Eating is an agricultural act - Wendell Berry

Friday, November 19, 2010

business sleaze

through all the drama over the 2G spectrum allocation scan, the level of sleaze in today's corporate india has been easily sidelined in the melee over raja, MMS, sonia, swamy et al.

is business 'at any cost' the only way to do business today?
can no company survive these markets without resorting to such levels of corruption?
is the pressure of 'quarter-on-quarter' reporting making our CEOs pop growth-steroid pills?

during my time in a corporate career, i have directly and indirectly indulged in such sleaze.
then, i never was able to think beyond the "this is how we do business" justification.
nevertheless some parts of me must have been sub-consciously reacting to such behaviour to prompt me to exit the sector.

and the thought that has been itching the most is "what of my many classmates and friends who work/invest in these corporations?"
as a close pal gets a big promotion into the big league of i-bankers, i write a congratulatory note "i only see this as sinking deeper into the cesspool of business".

7 comments:

Vanessa said...

I see no end in sight to corruption at every level in varied sectors. The only thing that could save us is the 10th avatar of Vishnu I guess. Till then you can only blog. :(

P.S: These days we are reading a Krishna book as our bedtime story. Looks like some of the effect is spilling here :)

Nishant Chandgotia said...

I wonder how can one rid the plague???
It all seems so mangled up.

Anonymous said...

is business 'at any cost' the only way to do business today?

>> In corporate world the answer is YES. Ways may differ but purpose/intention remains same. It's like cancer.

Unknown said...

Consumer and community activism is what needs to be propelled and funded in a big way. Even with that, it will be business as usual...albeit in a more watchful manner...

Such initiatives require the talents of former perpetrators...may be the likes of you and me.??...make it remunerative..then it does not even need idealists....

Choxbox said...

The answer sadly is yes and have seen it at close quarters.
Fought for a while.
Finally decided the sector didn’t deserve me ;)

Kishore said...

One of the primary problems is that the "educated" or "qualified" individuals are not involved in much other than climbing the corporate and social ladder, be it a raise, promotion or larger house etc.

I am appalled at the number of people who don't even bother to cast their vote in an election. Too busy, no time , projects due, children's exams is the storyline.

The most fundamental responsibility, not just a right, in a democracy is to cast a vote. May seem trivial, but there is nothing like an informed, involved electorate to keep these crooks in check and the nation in balance.

Without community invovlment, no nation can grow (not just in monetary or economic terms) By the sheer fact that the readers of this blog are able to communicate in an foreign language, they are among the fortunate in this nation. The question is do they apply that fortune to aggrandize themselves or just turn a blind eye, complaining when it suits them, hurrying on to try to reach the elusive paradise promised to them by the corporate masters.

I do not have all the answers but these observations makes one wonder as Vanessa says, do we need an Avatar to clean this mess.

csm said...

v - i may have said this before. that avtaar has to be the collective force of several individuals rather than 1 defining person.

nishant - a good start is to not participate. our single action may appear meaningless in the overall colletive, but i would point you to this post

anon - perhaps we need to try harder and look deeper. check para 6 in this link

girija - make it remunarative? once you make it a job...it could lose its purpose.

chox - good move :-)

kishor - well said, as ever :-)