Corporate Culture, Governance, and Ethical Leadership
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Do organizations to which you belong (e.g., a school, a club, a fraternity/ sorority a sports team) have a “culture”? How did it arise? How could it be changed?
2. If the Goldman Sachs culture is as it was described by Smith, how might senior executives change it? Is it possible to “weed out the morally bank- rupt people”?
3. How can corporate leaders shape the culture of their organization? Are they responsible for creating the culture?
4. How does culture impact individuals? What role does an individual employee have for accepting, or rejecting, a corporate culture?
Sources:
Greg Smith, “Why I Am Leaving Goldman Sachs,” New York Times , March 14, 2012. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/14/opinion/why-i-am-leaving-goldman-sachs.html (accessed August 8, 2012). Lloyd C. Blankfein and Gary D. Cohn “Goldman Sachs’ Response to March 14, 2012, The New York Times Op-Ed,” Press release. March 14, 2012. http://www .goldmansachs.com/media-relations/comments-and-responses/current/nyt-op-ed-response.html (accessed August 8, 2012).
