Page 4 - HSBC (D) Teaching Note

Questions
Objectives

Objectives

Ethical behaviour is an ideal that many companies

propound in their literature and embed in their mission

and value statements. But, often this is simply

camouflage when the individual is confronted with a

decision on whether to act in an ethical manner or cheat,

lie or steal. Simply put, companies don’t act unethically,
people do.

Actions have consequences! The small first step on the

road to unethical behaviour is often also the first in a

domino effect where the consequences become more

severe as each domino falls.

The objectives here are to examine the circumstances

that lead to the actions that were taken by, in particular,

the strategic leadership of the company, and secondly to

appreciate that mechanisms to counter unethical

behaviour are, even when entrenched in the operating

procedures of the organisation, often eroded when

unchecked, excessive power, or lack of control is

exercised.

In the case of HSBC, the bulk of the misdemeanours that

confronted its leadership, in particular Gulliver, had their

origins in an earlier period or prior to company