Letters.Risk/benefit creates chaos. Blaming knowledge as a cause of the current culture of chaos ("A Culture where Going Over the Line Becomes Accepted, Dec. 30) misses the point entirely. If knowledge is the problem, is ignorance the answer? Hardly. It is true that dramatic improvements in information availability in the last decade have made the workings of our economy and society more transparent and thus made opportunities of all types accessible to more people. This has only served to give more people the opportunity to use and to misuse information. But greater transparency has not only made it easier for more people to misuse information, it has made the misuse of information more transparent as well. The culture of greed Greed See also Stinginess. Almayer’s Folly lust for gold leads to decline. [Br. Lit.: Almayer’s Folly] Alonso Shakespearean symbol of avarice. [Br. Lit. may have reached a pinnacle pinnacle (pĭn`ĭkəl), minor architectural motif of vertical tapering shape, usually crowning a pier, buttress, or gable. Although sometimes it appears in Renaissance design, as in the Certosa di Pavia, it is almost exclusively a medieval with Enron, but does anyone believe that "managing earnings" in order to mislead mis·lead tr.v. mis·led , mis·lead·ing, mis·leads 1. To lead in the wrong direction. 2. To lead into error of thought or action, especially by intentionally deceiving. See Synonyms at deceive. shareholders is a recent development? The primary driver of the apparent increase in corporate fraud is the lack of clear and unambiguous consequences. Corporate malfeasance The commission of an act that is unequivocally illegal or completely wrongful. Malfeasance is a comprehensive term used in both civil and Criminal Law to describe any act that is wrongful. is generally the result of a calculation as to the risks and benefits of the behavior. If the perceived risks of getting punished pun·ish v. pun·ished, pun·ish·ing, pun·ish·es v.tr. 1. To subject to a penalty for an offense, sin, or fault. 2. To inflict a penalty for (an offense). 3. are sufficiently small sufficiently small - suitably small , then fraud can be a rational, if not an ethical or legal decision. The issue is one of personal responsibility, and the solution is a decision by the members of this society to establish and enforce appropriate consequences to everyone rich or poor to "encourage" responsible behavior. Derrell Ness Cerritos |
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