Must the CEO Go Down With the Ship?
Two days ago, I asked — in the wake of the Costa Concordia disaster — whether the captain is duty-bound to “go down with his ship.” The question, I said, bears not just on the obligations of sea captains, but on individuals in positions of responsibility at organizations of all kinds. It also has implications for how organizations enculture individuals so that they see following through on promises as more than just a contractual obligation.
But today I’ll make explicit the analogy that is likely on the minds of most readers of this blog: never mind sea captains…what about CEOs? Does the CEO of a “sinking” company have a duty to “go down with the ship?”
First, it’s worth pointing out that sea captains don’t literally have to go down with the ship: closer to the truth is that they’re supposed to be the last ones off, or as close to last as is possible and permits them to do their duty to preserve the lives of crew and passengers. Similarly, bankruptcy for the company doesn’t literally have to imply bankruptcy for the CEO. In some cases, surely, bankruptcy isn’t the CEO’s fault, and there’s no reason to think that justice demands that a blameless CEO walk away penniless. But they should stick around to see the job done, even if that implies some financial risk to themselves.
Second, it seems to me that, as in the case of sea captains, the answer here has to depend a lot on the details of the situation. Sometimes staying aboard will genuinely help, and sometimes it won’t. Also, a CEO’s ill health might be a decent excuse, in some cases. And indeed, some corporate “captains” aren’t even wanted on a sinking ship: in 2008, for example, the US government forced Robert B. Willumstad to resign as CEO of the faltering AIG, and replaced him with Edward M Liddy. The idea that the captain should stick around to help only makes sense where the captain’s services continue to be seen as having value.
Third, there are several different ways in which a CEO can “abandon ship,” and they might not all be equally ethically bad. Abandoning ship could mean selling shares that are about to tank, or it might mean resigning prior to bankruptcy. Or it might mean resigning prior to an inevitable criminal investigation: several rats are known to have abandoned Enron’s sinking ship — Jeff Skilling, for example. Worst of all, perhaps, are “take the money and run” situations. Arranging a bonus for yourself just prior to declaring bankruptcy is the moral equivalent of looting the ship’s safe (or perhaps scuttling all the lifeboats) prior to prematurely abandoning ship.
As always, we need to be careful when engaging in moral reasoning by analogy. A company is not a boat, and bankruptcy is not the same as sinking. But what’s certainly true is that in both cases, the ethical requirements of leadership don’t end at the first sign of trouble.
The Business Ethics Blog 
I cannot but help think of Fred Goodwin, the former CEO of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) who was given a Knighthood “for services to banking”.
He quit his post on a £700,000/pa pension a whole month before “RBS announced that its 2008 loss totalled £24.1bn, the largest annual loss in UK corporate history”. These losses led directly to RBS being taking into public ownership.
**IF** we are to have a realistic capital led economy then businesses and individuals must be allowed to fail. How can this be achieved ethically?
First, let me say, I appreciate your analogy of a CEO being the “captain” of the company. There are certainly some important similarities in their roles as leaders. When a company is having problems, it is ethically responsible for the CEO to do what is in the company’s best interests. There is a delicate balance between giving people exactly what they want and ignoring their needs all together. Aristotle believed a person’s ethos can be taught and learned at a very early age, but it is not always successful. According to Michael Hyde, “Aristotle thus directs our attention…toward an understanding of ethos as an artistic accomplishment” (Cheney, G et al. 2010, p. 33) that is created when people create bonds, or a sense of community, with one another.
Being in such a role of power is not without its responsibilities. The CEO of a company is in a unique position of power; not only is he/she held accountable by the other people working within the company, but the CEO is also viewed by the public as a representative of the company. For example, look at Steve Jobs: not only was he an excellent leader for Apple, but he is also certainly an icon of our society today.