Sep

25

It appears the whole world economy is still under a dark cloud after the financial stock storm at Wall Street. Much like any natural calamity, there is a lot of ’structural’ damage, leaving people adrift in uncertainty and bleakness. As efforts are pushing for repair and rebuilding, others could only stand and stare out to the horizons, seeing only doom hovering ahead.

Bernado Lopez of BusinessWorld writes that we could trace back the cause of the present global financial crisis to a “vulture culture”, where greed and dishonesty are practiced, where the strong prey on the weak, “for maximum risk and maximum profit.”

I agree with the many points highlighted in Mr. Lopez’s article, all except one that this instinct of vultures in the international finance community has been “that has been mostly invisible to the public for decades.”

Oh, I don’t think so.

Let’s face it, like a thousand more times we’ve faced it before then just look the other way.

Greed is a human trait and permeates through every echelon of human civilization: governments, religion, media. What makes our international finance community immune? Nothing, I say. I wouldn’t be surprised to know if every broker and trader at Wall Street have been influenced by Oliver Stone’s “Wall Street” or at least seen the film once. Perhaps the young and eager brokers have a copy of the Gekko Manifesto where page 1 of Chapter 1 states:

The point is, ladies and gentleman, that greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right, greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms; greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind.

–Gordon Gekko, Wall Street (1987), 20th Century-Fox Film.

The real thing about greed is that it doesn’t do relationships. There are at least two sides to every story, with greed– its story is completely one-sided.

Okay, “Gekko Manifesto”? The film “Wall Street”? All works of fiction right, but fiction does contain facets of the truth. This “culture of vultures” is a truth and we “the public” accept it as it is and we allowed it as it is, in a manner of speaking.

I am not going to end by casting out blame. we’ve defined the problem, traced possible causes, solutions are being enacted (for example, the Federal bailout–still to be determined if effective) and now let us discover measures to prevent this from happening again.

Doug Tripp, a director of an Oklahoma law firm, examines 3 characteristics of a successful outsourcing relationship. Reading on it, I think that these 3 characteristics could be applied to any business relationship: client to outsourcer, company board to shareholder, trader to investor. On second thought, I believe you could apply this to any relationship.

The 3 characteristics of a successful relationship examined, along with their prominent significance:

Commitment.
When both parties are committed to making the relationship work; put that into writing and implement that into action this would render into cooperation. Cooperation is required for the beginning of matters.

Consistency
The best relations by far are those that are meant to go on for the long term. Maintaining consistency, be in a team, a protocol or a set of principles, throughout the term of the relationship fosters collaboration and trust between both parties. Collaboration and trust are fuels to a relationship.

Control
Structure and governance provide a means for both parties to align their business objectives and engage in other forms of collaboration. Control is responsibility which allows for discipline and direction. With control, a relationship can adapt to changes well and prevent risks from becoming into ruin beyond recovery.

Commitment, consistency and effective control makes sure that both parties (in this case, the client and the outsourcer) can acquire the benefits of their business relationships mutually and continously.

This is a symbiosis.

Outsourcing Solutions, Inc. – your outsourcing partner!

References:

  1. “Wall Street (1987).” The Internet Movie Database. Accessed 24 September 2008. Link here
  2. Lopez, Bernado. “UPSHOT: Vulture Culture.” 25 September 2008. Business World Online. Accessed 25 September 2008. Link here
  3. Tripp, Doug. “TULSA WORLD: Three Keys to Successful Outsourcing Relationships.” 23 September 2008. Hispanic Business.com. Accessed 24 September 2008. Link here

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