Felt rather disgusted when I first read this in ET:
In a shocking case of corporate misgovernance, a senior executive of Samsung India Electronics, the Indian arm of the South Korean electronic giant, misappropriated funds worth several crores of rupees from his firm, using ingenious methods to achieve his task.
Vivek Prakash, vice-president, sales and marketing (IT division), had everything going for him. He was only 34 years old and, in the firm’s hierarchy, he was next only to the director, drawing a handsome salary. His total package amounted to Rs 40 lakhs per annum.
Yet, he put in his papers abruptly one fine morning, last January. When he did so, his bosses in India and in South Korea were not surprised. From late last year, they could detect irregularities in his functioning. On scrutiny, they stumbled upon something to give them sleepless nights for many days.
Using R S Sahu, manager, accounts (receivables), an officer who was reporting directly to him, as an accomplice, Prakash had duped the company of Rs 18 crore. While the Delhi Police’s economic offences wing (EOW) had already laid its hands upon evidence on the embezzlement of this amount, there is a feeling that magnitude of the fraud could be bigger.
Was even more disgusted when I learn that this guy is an IIM grad (Bangalore - '95 batch).
Yes, one on the one hand there is Manjunath who sacrificed his life, unwilling to be bought out. And on the other hand there is Vivek Prakash who sacrificed his honour, who so willingly sold out.
And for what? Why would someone who had everything going for him take such a risk? I guess he thought he was just too smart to get caught.
But he did and the future looks pretty bleak. The Delhi high court recently refused his application for anticipatory bail.
Smarts vs Ethics
There is a hectic debate going on in some of the IIM egroups and mailing lists. One alum wrote:
I suggest IIMs and alumni collectively should take the lead in denouncing this guy (and any other alumnus caught doing such things or worse)... take back the degree, etc. To send the message that while even IIMs may have black sheep, we strongly condemn such behaviour, and will take the lead in punishing him, in whatever ways we can.
Another adds: I just finished reading a book about the Enron collapse ("Smartest Guys In The Room"), where most of the fraudsters were very highly educated. Education is no guarantee for ethics... But still, it is a shock - coming so soon after Manju.
Of course in case of Enron it wasn't one individual but an entire organisation built on a culture where the bottomline came first and nothing else mattered.
Oh, they did have an 'Official Code of Ethics'. As Michael Miller describes it: The July 2000 booklet is nearly 65 pages of take-the-high-road legalese that must have made employees feel they were working for the Vatican or some other equally pure and clean organization...
As they say it's all about what you do and not about what you say or preach. And a conscience is something that ought to prick you when no one is looking.
A blot on us all?
I don't know what the IIM 'community' can do to punish Vivek Prakash.
But yes, in some small way his individual decision to embrace the Dark Side does leave a small blot on the collective brand equity of IIM graduates. Just like Manjunath's principled stand added a positive shine to it.
We, who condemn corruption at large should highlight the need for ethical practices in business. And along with Manjunath, include a case study on Vivek Prakash to be taught in b schools as well!
i must say, a very nice blog... bringing out the deep not-so-pleasing truth ... well ppl do bad things for no apparent reasons...
ReplyDeletei would want to give one instance of the same kind: one bigshot from intel, who happend to be 3rd or 4th level in the hierarchy was caught for wrongly claiming the company for driver charges when he never had one.. imagine the amout he was drawring for this driver ... just 5k a month...n this guy had a package of 50 lakhs a year. strnage rite but happens....
A blot on us all?
ReplyDeleteI don't know what the IIM 'community' can do to punish Vivek Prakash.
A blot on us all?
I don't know what the Indian 'community' can do to punish that actress that endorsed pre marital sex.
The cases are different, but the larger phenomena of some fucking community thinking they have control over individuals decisions is a shame. Culture police is as bad as ethics police which is as bad as thinking you can be police to other people just because you do not like their actions.
Its his life to screw around. Have faith in legal systems of the country or flee.
Today's ToI has a story titled "Lynched woman found guilty of murder" or something, which is about how police uncovered some evidences linking some metally unstable woman killing a 5 year old. They recovered it from the house of the woman who was burnt along with her husband and kid because of her crime. This whole "'we' want to punish that bastard" is no different from villegers burning kid and husband, just that you might be a little more educated.
"Was even more disgusted when I learn that this guy is an IIM grad (Bangalore - '95 batch)."
