The Ethical Barometer

That’s the label the GM engineer who designed the faulty ignition switch that was first used in 2003 gave to his own baby. Oh, and when engineers learned that the ignitions were going into the off position, thereby shutting off the engine, randomly, at highway speeds, they labeled it an “issue of customer satisfaction, not safety.” Sure, it is a pesky thing to have your car stop suddenly on I-95. Being a sitting duck on a freeway whilst cars approach at 70 mph is a bit more than a “I’m not crazy about my Cobalt” type of complaint. In 2011, lawyers warned GM that it “could be accused of egregious conduct” because it was not following up on accidents, deaths, customer complaints, and continuing problems with the switches and airbag deployment. Still, no action was taken.

As amazing as these disclosures in the Anton Valukas report for GM are, what is worse are the conclusions. “Dysfunction,” “Bureaucracy,” but no “conspiracy.” CEO Mary Barra has fired 14 people and reorganized the company so that there are now reporting lines to officers regarding vehicle design and safety. Now there’s a novel idea — executives knowing what’s going on in their companies? What next? Accountability?

Mr. Valukas offered a lawyer’s report. The report threads the needle to prevent its use in product liability suits for possible punitive damages. But, by focusing on legal issues of “no conspiracy here,” the report misses the cultural issues. The report does not answer this basic question, “Why would these engineers and anyone else who was aware of the problem believe that it was okay to not fix the switches, to not follow up on root-cause analysis, and to not make the information public?” We know that they were bureaucratic. We know that they remained silent. We know that things were not fixed. We knew that before the first gumshoe headed out to gather 14 million documents from the company. What we still don’t know is why. Continue reading →

Worried that their sports’ demographic consists of the 55 and above crowd, the movers and shakers of golf are trying to determine why those under 35 are not taking up the sport. According to the New York Times, the answer is “it takes too long to play, is too difficult to learn and has too many tiresome rules.” Ah, the trophies don’t come as easily as they did in their youth.

So, rather than devote the work, practice, and time that it takes to master a difficult sport, the young ‘uns have some solutions: There will be entry-level golf — with 15-inch holes. And then there is kickball golf — you kick the ball from hole to hole. For those who are in a hurry? Six-hole golf.

One comment from those encouraging new golf is that the changes are akin to Little League where young ‘ins are introduced through T-ball and gradually work their way up to the big leagues. Oh, and they all get trophies along the way. Even with pizza-size holes, if they miss, well, “Close enough!”

Once again, the adults lift the rules, take away the challenge, decline to demand time and effort, and wonder why they still have children living at home.

Add to this headline that a Scout leader was also arrested and you wonder if it’s all made up to see if we are really reading the newspaper. That’s the front-page story from USA Today, May 22, 2014. We are losing the people we once trusted the most.

Disbanded by Governor Andrew Cuomo on March 29, 2014, the governor-created anticorruption panel (aka the Moreland Commission), has had its records subpoenaed. The U.S. Attorney’s office has collected computers, Blackberries, documents, and PIN messages. What more need be said?

A Wall Street Journalarticle on MBAs that was published last week has some disturbing quotes from newly-minted MBAs. Melissa Korn, “M.B.A.s Sour on Strings-Attached Tuition,” Wall Street Journal, March 6, 2014, p. B6. The disturbing thoughts come from MBAs whose employers have paid for their grad degrees on the condition that they return to work for at least two years after completing their degrees. If they do not return to work, the grad school money has to be repaid to the employer, plus interest. The employers thought the agreements had teeth. Oh, poor, miscalculating souls.
Many MBAs are reaching the conclusion that they can go with another firm after graduation, make more money, and repay the money, easily, because the offers they receive from other companies include salaries that make repayment of the loans painless. (This comment came from one John Picasso, a 2012 Wharton grad, who is pictured wearing a cashmere sports jacket and Ferragamo belt — think $320 — the Barometer had Judy’s belts — $7 Continue reading →

Oh, and one thing that came out during the trial — he was the co-founder of the Society of Law and Ethics at Harvard Law School. One hopes the society still carries on because Mr. Martoma was expelled from the law school before earning his degree for altering his transcripts. How did this guy get a job in the securities industry?