Who guards the guards when guards are let down?

I had a bigger problem to comprehend – the systemic conflicts at organizational, financial, societal and ecological level; an abstraction that often ignored in Corporate Sustainability and Sustainable development. Interested? You will find more on this at http://www.dhimanchowdhury.com/research.html.
However, I am not here to educate you with a dose of corporate sustainability or that’s the least of my concern here. As I dig further in my quest to find solution to otherwise convoluted “Corporate Sustainability” premise (Chowdhury, 2011), I stumbled upon yet a bigger issue – “Who guards the guards when guards are let down?”. I find that within this simple yet powerful question lie the clues to America’s unprecedented financial debacle. And what better way to learn than examining the context of what just transpired.
It’s odd to learn that so many at the helms of our financial and political systems have let their guards down. The end result devastated America’s economy, vanished America’s household wealth (a whopping sum of $11Trillions) and languished 26 million of Americans out of job (FCIC, 2011).
I made the phenomenological observations early as many of technology giants begin to collapse. Little I knew then that the observed failures of few corporations are just the symptoms and the prelude of bigger things to transpire. It was not clear until I begin my doctoral study. A pathological behavior that I observed at entity level has been so prevailing and collectively so devastating. This very immensely detrimental behavior is what created systemic discord in “Sustainability approaches” at organizational, financial, societal and ecological level (Chowdhury, 2011b).
FCIC (2011) alleged human actions and inactions for the unprecedented economic collapse of 2008. This finding goes hand in hand with my research findings and formulation against the predicament known as OCBS (Organizational Citizenship Behavior towards Sustainability) (Chowdhury, 2011).
The National Commission on financial crisis made the following concluding remarks in it’s published report (FCIC, 2011):
1. “We conclude this financial crisis was avoidable”.
2. “We conclude wide spread failure in financial regulation and supervision proved devastating to the stability of nation’s financial market”.
3. “We conclude dramatic failures of corporate governance and risk management at many systematically important financial institutions were a key cause of this crisis”.
4. “We conclude a combination of excessive borrowing, risky investments and lack of transparency put the financial system on a collision course with crisis”.
5. “We conclude the government was ill prepared for the crisis, and its inconsistent response added to the uncertainty and panic in the financial markets”.
6. “We conclude there was a systemic breakdown in accountability and ethics”.
7. “We conclude collapsing mortgage-lending standards and the mortgage securitization pipeline lit and spread the flame of contagion and crisis.
8. “We conclude over the counter derivatives contributed significantly to this crisis”.
9. “We conclude the failures of credit rating agencies were essential cogs in the wheel of financial destruction”.
What went wrong here is that our financial system oversight failed and often influenced by our political system allowing toxic mortgage securitization to continue. However, at the core of all these was the immensely detrimental behaviors of few who cared their self interest and indulgence about themselves above the nation and society.


The picture on left depicts a bird eye view of the events that setup the prelude for economic collapse. It is evident from the diagram above that the situation that led to the unprecedented economic meltdown of our time was fueled by detrimental behavioral pathology. Such behavioral pathology is certainly curable and unless action related to behavioral competence is enforced, any preventive measure or formulation thereof would be ineffective.
To be continued……………..
Reference
Chowdhury, D., 2011. Organizational Citizenship Behavior towards Sustainability (OCBS). Aberdeen Business School, The Robert Gordon University.
Chowdhury, D., 2011a. Corporate Sustainability Survey: 2011. Available online at http://www.dhimanchowdhury.com/research.html.
Chowdhury, D., 2011b. what is the root cause of Corporate failure? – A linkedin Poll. Available online at http://www.linkedin.com/osview/canvas?_ch_page_id=1&_ch_panel_id=1&_ch_app_id=80&_applicationId=1900&_ownerId=2665170&osUrlHash=fKaa&trk=hb_side_apps
FCIC, 2011. The Financial Crisis Inquiry Report: Final Report of the National Commission on the Causes of the Financial and Economic Crisis in the United States.

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