ReplyDeleteWHY WHY WHY? Why Rashmi are you so biased towards "your cult?". After all, they are human beings too. I am not at all an IIM basher, but I always point out that there is nothing exceptional in them except for the two years of "extraordinary" education they go through. They too are driven by the whims and fancies of the mundane world and commit gross crimes, including non-payment of loans or fraudulent transactions.
And, I was little shocked when I heard that the list of Education loan defaulters was very long with lots of names in the top 3 IIMs. Why should I be shocked when fellow Indians are involved, leave alone IIM alumi? Billions of dollars were squandered in the US of A too by chief of big corporations and they had B-School degrees too.
Please avoid being biased towards "your cult". If I were aggressive, I intended to be.
I don't know what the IIM 'community' can do to punish Vivek Prakash.
ReplyDeleteFor starters, there is bound to be at least one IIM alumini in any company. So thwart any attempt by him to get any gainful employment, whenever they can, before and after he has served his sentence (if any). He may not need job after 18 crore embezzlement, but it he did (in case money was recovered), something better than nothing.
in a society where we are forced to bribe from the traffic policeman to ministers to get our work done how can we expect that people will consider embezzling wrong. i believe in india stealing from big organisations is considered cunning and not theft
ReplyDeleteRegardless of his IIM status it should have come across as disgusting. But I find the reaction a bit typical (the one that you talk about on the egroups) of the insular attitude taken by the A-list colleges. (I am from a few of them - and hence some of my attitude comes from being on the inside).
ReplyDeleteThis chap got caught. God knows how many people on that egroup are lurking around after years of deceit, or evading tax, or making bill-less purchases and killing the VAT. Mob-justice is as disturbing as lynching. It assumes a collective virtue (as opposed to collective intelligence).
IIM or any other college is a reflection of the society that feeds students into it. As a country, we accept bribery and swindle as long as we don't get caught in the act - It's getting caught that appears to be more shameful than the act of commission. I realize that it may come as a shock to you that the community you hold in high esteem has gaping holes in its virtue - but honestly it doesn't surprise me. It upsets me yes, but hhmm.. nothing extraordinary.
What also upsets me is that you might have considered this more ordinary if someone a bit less lucky on the CAT would have committed the same crime.
Corruption is a far big problem in india than what this case displays. All of us give or take money to get the routine work done. Everyday most of our politicians are eating our money by illegitimate means. What about that ?
ReplyDeleteThe crux of the problem is that most of the people who are not at these posts where corruption is an easily viable option, want to be here to do corruption. This means punishing these guys will not be enough but it requires a larger effort correcting the attitude of people.
Bringing IIM in between, serves only to diminish the seriousness os this issue.
Mr. Venkat Ramanan makes a very good point Rashmi. I was not aware that spending 2 years at an IIM also serves to rid a person of that basic human greed!
ReplyDelete"Character is what we do when no one is looking"
ReplyDeleteThoguh it does ht you hard when u realize that he was a student of the IIMS, but it only goes to show that education doesnt guarantee u a place in the Hall of integrity
Why does the mere mention of the word 'IIM' get people's goat.
ReplyDeleteI started by saying when I first read this bit of news I was disgusted. Later, on learning he was an IIM grad I was even more disguested.
That's normal. If u read about someone dying in an accident you say 'sad'. Then you learn he/ she was from your school and you feel a little worse. Even if that person was junior to you and not known to you.
Those who have studied at IIMs have this feeling of being a 'community'. We have been privileged to attend these institutions; ethics and values are part of what we are meant to have imbibed there.
This is, to my knowledge, the first example of an IIM grad in jail for large scale fraud. And so
to me it is a subject of concern. Thousands of young people look at IIMs as their ultimate destination and toil to gain entry.
To that extent IIM grads do have a 'role model' effect.
Of course, every individual acts based on his own character. But if today's Express is once again talking about 'IIM graduate Manjunath' on its front page, tomorrow it may be referring to 'IIM graduate Vivek Prakash'.
'I don't know how the IIM community can punish him' is not a call for us to put on our thinking caps and find ways to punish him. The mere fact that he's being discussed is punishment.
There are some things money can't buy. The honour and respect of one's peers is one of them.
We have been privileged to attend these institutions; ethics and values are part of what we are meant to have imbibed there.
ReplyDeleteAre you really serious when you say two years in a college can change your fabric of ethics and values? Do you really believe it will override the 20 years of life before an IIM?
You believe ethics can be imbibed through a lecture? If you do, you're juat talking global gyaan, Rashmi.
