic crisis, then lack of integrity yes. Showing the act of greed itself lacks integrity. Wanting to own everything shows signs of more and more money used in the wrong sense. This relates to the fact that money was spent and invested in the wrong things which lead to crisis that we are facing now.
Well put. Everyone who contributed to the economic crisis surely all left their moral compasses at home.
Sreesh,you are right.But I think that greed is one of the factors,and there is more to it.
I found this article and I think that it will be usefull to have an understanding.
Ethics: is an external system of rules and laws. Usually there are rewards when we follow the rules and punishments when we break them. A professional board or committee often monitors compliance. Many organizations have developed a code of ethics that employees are expected to obey.
Integrity: is an internal system of principles which guides our behavior. The rewards are intrinsic. Integrity is a choice rather than an obligation. Even though influenced by upbringing and exposure, integrity cannot be forced by outside sources. Integrity conveys a sense of wholeness and strength. When we are acting with integrity we do what is right – even when no one is watching.
People of integrity are guided by a set of core principles that empowers them to behave consistently to high standards. The core principles of integrity are virtues, such as: compassion, dependability, generosity, honesty, kindness, loyalty, maturity, objectivity, respect, trust and wisdom. Virtues are the valuable personal and professional assets employees develop and bring to work each day.
The sum of all virtues equals integrity.
source:http://www.abundancecompany.com/ethics_integrity.htm
Good comment, Chandrika.
Touches on the difference between ethics and morality – societal norms, and personal convictions (core values).
PC
Lack of integrity is one of the reasons for economic crises.People over a period of time tend to become greedy espically as they become rich.Intergity is a step further from honesty.A person or an organization which values intergrity has to be consistant with their vision and mission.Ofcourse honestly plays an impportant role.
I have quoted the exapmles two organizations whch has landed in financial crises and in turn,many people have been afftected
The sathyam technologies scam india was due to lack of integrity,greedyness and that lead to huge losses within the technology industry.The scam was more that 7000 crores of rupees that common man had invested in the company.They have not even paid the advance tax for the current year and also in the past.Satyam’s non-payment of advance tax could also imply that trouble had been brewing for a long time
source:http://www.satyamscam.info/
Sathyam scan has alone made more that 6000 IT professionals in india jobless.
If we consider the AIG scam….what went wrong in the whole secnario was “The whole thing was one big scheme. Everything was great when houses were selling like hot cakes and their values go up every month. Lenders made it easier to borrow money, and the higher demand drove up house values. Higher house values means that lenders could lend out even bigger mortgages, and it also gave lenders some protection against foreclosures. All of this translates into more money for the lenders, insurers, and investors.
Unfortunately, many borrowers got slammed when their adjustable mortgage finally adjusted. When too many of them couldn’t afford to make their payments, it causes these lenders to suffer from liquidity issue and to sit on more foreclosures than they could sell. Mortgage-backed securities became more risky and worth less causing investment firms like Lehman Brothers to suffer. Moreover, insurers like AIG who insured these bad mortgages also got in trouble.”
source:http://www.moolanomy.com/866/what-caused-the-financial-crisis-of-2008/
On comparing these two top companies we can concludesaysing that its greed that has made people to loose their values,integrityand trust ,which in turn has magnified and multiplyed its reverse effect globally.
I agree whole-heartedly with the comments by Roy and Jimy about GM and what might become of their lack of focus on smaller, more economical cars. I think they have been away from that market so long that they will not be able to enter/re-enter if they try. It is just simply very difficult to compete with others like Honda, Toyota, and Nissan who already have a handle on making compact, fuel efficient and aesthetically pleasing vehicles.
While there are many examples of the “lack of integrity” from both companies and the Government, and that this lack of integrity along with the cyclical nature of the United States economy has led us to a very noticable downturn, I feel we are only hearing the “worst” when watching the news and other programs.
But it is not true that during the “down times”, individuals have a tendancy to re-assess themselves and the path they are on.
As on the site listed below, some use these bad to to make things better
http://www.thenewiq.com/integritywatch-blog/corporate-social-responsibility-dead-during-economic-crisis
I agree with you Roy that we are only hearing the worst. I think the media takes a bad situation and makes it out to be even worse than it is. Not to say that things aren’t bad but I don’t necessarily see it in our area as bad as the media makes it out to be. If the economy is so bad, why are there always so many cars at Hamilton Place Mall at any given time?
I think the financial situation has opened a lot of eyes and made people re-evaluate themselves, their jobs, and their financial positions.
I agree with Roy and Nikki, we are getting bombarded by media from left to right about the economy crises and the financial crash. But for the most part, I think we are pretty lucky to be in this area. The VW plant is a big hope for Chattanooga.
The financial situation and businesses shutting down didn’t really affect as much as people up north or out west. However, I personally know some people that recently lost their jobs in Cleveland, Tennessee, and their perspective on the issue is much different. I guess it just depends on the individual point of view and their unique situation.
The media is biased and they do bombarding us. They are always broadcasting negative news, if you can call it news. If we are lucky we might see some positive news. Does positive news provide as watchers (income) as negative news? Negative news generates money in the US.