Paul Wolfowitz resigned in 2007 as head of the World Bank after a tale emerged of his HR intervention on behalf of a bank executive he was dating. Managers not dating those who report to them is one of those logical HR rules – probably a bad idea. Wolfowitz  defended his actions until he was blue in the fact, but the world saw otherwise, and he had to go.
Now the UN twin, the IMF, finds itself with a managing director, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who faces charges of sexually assaulting a chamber maid in his $3,000 per night hotel suit in Manhattan. New York police officers yanked him off a plane that was headed back to his native France. NYPD got there just 10 minutes before take-off. Â
Strauss-Kahn had a dust-up with his board in 2008 after he had an affair with an Hungarian economist at IMF. They let him stay on after he apologized to his third wife and admitted a “serious error of judgment.â€
During his time at the World Bank, Wolfowitz was determined to tie loans to countries to their willingness to put systems into place to curb corruption.  Strauss-Kahn was determined to save the collapsing economies in the EU and was touted as the candidate to beat Sarkozy in the upcoming French elections. In fact, Strauss-Kahn was scheduled to meet yesterday with German Chancellor Angela Merkel about shoring up Greece, but he was still in the Harlem hoosegow.Â
No worries, however. Mr. Strauss-Kahn, who left his cell phone behind in his suite in his haste to depart, has retained the same lawyer who has represented Michael Jackson and Sean “P.Diddy†Combs. He maintains his innocence, and his third wife stated publicly that he will be proven so.
Four words – tone at the top. The two institutions chartered to restore faith and order in international finance have had as leaders two men who have not progressed beyond the antics of our junior-high years. The issue is not one of passing moral judgment on personal lives. The issue is the demonstrated lack of good judgment by men in positions that demand impeccable perfection in decisions and conduct.
About mmjdiary
Professor Marianne Jennings is an emeritus professor of legal and ethical studies from the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University, retiring in 2011 after 35 years of teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in ethics and the legal environment of business. During her tenure at ASU, she served as director of the Joan and David Lincoln Center for Applied Ethics from 1995-1999. In 2006, she was appointed faculty director for the W.P. Carey Executive MBA Program. She has done consulting work for businesses and professional groups including AICPA, Boeing, Dial Corporation, Edward Jones, Mattel, Motorola, CFA Institute, Southern California Edison, the Institute of Internal Auditors, AIMR, DuPont, AES, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Motorola, Hy-Vee Foods, IBM, Bell Helicopter, Amgen, Raytheon, and VIAD.
The sixth edition of her textbook, Case Studies in Business Ethics, was published in February 2011. The ninth edition of her textbook, Business: lts Legal, Ethical and Global Environment was published in January 2011. The 23rd edition of her book, Business Law: Principles and Cases, will be published in January 2013. The tenth edition of her book, Real Estate Law, will also be published in January 2013. Her book, A Business Tale: A Story of Ethics, Choices, Success, and a Very Large Rabbit, a fable about business ethics, was chosen by Library Journal in 2004 as its business book of the year. A Business Tale was also a finalist for two other literary awards for 2004. In 2000 her book on corporate governance was published by the New York Times MBA Pocket Series. Her book on long-term success, Building a Business Through Good Times and Bad: Lessons from Fifteen Companies, Each With a Century of Dividends, was published in October 2002 and has been used by Booz, Allen, Hamilton for its work on business longevity. Her latest book, The Seven Signs of Ethical Collapse was published by St. Martin’s Press in July 2006 and has been a finalist for two book awards.
Her weekly columns are syndicated around the country, and her work has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, the Chicago Tribune, the New York Times, Washington Post, and the Reader's Digest. A collection of her essays, Nobody Fixes Real Carrot Sticks Anymore, first published in 1994 is still being published. She has been a commentator on business issues on All Things Considered for National Public Radio.
She has served on four boards of directors, including Arizona Public Service (1987-2000), Zealous Capital Corporation, and the Center for Children with Chronic Illness and Disability at the University of Minnesota. She was appointed to the board of advisors for the Institute of Nuclear Power Operators in 2004 and served on the board of trustees for Think Arizona, a public policy think tank. She has appeared on CNBC, CBS This Morning, the Today Show, and CBS Evening News.
In 2010 she was named one of the Top 100 Thought Leaders in Business Ethics by Trust Across America. Her books have been translated into four different languages. She received the British Emerald award for authoring one of their top 50 articles in management publications, chosen from over 15,000 articles.
Personal: Married since 1976 to Terry H. Jennings, Maricopa County Attorney’s Office Deputy County Attorney; five children: Sarah, Sam, and John, and the late Claire and Hannah Jennings.