Hi!
ReplyDeleteentirely agree with you rashmi. if 2 years is a good enough time to learn the complex art of 'Business Administration'& making money, it is a good enough period to learn other things as well, mainly business ethics. And the fact that everyone does it doesn't absolve any bright IIM grad commiting such acts. It only gives it more credibility down the order! And yes if IIMs don't teach to do it, they don't teach not to do it either! and though they are not responsible in a direct manner, they have done nothing for it either.
Hi Rashmi,
ReplyDeleteIm a student of IIML, class of 2006. I still don't agree with your point of view. There are black sheep everywhere. Every year MIT and stanford grads get arrested for breaking into some secure area. I think that the power of a system lies in its outliers. Prakash is as much an Alumnus, as Manjunath is.
He has a right to do anything he wants with his life, and no community can change that. He was a student of this community, and he belongs to it as much as you do, or I do.
However, I do believe that such discussions would damn him forever. That is punishment enough.
Are we taught ethics in our course? I don't
think so. Even if we were, he couldve skipped the elective. :) And sadly, the criticism is true. IIM grads contribute very little to the society, except the outliers. The good news is Rashmi, you're one of them. :)
I've actually had the 'privilege' of meeting Vivek Prakash - he seemed to be a guy on the move - super ambitious and the Koreans loved him, and in a Korean company that is a rare trait, possibly only BVR Subbu in Hyundai commanded more respect. Vivek Prakash had revamped Samsung's previously stale marketing and modelling himself on Rajeev Karwal (LG/Electrolux) managed to get a lot of column space in the papers, things that often involved sending journalists to frequent trips to Korea and taking them out for dinner and drinks at fancy-schamcy Delhi hotels. Can't quite say that I thought that he was a financial fraud, but can can that he seemed like a megalomaniac in over his head. I'll write a more detailed post on this sometime.
ReplyDeleteCheers.
I seriously dont see any connection between ethics and IIM. As it is, the biggest defaulters of educational loans are students from IIM's. On top of it, even many of the profs at many IIM's seriously seem to have no positive traits in them and only megalomania is a key characteristic of those profs. And administration of IIM's is pretty corrupt like in all Indian govt. institutions. How the hell will spending two years at an IIM ever make a person ethical etc etc when he sees so much of unethical things going around him in these same overrated and venerated institutions? Ultimately actions speak louder than words and obviously students will only pick up things from the actions they see and not the crap that is preached in the classrooms of the college
ReplyDeleteHi ppl,
ReplyDeleteCouldn't laugh more after I imagined how our guys must have 'studied' ethics at colleges (to be precise, the top B Schools in our country). A gist here
Professor in class - Students, we will study Ethics today... "Prof X, from Harvard University said Ethics... blla bla bla'" and the students sleep thru the class....
Then students preparing for exams.. - "Prof X of Harvard University defined Ethics as ... Prof X of Harvard University defined Ethics as ... Prof X of Harvard University defined Ethics as ... .. hmm shit, still not getting into head... ok let me repeat it ten times and write it ten times and by heart it" and on and on and on......
I am damn sure this happens in many schools across the country.. Not only in Business Ethics, but right from school subjects to medicine, engineering, research. "Ethics taught as a part of curriculum" does it matter anymore????
Innocent Bystander sys
ReplyDeleteAre you really serious when you say two years in a college can change your fabric of ethics and values? Do you really believe it will override the 20 years of life before an IIM?
You believe ethics can be imbibed through a lecture? If you do, you're juat talking global gyaan, Rashmi.
Akash :
Believe it or not - it does. Two years at the IIMs at least attempts to & in most cases changes one's fundamentals. Of course it is a function of how much "programmed" one is before one started their.
Ethics most certainly cannot be imbibed through a lecture - but who the heck is saying that at the IIMs one gets "lectured". Its a place where one learns by interacting, debating, arguing, experimenting and above all thinking.
Don't get me wrong IIM is a metaphor for most such institutes.
Shravan Said
Are we taught ethics in our course? I don't
think so. Even if we were, he couldve skipped the elective. :) And sadly, the criticism is true. IIM grads contribute very little to the society
Shravan, I am hoping that you are in your first year at IIML. Do comment on this issue a couple of years later. I feel that its not the courses but the environment, the systems & processes and the faculty who heps you imbibe what you do at the IIM campus.
On the issue of doing something for the society - I guess the IIM alumni does as much as (or more) the alumni from any other place. One does not always need to be an outstanding piece of example as you consider Rashmi to be.
