Ducks in a Row: Known by the Company You Keep
by Miki Saxon
What do Wal-Mart, Dewey & LeBoeuf and NewsCorp have in common?
Cultural deficiencies manifested in bad judgment, lies and executive shilly-shallying.
What was not previously known until the Times report on the bribery scandal is that at about the same time Mr Scott began the offensive to improve Wal-Mart’s image in the United States, he also rebuked the company’s internal bribery investigation in Mexico for being overly aggressive. The investigation was soon dropped. (Wal-Mart)
“The [compensation] guarantees were extremely corrosive culturally because they were divorced from individual or firm performance, which shatters the whole notion of a partnership,” Mr. MacEwen said. “And they were promiscuously awarded.” (Dewey)
The negotiations were so tightly held that only Mr. Crone, Mr. Myler and Mr. Murdoch knew about them, said two company officials. The officials said that even employees who were typically involved in legal decisions did not learn of the settlement until it leaked in a newspaper. (News Corp)
What does Google have in common with them?
Cultural deficiencies manifested in bad judgment, lies and executive shilly-shallying.
The report, which was first published in its unredacted form by The Los Angeles Times, also states that the engineer, who began the project as part of his “20 percent” time that Google gives employees to do work on their own initiative, “specifically told two engineers working on the project, including a senior manager, about collecting payload data.” (Google)
I guess that question is answered now.
But I have to say, I find it sad to see Google all grown up and playing in the same class as Wal-Mart, Dewey and News Corp; I honestly thought they were better than that.
Flickr image credit: Djenan Kozic
