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Corporate Governance and Narcissistic Behaviour. The Role of Virtue Presented at 3 rd Biennial International Conference in Business, Banking and Finance May 27 – 29, 2009 U.W.I, St. Augustine Surendra Arjoon Department of Management Studies U.W.I St. Augustine. The Evolution of Gollum.
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Corporate Governance and Narcissistic Behaviour The Role of Virtue Presented at 3rd Biennial International Conference in Business, Banking and Finance May 27 – 29, 2009 U.W.I, St. Augustine Surendra Arjoon Department of Management Studies U.W.I St. Augustine
The Continuum of Compromise Stages Attitudes The Virtuous Acts of Omission The OUB Acts of Administrative Commission The Egoist Acts of Criminal Commission
Corporate GovernanceWeaknesses • Safeguards against excessive risk-taking • Standards insufficient • Compensation
Rotten Core “ The very capitalism that built America into the super-power that is being questioned and politicians are finding it hard to swallow that the solution may lie in a socialistic framework” Ram Ramesh Trinidad Express March 15th 2009
Rotten Core “I’m not sure if it’s good to have freedom or not. I’m gradually beginning to feel that we Chinese need to be controlled. If we’re not being controlled, we’ll do what we want to….freedoms in Hong Kong and Taiwan made these societies chaotic” Jackie Chan Associated Press April 20, 2009
Rotten Apples “While institutions are larger than men it is still men who inhabit them. And if our institutions are now degenerating through lack of integrity and trustworthiness, it is ultimately the men and women entrusted with the task of maintaining and building such institutions have themselves operated without integrity and trustworthiness” Michael Harris Trinidad Express March 6th
Rotten Apples “The US financial crisis was not caused by the complex instruments, but by the failure of leaders on Wall Street. The heads of firms like Bear Sterns, Lehman Brothers, AIG, Countrywide, Financial, and Washington Mutual all too often sacrificed their firms’ futures in order to maximize personal gains” Bill George Business Week
Narcissistic Behaviour Characteristics • Extravagant sense of self-importance • Egotistical • Exaggerate talents and ability • Desire for power, attention, and admiration • Likely to emerge as leaders • Boastful and pretentious behaviour • Grandiose fantasies of unlimited success • Unreasonable sense of entitlement and superiority
Narcissistic BehaviourManifestations • Denials and rationalizations to justify behaviour • Willingness to exploit others • Vulnerable and fluctuating self-esteem • Lack of empathy • Charming and extraverted • Believes that others envy him or her • Envious of others
Narcissistic BehaviourManifestations • Likely to emerge as leaders • Vulnerable and fluctuating self-esteem • Strong reactions to perceived challenges or threats • Fluctuating or impaired emphatic ability • Perfectionist ideals and standards
Economic Fallacy Natural Resources + Labour = Productivity
The Role of Virtue “….to support that any form of government will secure liberty or happiness without any virtue in the people is a chimerical idea” James Madison
The Role of Virtue “The common good of the State cannot flourish unless the citizens be virtuous, at least those whose business it is to govern” Thomas Aquinas
Types of Business People “The difference between the temporarily successful business persons and those who became and remain successful is the latter possess virtuous characters”
Key Components of Virtuous Behavior • Judgment • Think before acting and consider the consequences of actions • Fairness • Honesty: • saying what is true • open and transparent communication • Respect: • treating people with dignity and valuing their contributions • maintaining fairness in all relationships • Mental toughness • speaking up for what is right and reporting wrongdoings
Key Components Virtuous Behavior • Self-mastery • Trust: • keeping commitments • Integrity: • doing the right things without compromise • avoiding the appearance of impropriety • Responsibility: • accepting the consequences of actions • admitting mistakes and correcting them quickly • not retaliating against those who report violations of law or policy