Finally, on the issue of vivek prakash - as viren puts it - lets not crucify him before a fair trial. However, viren there is no smoke without a fire. It is also not easy to harass such a "sharp" brain. Specially when he can actually utilise a closely knit community of IIM grads if need be. Like in the case of Manjunath this community has turned out to help (and it has helped) many such cases. I do hope that he is clear, but find it difficult to believe given the facts of the case visible/known
i think this post and comment shows as to what we are. if rashmi has reacted with disgust specially to the fact that person accused is IIM grad, it is because she believes that she wouldnt do the same and nor would people who she knew at IIM.
ReplyDeleteOk, will someone explain to me what was it that he did wrong ? What is wrong with taking advantage of the system ? Not everyone has the cahones to do that, and I salute the select few who do. Ethics ? Excuse me ... do you guys seriously think that samsung, or any other corporation for that matter, are ethical in any sense of the word ? You have to break the rules to rise, it is as simple as that. There is no other way, there never has been any other way, not in India, not anywhere else.
ReplyDeleteSid,
ReplyDeleteAre you out of your mind, dude ? I don't want to sign my life away to get an education at IIM. What the fuck is wrong with you ? Do you think the people who would monitor this, the IIM adminstration, are very ethical ?
Please tell me that you are not considering policy making as a career choice.
*shudder*
Once again, we are not living in a perfect world. There is nothing wrong in breaking the rules. Laws/rules are made to keep you from forging ahead, only those who break them can move forward. And only those who have the drive, ambition and courage are able to do it.
Does it make a difference that he was from the IIM's? I can understand Rashmi feeling the way she does because she's part of that "elite"(?) community of IIM grads and she is justified in her disgust.On one hand we see Manjunath and on the other, Vivek. But what does ethics have to do with IIM? Aren't students from other B-schools taught ethics? There are scores of management graduates pouring out into the corporate world every year and every once in a while we hear such instances. Would it have generated so much interest had he been from some other institiute? Agreed that the IIMs are great institutes and all but once you're in the corporate world for a few years it doesn't really matter any more, what counts are your actions. Besides, while two years in a b-school does alter the course of your life, it does not in any way guarantee whether or not a person will be caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
ReplyDeleteAs an ex-IIMer myself, plus far too many years under my chin, the short answer is this: one's level of education is only mildly correlated with one's ethics. One's ethics are a function of one's nature plus upbringing plus opportunity/context. When opportunities present themselves in the context of power that one possesses, the path down the slippery slope begins to beckon. It doesn't look slippery at first. The stakes are small, the temptation is small, the first transgression is small. This serves then to inoculate you against the next, bigger transgression. That's what happened to the folks at Enron, WorldCom, Tyco, etc.
ReplyDeleteSome history: it was widely rumored but never confirmed - we're talking decades ago - that a former diro of IIMB had his secretary bumped off. I knew both of them, and people close to them. The guy was known to have his hand in the cookie jar, and the secretary was witness to all the underhand dealings. This former diro has lived a full life. Next, go see the new Woody Allen movie, Match Point, for more on corruption. Murli
as some 1 said above , IIM ppl r no aliens , they r humans just like every1.
ReplyDeleteOhh nd btw to ms rashmi , get out of ur dream world will ya , u cant learn ethics by lectures or books.
Most ppl goin 4 IIM r the most greedy ppl and major objective is high pay package , where the hell s their ethics come from.
"...We have been privileged to attend these institutions..."
ReplyDeleteThis is the very pride which destroys the image of IIM grads in the eyes of so many corporates and people who believe that they are snobbish and have an attitude many times rightly so.
IIMs are a great brand value and it fails me what makes you think that its the place where characters can be moulded and ethics driven in. The students of IIMs are typically of the age 22-24 and a lot depends on their upbringing and the circumstances of their further work life that might make them get into the booby trap.
If you still believe that those 2yrs in an IIM are the reformatory period of an individual, then well God save all those grads.
You have made the IIM brand a tad different by choosing a different career line but by making yourself stand out as belonging to a "privileged" community will only make the readers think of the IIM grads as snobbish.
As quoted in the movie spiderman...
ReplyDeleteWith great power.. comes great responsibility.
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ReplyDeleteStop Dreaming Start Action | Rusli Zainal Sang Visioner | kenali dan kunjungi objek wisata di pandeglang | mengembalikan jati diri bangsa