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Too Many Cooks Spoil The Ciambotta

By Joe Renna

When corruption rears its ugly head, it sometimes masks the body it's attached to. Corporate CEOs are on the hot seat for cooking books but there are a slew of sous chefs in the kitchen who are just as guilty. Is there anyone in there who has the onions to do the right thing?

Corruption doesn't exist in a capsule. It is orchestrated by a network of good ol' boys that mutually benefit from the moving of decimal points. Corporate greed is nothing new. It was the driving force of the indutrial revolution. The elite in business live in a world seperate from the working class. Taking advantage of the worker was part of business. It was not personal. Th eworker wasn't even a peson, just another machine. Management was there to bridge the gap.

The role of management was noble. It was a tough position. Managers had to do the bidding of the ownership and also be fair to the workers. The two sides seldom jived. The manager was in between the proverbial rock and a hard place. This is where character comes into play.

Managers of old had character. They had integrity and gumption. Their positions were not envied by labor. They were respected. Especially when they did the right thing. The right thing is treating the rank and file with dignity. The great managers worked their way up from the ranks. They understood the plight of the worker and fought for their rights.

Battling with the board of directors was a risk. Termination was always a trump card that the chairman had up his sleeve. But even faced with threats of his own livelihood, the great manager never compromised his intrgraty or the dignity of the worker. For this he earned their respect and more so the respect of ownership. The highest honor paid to great management is respect. A great manager was referred to as a "stand-up guy." He was considered "His own man," "Self made" and "Decent." A man's reputation was what mattered most. Management today traded self-respect for a stock option.

Trickle down economics works. Ownership found a way to buy management and really put the screws to the working stiff. What's amazing is how cheap it was to get. Instead of a threat of early retirement, the owners got management to roll over by dropping them a few crumbs. By sharing the wealth, ownership put management in their hip pocket. The manager is now the corporate lap dog. Throw hima bone and he's ready to play dead. Even if that bone was bought with ill-gotten gains and at the expense of labor.

Unchecked, history will repeat itself. Labor is always vulnerable. And can easily be pushed into a state of distress. Unions and labor laws protect the worker from past treats but owners are creative in developing new techniques.

Before unions were formed, labor faced health and safety risks. They were literally fighting for their lives. Unionizers and sympathetic management were true heroes in the day. The first organizers risked everything fighting for basic rights. "You will never work in this industry again" was a threat that was taken literally. Management and labor leaders risked their livelihood for better working conditions, better hours and decent wages.

Over the years, business administrators bargained for pensions and medical benefits. The most basic amenities provided in the workplace resulted from a tremendous battle fought during the last century.

The culture of business today is an insult to what our parents and grandparents worked so hard to achieve. At stake is not the conditions of the work place but the workplace itself. It's not surprising when a CEO practices insider trading or creates a monopoly through buyouts. It becomes sickening when 3,000 people lose their jobs and/or their pensions the next day. The management who watches this happen is as gutless as the CEO is despicable.