My Days of .Com
Future of Interactive Advertising

Organizations, moral code and strive for power

Written by Mihai Dragan on Thursday, February 19th, 2009 ( One response )
Tags: organizations, power, problems, psychology

While reading an article on happiness I came to find an interesting study on organizational sociopaths and their strive for power in over-grown companies.

The organizational structure is often an interesting social reality. Many times it is built around some basic principles that fade in time, due to shifts in moral code, written or unwritten.

Although I can’t say I came across behaviors as those stated in the document, i did found interesting facts. It seems these individuals are “emotionally detached”, as well as “impulsive and irresponsible”. They usually fit well in positions were goals are abstracted, usually “overseeing” or “managing” processes.

The study shows these people are bound to bully colleagues and strongly defend their positions, usually when a challenger appears.

They tend to have subjective view of matters and whilst still managing to get the job done the “authoritarian and task-centered management style” pushes valuable people away. “The Peter Principle” (as in Peter and Hull, authors of … well … the principle) states that these managers are promoted “one or more levels beyond their optimum level of competence”.

The moral code at AMex

To manage internal culture American Express employs this three sets of moral codes, which I find amazing. It may not keep the problems away but it states it’s principles pretty clear:

1. Moral values:

• Integrity – uphold the highest standards of integrity in all of our actions.
• Respect for people – value our people. Encourage development. Reward performance.
• Personal accountability – be personally accountable for delivering on our commitment.

1. Social values:

• Teamwork – we work together across boundaries.
• Good citizenship – we are good citizens in the communities in which we live and work.

1. Business values:

• Customer commitment – develop relationships that make a positive difference in our customers’ lives.
• Quality – provide outstanding products and unsurpassed service.
• Will to win – demonstrate a strong will to win in the market place and in every aspect of our business.