Why They Do It: Inside the Mind of the White-Collar Criminal
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.92 (889 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 1610395360 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 464 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2016-04-09 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
Leaves you wondering, could it happen to you?"—John Coates, former trader and author of The Hour Between Dog and Wolf: How Risk Taking Transforms Us, Body, and Mind. “Groundbreakingan impressive debuta forcefully developed and documented contribution to our further understanding of high-level criminality in lightly regulated free markets.” —Kirkus Reviews"By showing us how well-educated and well-meaning businessmen come to commit terrible crimes, Eugene Soltes has done a great service to the business community and society. This landmark study of business gone wrong should be required reading for all people in business, MBA students, business school faculty and staff, and regulators and policymakers." —Andrew Lo
Drawing on intimate details from personal visits, letters, and phone calls with these former executives, as well as psychological, sociological, and historical research, Why They Do It is a breakthrough look at the dark side of the business world.Soltes refutes popular but simplistic explanations of why seemingly successful executives engage in crime. White-collar criminals, he shows, are not merely driven by excessive greed or hubris, nor do they usually carefully calculate the costs and benefits before breaking the law and see it's worth the risk. Instead, he shows that most of these executives make decisions the way we all do--on the basis of their intuitions and gut feelings. Perplexed as to what drives successful, wealthy people to risk it all, Harvard Business School professor Eugene Soltes took a remarkable journey deep into the minds of these white-collar criminals, spending seven years in the company of the men behind the largest corporate crimes in history--from the financial fraudsters of Enron, to the embezzlers at Tyco, to the Ponzi schemers Bernie Madoff and Allen Stanford. The trouble is, these gut feelings are often poorly suited for the modern business world.Based on extensive interaction with nearly fifty former executives--many of whom have never spoken about th
"Important, interesting, and easy to read." according to Larry. Prof. Soltes has written an important book which will help people think about and understand the nature and causes of white-collar crime.Journalists often argue that all business schools should teach ethics. It seems obvious that analysts, directors, and managers need to understand how human nature, competitive pressures, and a lack of clear guidelines can lead to potentially disastrous choices. But how do you teach adults to be honest? How do you teach someone to not cross an undefined line?Prof. Soltes provides an answer by describing the evolution of white collar crime and a narra. "This is a fun book" according to Kyle Welch. Don't waste any more time reading reviews. If you are looking at this book on Amazon, you are likely the type of person that would love it. The book is incredibly well written and moreover, well researched. After reading it, you will be surprised with the knowledge you walk away with from such an entertaining read.I have found prior efforts in this literature to offer knee-jerk platitudes as the causal mechanisms in these crimes, providing the most obvious and uninsightful observations. Most books and articles read like a child story book plot when relating these stories.Eugene Solte. Two Thumbs Up Derek Why They Do It is both fun to read and offers a well-researched perspective on the situations and mindsets that have led a range of business professionals to end up as white collar criminals. It is a nice mix of stories and explorations of different theories on why. I particularly liked chapter 4 on the InterMune press since it is an example of a mistake I could see others easily making as well. The chapter at the end on Bernie Madoff's story offers fascinating insight into what was going through his mind. This is a book I'll return to again.