The Cover-Up
“It’s not the mistake the organization makes that
brings it down. It’s the second mistake, the cover-up, and
everything that follows that brings ethical collapse. The
key is to create a culture that catches the first mistake.
As long as human beings run organizations, there will be
mistakes and ethical lapses. The key is to have a culture
that brings that lapse to the attention of the right people
with the right attitude to take the necessary steps ... to
halt the follow-up mistakes.” - Jennings
How do workers justify covering
up?
The literature is full of examples, from Watergate to Enron
to Tyco to tribal councils and corporations all over the
country. Corporate attorneys know that a CEO has embezzled
money and given it to his mistress. In a way the behavior
of these individuals with MBA and J.D. degrees from Ivy
League universities supports those older Native Americans
who are skeptical of the value of education. It is not that
they question whether it is a good thing to learn how to
read a balance sheet or program a computer, but they
believe there is something missing in our educational
system.
Remember Big Soldier's comments
about how white men have turned animals and machines
to their use, how they were surrounded by slaves who
depended on them? Have we become slaves to the lack of
law and order, the lack of ethical behavior, the lack
of good leaders, on the reservations and elsewhere?